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Rent control exemption for new construction (Ord. 26-089)

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and details may be misheard.

  • What: Ordinance 26-089 changing the rent control exemption for newly built multiple dwellings, so the exemption in redevelopment areas lasts 30 years as under state law rather than forever.
  • Where it stands: not introduced Oct 21; sponsors pulled it after requests for more time and plan to resubmit for the Nov 12 meeting.
  • Sponsors: Ephros and Little.

Caucus discussion (October 19)

  • The state exempts new construction for 30 years; local law currently exempts redevelopment-area buildings indefinitely. The change would apply going forward only, not retroactively.
  • The administration was still reviewing; the law department memo was promised the next day. Members asked about the effect on development, affordable-unit tenants after deed restrictions end, and investors who bought recently.
  • The sponsors cited a pro-housing advocate's concerns (purchase date vs construction date for the 30 years; a small future tax revenue effect) and an economist's view that new construction would not be much affected.
  • Zuppa asked about Journal Square redevelopment plan buildings and for numbers from the administration; Lavarro asked whether landlords must renew leases of affordable tenants after 30 years.

Council meeting (October 21)

  • Pulled before introduction. The sponsors, Ephros and Little, did not move to add the ordinance (late item 3.4) to the agenda after colleagues and city departments asked for more time. Ephros said it will be resubmitted for introduction on November 12; Little said they would use the weeks to work with departments and colleagues. No vote was taken.
  • Public comment was dominated by it: about 35 speakers, most of them Newport tenants (including seniors and long-term residents of the moderate-income units) and tenants of other towers. They described the moderate-income program ending, a one-year courtesy renewal quoted at a 3.5% increase, and fear of market-rate rents more than double what they pay. All urged introduction on November 12 and adoption before year-end; three regular meetings remain this year.
  • Arguments for: a speaker said state law already gives new rental buildings up to 30 years of exemption (the length of the first mortgage), while the city exemption for redevelopment areas has no end date; others noted a 2019 council vote (reported as 0-9) to keep end dates in 54 redevelopment plans, a 2019 ordinance (19-128) to repeal the exemption that was tabled in January 2020, and a speaker's claim that a December 2023 ordinance (23-124) removed the Newport plan's 40-year limit. These historical claims come from public speakers and were not verified.
  • Process argument: tenants' representatives said the council's own June rule makes timely submission, not administrative approval, the test for reaching the agenda, and that separation of powers argues against letting the administration gate a council ordinance. The council's late-item practice was described at the start of the meeting as requiring review by the business administrator and law department.
  • Arguments against: a few speakers said the ordinance was rushed, had no cost study, and could cost the city about 30 million dollars a year in lost property tax revenue (rough resident estimates), and urged reviving a targeted tax-pilot deal that would preserve the affordable units. A councilmember corrected a speaker, saying it was the previous council, not this one, that voted down the earlier pilot ordinance.
  • Council response (2:42:28-2:49:19): a councilmember, apparently Lavarro, said he voted to introduce the 2019 ordinance but was absent for the January 2020 tabling vote, and that he would have voted against adding 26-089 as a late item but would vote to introduce it if it is properly on the agenda. He said the rule he authored releases agendas about a week before the meeting for transparency. Ephros said the administration told the sponsors the exemption lasts only as long as the redevelopment area remains in effect.
  • One speaker also proposed ending redevelopment benefits for new waterfront buildings and subjecting buildings to rent control 30 years after their certificates of occupancy.

Sources

Discussion time

About 112 minutes across 2 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting Minutes
2026-10-21 - Municipal Council 93
2026-10-19 - Municipal Caucus 19

Log

  • 2026-11-12 - Municipal Council - Agenda lists Ordinance 26-089 for first reading (item 3.1); outcome not yet recorded.
  • 2026-10-21 - Municipal Council - Pulled by its sponsors before introduction; about 35 public speakers, mostly Newport tenants, urged introduction on Nov 12.
  • 2026-10-19 - Municipal Caucus - Caucus: sponsors explained the change; administration and several members asked for more analysis before the vote.
  • 2026-10-22 - Page created from a posted agenda; no meeting transcript processed yet.