Delano leaders dodge rent control, agree to study costs

BY John Donegan

DELANO — Despite pleas from local residents, the Delano City Council decided Monday night against imposing rent control and agreed instead to investigate the cost of implementing such a measure.

The council voted unanimously for a so-called fee study, with Mayor Joe Alindajao absent and Councilman Mario Nunes Jr. excusing himself. Both council members are landlords.

Vice Mayor Salvador Solorio-Ruiz said his decision was based on supply and demand. He blamed rising rent costs on a citywide housing deficit.

A city staff report dated Monday compared rent control measures in place in several cities around California. It came to no findings on how much it would cost city government to regulate rent prices in Delano.

“At this time,” the report stated, “it is unknown what the rent stabilization protections program will cost the City of Delano to administer and enforce.”

Solorio-Ruiz said that in future agendas the council should discuss housing affordability. He tried to put an end to rumors circulating two weeks ago that he avoided an earlier meeting, saying he had been sick.

“This notion that we table it purposefully is wrong,” Solorio-Ruiz said. “It came down to me just being out sick.”

The vice mayor, who ran the meeting, also countered complaints from residents that he originally was elected on the promise of rent control. In 2020, he was endorsed by the California Democratic Renters Council under that very assumption.

“This idea that I campaigned on rent control is not true,” Solorio-Ruiz said. “I campaigned to tackle the housing crisis. Other than that, we never heard of this (rent control proposal) and no-one brought this forward.”

Councilwoman Liz Morris, who expressed her opposition to rent control, asked people in attendance to have more sympathy for landlords and said that rent control would result in rising taxes, due to the need for additional staffing.

“This is a difficult subject to address,” Morris said. “I understand rent is high and I feel for you.”

“But the cost is high for everyone. … People have this misconception that landlords are wealthy.”

Final comments from council members were received with eyerolls, dead stares and groans from the audience.

“There’s a huge disconnect,” said Anai Paniaga, a coordinator for LOUD for Tomorrow, a youth advocacy group that presented a petition of 198 signatures during a public hearing. “The City Council likes to say that we’re the only five voices that are wanting this progress. But we’re the only five that can be here. Everybody is working — working to pay that rent.”

Councilwoman Veronica Vasquez said that while rent control isn’t a magic pill that will cure all city ailments, data demonstrates it is beneficial to tenants while providing a source of rent for landlords.

“Why be so resistant?” Vasquez asked the council. “We are trying to bring everyone to the table to come up with solutions.”

Vasquez motioned for a study fee to be done to see how much the program would cost, assess it at a future City Council meeting and provide findings to the public. The motion was approved unanimously.

With Monday night’s rejection, Kern remains without municipal rent controls. But there’s still a chance it could happen for the county’s second largest city.

The inquiry into rent control in Delano began in December with a referral from then-Mayor Bryan Osorio, who asked staff to draft a rent stabilization program that was “limited to 70 percent of the consumer price index or 3 percent cap per year, whichever is higher,” according to public documents.

This proposal drew applause from the audience, most of which demonstrated in favor of rent control. Similar to the council’s last meeting on the subject two weeks ago, public comments continued for over an hour.

“This kind of narrative that rent control is bad is false,” said Arturo Rodriguez, director of a local nonprofit. “It isn’t good for our communities but that couldn’t be further from the truth and big corporate greed has created this narrative.”

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2023 Small Area Fair Market Rents report, a fair price for a two-bedroom apartment is now considered to be $1,050, yet many reported having to pay more than $1,400.

The spate of local rent control measures runs counter to Assembly Bill 1482, which was implemented in 2020. The bill caps annual increases in rent at 5 percent, plus inflation, for qualified apartments 15 years or older. It also provides some protections against eviction.

Many present Monday complained that they live on fixed incomes, work on stagnant wages or cannot qualify for a market-rate lifestyle. Many said homelessness is increasing.

“The difference compared to Los Angeles and San Francisco is that you don’t see them on the sidewalks because they lie in the ditches and canals where they’re out of sight out of mind,” Rodriguez said.

Residents spoke about their experiences and that of their neighbors, detailing drastic jumps in rent and having to separate families to downsize. One tenant said his rent has gone up continually despite not being afforded a toilet.

“But the voters are smart,” Rodriguez said. “If I was an elected person, I would think deeply about what my future is.”

However, some landlords did attend and spoke out. They brought up a rising cost of construction and rising fees, as part of a general rise in cost across the state.

“I got to pay $75,000 a year because I don’t qualify for financial aid,” said Adrien Rodriguez, a former fieldworker and landlord. “That's the only reason I got into this — for my kids. I hope you make the right decision on this.”