After resoundingly rejecting rent control and just-cause eviction proposals in October 2017, the city of Palo Alto early Tuesday morning adopted a relocation-assistance emergency ordinance for no-fault evictions.

Since the ordinance was adopted as an emergency, it took effect immediately following the City Council’s vote. The new law only applies to rental properties with 50 or more units.

Under the new law, affected property owners can continue to remove tenants without cause. However, a relocation payment to the household of up to $20,000 will be required if the household makes up to 100 percent of the area median income, or AMI.

The City Council, at the direction of Councilman Greg Scharff with the support of Mayor Liz Kniss, approved this “means testing” provision. The current AMI in Santa Clara County is approximately $113,300 for a family of four.

Although the emergency ordinance is set to expire in 45 days, the City Council passed a companion ordinance that will …

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