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<br /> <br />termination of the local emergency, which is currently scheduled to occur on February 28, <br />2023; and <br />WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 2020-003 provides that, upon the expiration of the eviction <br />moratorium, tenants and mobile home owners have a maximum of 180 days to repay rent that <br />accumulated during the period of the eviction moratorium, but which has not yet been paid; <br />and <br />WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has persisted longer than the City Council anticipated when <br />it enacted Ordinance No. 2020-003, which contemplated that the Governor’s emergency <br />declaration and the local emergency declaration might end earlier than May 31, 2020; and <br />WHEREAS, in February 2020 the unemployment rate in Alameda County was 2.9%, but layoffs <br />due to COVID-19 caused the unemployment rate to rise to 14.1% in April 2020, the highest rate <br />since before World War II; and <br />WHEREAS, the unemployment rate in Alameda County remained above 8% for 6 months, and <br />did not drop below 5% for 18 months; and <br />WHEREAS, high unemployment was one of multiple factors that caused a substantial decrease <br />in the household income of many households in San Leandro, and this decrease in income <br />prevented these households from paying rent for an extended period of time; and <br />WHEREAS, because the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic lasted longer than originally <br />anticipated, the amount of rent that accumulated during the eviction moratorium is greater <br />than was anticipated when Ordinance No. 2020-003 was originally enacted; and <br />WHEREAS, requiring households to repay the entirety of the accumulated rent within a <br />maximum of 180 days will cause severe financial hardship; and <br />WHEREAS, this financial hardship is exacerbated by ongoing high levels of inflation, which make <br />purchasing necessary household goods like food, clothes, gasoline and medications <br />substantially more expensive for households; and <br />WHEREAS, the strain on household finances due to the necessity of repaying all accumulated <br />rent within a maximum of 180 days can cause stress and anxiety to those impacted, and can <br />cause families to skip meals, ration medications, and cease purchasing other goods and services <br />that are vital for maintaining their health and safety; and <br />WHEREAS, the City Council desires to extend the period for repayment of rent accumulated <br />during the eviction moratorium from a maximum of 180 days to one year; and <br />WHEREAS, the additional time for repayment will ease the financial hardship on families and <br />help prevent those households from having to take drastic action to make payments; and