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Honorable Mayor and City Council Persons City of Santa Ana Hearing: October 4, 2022; Item: 25 September 30, 2022 Page 4 of 11 governmentally imposed fees, fees for guests or additional services, which charges should not be included in the definition of rent. The costs of utilities are already governed by the California Public Utilities Commission, pursuant to its tariffs and ratemaking under the Public Utilities Act, Cal. Pub. Util. Code § 201 et seq. In particular, Cal. Pub. Util. Code § 739.5 already requires that landlords submeter tenants at the same rate that the regulated public utilities would charge for residential service if it were providing the services directly. By mixing these rates into the calculation of acceptable rates, the City will either (a) deprive landlords of the regulated rates they are entitled under the authority of the California Public Utilities Commission per Cal. Pub. Util. Code § 739.5, or (b) violate the rights of tenants concerning ratentaking of utilities, by approving rent increases that pertain to regulated utility rates. Accordingly sub -billed utilities should be excluded fi•oni the definition based on the exclusive jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission to set utility rates for master-nieter sub -meter tenants. Accordingly: a. Sub -billed (sub -metered) utilities should be excluded from the definition of rent based on the exclusive jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Convnission to set utility rates for master -meter sub -meter tenants; and b. Mobilehome Residency Law is preemptive of the City's ordinance and as such the sentence should be rephrased to remove the concept of the Mobilehome Residency Law being incorporated into the definition of rent, but rather the Mobilehome Residency Law shall govern the charges of incidental service charges in a mobilehome park. Propose modify the final sentence to read as follows (in pertinent part): "... any regulations of rent, fees, and costs included within the Mobilehome Residency Law, Civil Code section 798 et seq., shall be control such charges as relating to Mobilehomes and Mobilehome Spaces, as applicable, including without limitation the exclusion off the costs of utility services, including utility service fees, originally charged to the owner from a third party utility provider that is passed through to the tenants; any voter approved bonds charged and billed through the real properoJ tax bills including those for Elementary School, High School, and Community College; health care district, metro water- district; fixed charge assessments for emergency ambulance, fire district, paramedic fees, fire and EMS specific taxes, mosquito and vector disease control and water standby and availability charges; any fees or charge imposed by the State in connection with the operation of the a niobilehoine park such as, without limitations, fees charged by the State in connection with the annual permits to operate the Community or for the Mobilehome Residency Late Protection Program; all governmentally -mandated fees and charges required or permitted to be passed through to a tenant; fees and expenses relating to goveriinientally-niaiidated projects; and incidental service charges that may be placed upon a mobilehome space pursuant to Civil Code section 798 et seq.; andfees for additional storage, guest fees, late fees. " Kingsley — 426 Santa Ana Ordinances