Rancho Cordova Municipal Code Art. I Title – Purpose – Findings – Scope

This chapter shall be known as the Rancho Cordova housing code and may be cited as such.

(SCC 0934 § 4, 1993; SCC 1146 § 7, 1999; Ord. 20-2003 §§ 2, 4; Ord. 21-2003 §§ 2, 4)

A. Unsafe housing is a community blight often associated with unlawful activity. While the cost of enforcement is significant, the result of failing to abate substandard housing has more adverse and far-reaching consequences, such as the loss of housing and displacement of individuals.

B. The purpose of this chapter is to proactively identify blighted and deteriorated rental housing stock and to ensure the rehabilitation and prevention of rental housing that does not meet applicable building code and housing code standards, Rancho Cordova Municipal Code standards, or is not safe to occupy, and further, to preserve and enhance the quality of life for residents of the city living in rental property.

C. It is important that the city not only enforce on a complaint-initiated basis, but also conduct routine residential rental property inspections in order to better address and reduce substandard housing in the city. It is important to conduct routine inspections on residential rental property due to the inherent problems associated with property owners not living in the rental units.

D. Having determined the appropriate level of service to be provided by a housing code enforcement program, it is also determined that those persons who violate the state housing law should bear the greatest practical share of the costs of operating such a program through payment of enforcement fees and penalties. However, the establishment of such a program requires revenue to fund its implementation costs and to fund the difference between the ongoing costs of such a program and the revenue collected from violators through enforcement fees and penalties. The source of this revenue must be reliable if such a program is to achieve its objectives. Collection of enforcement fees and penalties is inherently unreliable as a funding source, and therefore cannot be relied upon either to establish the initial operating revenue for such a program or to fully support its ongoing operational costs.

E. It is therefore necessary to levy a rental housing code compliance fee for the purpose of generating the revenue required to fund the implementation and ongoing operating costs of such a program. The rental housing code compliance fee may be adjusted annually, as necessary, for the purpose of ensuring adequate funding for the program. The rental housing code compliance fee is a supplemental funding source for this program intended to make up for any actual or forecast deficiencies in total program costs not generated from the collection of enforcement fees and penalties from violators.

F. In the city of Rancho Cordova, substandard rental housing has caused health and safety risks to its occupants and those who reside in the surrounding neighborhood. Additionally, substandard rental housing has significantly contributed to neighborhood blight. As a result, substandard housing is a nuisance that threatens the health and welfare of many members of the community.

G. To eliminate this nuisance it is imperative to establish enforceable minimum standards for residential buildings. The purpose of this chapter is to establish such standards for maintaining all residential buildings in the city and thereby safeguard life, limb, health, property, safety, and welfare of the public.

(Ord. 20-2003 §§ 2, 4; Ord. 21-2003 §§ 2, 4; Ord. 26-2007 § 2)

The city council finds as follows:

A. It is imperative to establish enforceable minimum standards for residential buildings and to provide a program for enforcing these standards which is self-supporting.

B. Complaint-initiated enforcement actions combined with routine residential rental property inspections are necessary to provide the essential level of abatement of substandard housing conditions within Rancho Cordova to promote public health, safety, and welfare. City staff has observed, in performing their duties, that generally the most egregious violations of health, safety, and building codes occur in rental housing units and therefore it is most efficient and effective to require periodic inspections of residential rental units rather than all housing units in the city.

C. Violators of the state housing law must bear the largest feasible share of the cost of housing code enforcement.

D. Rental property owners derive a substantial benefit from a housing code compliance program, and should therefore contribute to a portion of program costs.

E. Residents of rental property also benefit from a housing code enforcement program, and should therefore contribute to program costs indirectly through the cost of renting such housing.

F. It is necessary to establish an operating fund which is separate from the city's general fund, for the purpose of implementing a housing code enforcement program and operating it on an ongoing basis. It is necessary that this source of funds be predictable and reliable for the efficient and continued operation of such a program. The imposition of a rental housing code compliance fee is an appropriate means to accomplish this purpose.

G. It is recognized that the majority of rental housing property owners comply with the state housing law and applicable city ordinances, and that only a relatively small percentage violate these laws. And while it is the intent of this chapter that this group of violators should pay for as much of the cost of a housing code enforcement program as practical and feasible, it is also recognized that the collection of enforcement fees and penalties from violators can be a protracted and costly process, and that reliance thereupon as the sole source to fund such a program is inherently speculative and unrealistic. Therefore, while the primary source of revenue for this housing code enforcement program is intended to come from the collection of enforcement fees and penalties from violators, in their absence, the rental housing code compliance fee is intended to make up program cost deficiencies. The reliance of such a program on the city's general fund for its cost of operation shall be minimized to the greatest extent possible.

H. This chapter satisfies the city's legal obligations under the state housing law.

(Ord. 20-2003 §§ 2, 4; Ord. 21-2003 §§ 2, 4; Ord. 26-2007 § 3; Ord. 19-2012 § 1)

The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all new and existing buildings or portions thereof used, or designed or intended to be used, for human habitation. This chapter is not an exclusive regulation of housing within Rancho Cordova. It shall supplement, be accumulative with, and be in addition to any and all regulatory ordinances and state or federal law existing or hereafter enacted by the city, the state or federal government or any other legal entity that may have jurisdiction.

(SCC 0934 § 4, 1993; Ord. 20-2003 §§ 2, 4; Ord. 21-2003 §§ 2, 4)