OCEANSIDE — The Oceanside City Council on April 15 approved limited tenant protections following hours of emotional public testimony and debate over a broader proposal introduced earlier this month.
Deputy Mayor Eric Joyce and Councilmember Jimmy Figueroa proposed a series of tenant protections on April 9, aiming to go beyond existing state laws that limit rent hikes and require valid reasons for eviction after a tenant’s first year in a unit.
“Neighborhoods that I represent like Crown Heights are being systematically dismantled for their wealth extraction,” Joyce said during the meeting. “When talking to families of District 1, I couldn’t step one foot without talking to someone who had been evicted for remodels, raised rents, or a landlord’s family member had moved in – and a lot of times they later find out that a family member didn’t move in, but how would they go back and prosecute that? They’ve already moved. We have to make it work. If we fail to act, we will absolutely lose the economic and racial diversity which is so core to our values.”
While the original proposal called for a sweeping set of tenant protections, the council only approved a few measures, including requiring landlords to provide one month’s rent for relocation in cases of “no fault” evictions. The council also directed staff to explore a rent stabilization clause that would apply only to older, corporate-owned apartment buildings.
The vote was 3-2, with Mayor Esther Sanchez and Councilmember Rick Robinson opposed.
The council unanimously approved a separate measure requiring new manufactured home residents to receive written notice of their rent control protections, with a signed receipt on file.
Other proposals failed to gain support, including a preservation ordinance modeled after San Diego’s policy that would have required stricter notice and protections for tenants. That motion failed 2-3, with Sanchez, Robinson, and Councilmember Peter Weiss voting against it.
Joyce and Figueroa had also proposed other tenant-friendly policies, such as immediate “no fault” protections for all renters, a local “right to return” clause, stricter definitions of substantial remodels to prevent misuse of eviction laws, and a plan to expand access to legal services. Those provisions were either rejected or tabled for future consideration.
More than 60 people spoke during the public comment period, sharing personal stories and opinions for and against the proposed ordinance.
“These policies aren’t about creating obstacles, they’re about creating breathing room,” said Lanae Branch, a junior at Oceanside High School. “Every young person deserves to grow up with a sense of stability, not fear of losing the place they call home.”
Inez Williams, chair of the Oceanside Housing Commission, expressed frustration that the commission’s recommendations from last year never made it to the council.
“We’re asking the council to listen to your commissioners. We did the research back in June to bring this before you,” Williams said, adding that the commission opposed allowing rent increases as high as 10% under state law.
Critics of the ordinance, including council members and representatives of the rental industry, argued that the changes could harm small-scale landlords and worsen the city’s housing crisis.
“The longterm solution isn’t more regulation on the people providing housing, it’s building more of it,” said Taylor Thompson, director of governmental affairs with the North San Diego County Association of Realtors. “We need more housing of all types for all income levels.”
Thompson emphasized that most rental units in Oceanside are owned by retirees and veterans who rely on rental income and may struggle to absorb additional financial burdens.
Robinson said the proposal was premature and lacked a full understanding of the city’s rental housing challenges.
“This isn’t going to help the ones who were worried about getting evicted tomorrow,” Robinson said. “We don’t know what the full problem is… if we’re going to do anything, we need to ask staff to help identify the problem, and then fix that.”
Sanchez echoed concerns about unintended consequences and said the city needed to prioritize issues such as homelessness and gather more community input.
She warned against the displacement of Latino communities, drawing comparisons to what she described as a loss of cultural neighborhoods in cities like San Francisco.
“I want to make sure we do this right,” Sanchez said. “We have a responsibility to protect all of our residents, but we also need to think long term and holistically.”
