The Eureka City Council will hold a special meeting next week to consider extending the city’s evictions moratorium, which prevents landlords from kicking out tenants who cannot pay their rent due the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March, the council adopted an evictions moratorium ordinance, which expired on May 31. A statewide evictions moratorium also lapsed at the end of May and Gov. Gavin Newsom authorized local jurisdictions to extend evictions protections until July 28.

The City of Eureka’s ordinance protects both residential and commercial tenants who have lost wages for reasons relating to the pandemic, defers all late fees on the rent and allows tenants 180 days after the ordinance expires to pay the past-due amount.

During the council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, there was some disagreement on whether or not the council should hold a special meeting for this item. Mayor Susan Seaman was concerned about people having time to respond to this important issue.

“While I understand the urgency for wanting to get this done, I want to be mindful that this is an issue that affects a lot of people, not just renters,” Seaman said.

The Eureka City Council will discuss this issue at a special meeting on Monday, June 8 at 4:00 p.m. And, as the council continues to meet via the zoom platform,  you too can participate in a socially distant fashion.

To view the meeting live, visit the City of Eureka’s website at this link.

If you would like to speak on the issue during the meeting, you can either email cityclerk@ci.eureka.gov or call 707-441-4175 and leave a message with your name and phone number and the item you would like to comment on. The city clerk will call you during the public comment period of the meeting.

If you would like to submit a comment for the public record, but do not wish to have it read during the meeting, you can email your comment or call and leave it in a voicemail by 3:00 p.m on Monday, June 8.

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