Palacio De Anza v. Palm Springs Rent Review Commission

Opinion

CAMPBELL, P. J.

This case involves a dispute between the landlords of a Palm Springs apartment complex (Palacio) and the Palm Springs Rent Review Commission (Commission) concerning the proper application of Palm Springs’ initiative rent-control provisions to the rents to be charged at

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that apartment complex. The real parties in interest are the tenants of the apartment complex (Tenants).

Palacio appeals from a judgment of the trial court denying Palacio’s petition for a writ of mandate to compel the Commission to grant Palacio a hardship rent increase.

Facts

On April 8, 1980, the citizens of the City of Palm Springs adopted an initiative rent-control ordinance (Initiative Ordinance). In general terms, this Initiative Ordinance: (1) limited rent increases to rates of no more than three-fourths of the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over any period of time in question; (2) prohibited rent increases from being imposed more frequently than once a year; (3) did not contain a “hardship increase” provision for landlords other than a provision which declared the ordinance to be nonapplicable to those rental properties as to which the initiative ordinance would operate in a “confiscatory” manner; and (4) required that a determination as to whether such a confiscatory impact had occurred in any one particular case be made by the courts. The Initiative Ordinance also permitted the City Council of Palm Springs to “supplement” the Initiative Ordinance “so long as Palm Springs in no way diminishes any protection which this ordinance affords to tenants.” (Initiative Ordinance, § 10.)

On October 1, 1980, the Palm Springs City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1117. This ordinance apparently was adopted to forestall a constitutional challenge to the initiative rent-control ordinance. Ordinance No. 1117 supplemented the Initiative Ordinance by creating a Rent Review Commission (Commission) and providing for hardship increases in rents over and above those allowed by the Initiative Ordinance in certain limited circumstances.

On November 18, 1983, the Commission conveyed a written recommendation to the city council that the city council adopt “Guidelines For Hardship Rent Increases” (Guidelines). The Guidelines set forth a very specific format and procedure for evaluating landlord applications for hardship rent increases. In accordance with the Commission’s recommendation, the city council adopted the Guidelines by resolution on December 7, 1983.