This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Condominium Conversion Law of the city of West Sacramento."
(County code § 8-6.101)
The major objectives of this chapter are to secure the public health, safety and welfare by regulating condominium conversions so as to minimize the reduction of housing units in the low-to-moderate income rental housing market while increasing the availability of affordable owner occupied housing in a reasonable balance, which may be accomplished by appropriate conversions; to provide assistance to rental tenants dislocated thereby and to secure for such tenants all rights provided by the laws of the state; and to protect the rights and assist in securing the reasonable expectations of the purchasers of converted condominium units.
To meet such objectives, this chapter incorporates the following goals:
A. 
To provide a reasonable balance of adequate rental and ownership housing within the principal urban communities within the corporate limits of the city;
B. 
To provide mitigation measures to alleviate problems of rental tenants impacted by condominium conversions;
C. 
To provide adequate administrative measures for the protection of the property rights of prospective condominium purchasers;
D. 
To ensure that rental units being converted meet the reasonable development standards required by this chapter and all other applicable provisions of federal and state laws and regulations and this code;
E. 
To promote the residential stability and diversity of the community by encouraging neighborhood maintenance, preventing major displacements of people and facilitating inhabitant ownership of residential dwelling units;
F. 
To provide standards for the conversion of rental units into condominium units;
G. 
To provide information to both existing tenants and prospective buyers on the physical adequacy of the building to be converted;
H. 
To assure that the "protected tenant" receives additional incentives as specified in this chapter, and
I. 
To provide notice of all rights required by the Subdivision Map Act of the state and this chapter.
(County code § 8-6. 102)
This chapter is enacted pursuant to the following authority:
A. 
The State Planning Law which authorizes and requires counties to enact general plans and the housing element thereof and requires a program to implement the housing element, especially subsection C of Section 65302 and Section 65583 of the Government Code of the state;
B. 
The Subdivision Map Act of the state which authorizes counties to regulate the design and improvement of condominiums and to provide for notice and rights to the tenants of proposed conversions, particularly Sections 66426, 66427, 66427.1, 66452.8 and 66452.9 of the Government Code of the state. The city council declares that the housing element of the general plan includes definite objectives and policies specifically directed to condominium conversions within the meaning of Section 66427.2 of the Government Code and that Sections 66473.5 and 66424 of the Government Code apply thereto; and
C. 
The police powers vested in the city by Section 7 of Article XI of the Constitution of the state.
(County code § 8-6.103)
This chapter applies only to condominium conversions as defined in Section 16.64.050. This chapter is intended to be, and shall be construed as being, supplementary to, and not in conflict or duplication with, the requirements of federal and state laws and regulations regarding condominium conversions.
(County code § 8-6.301)
A. 
Generally. For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as set forth in this section.
B. 
Definitions.
"Affected community area"
means a geographical area which lies within a four-mile radius of the proposed condominium conversion project.
"Comparable housing"
means housing found by the planning commission to be:
1. 
Decent, safe, sanitary and in compliance with all local and state housing codes;
2. 
Open to persons regardless of race, creed, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status or sex;
3. 
Provided with facilities equivalent to that provided by the landlord in the dwelling unit in which the tenant then resides in regard to each of the following:
a. 
The apartment size, including the number of rooms,
b. 
The rent or lease range,
c. 
The major kitchen and bathroom facilities,
d. 
The special facilities necessary for handicapped or infirmed persons, including access, and
e. 
Provisions for minor children and pets;
4. 
Located in an area materially not less desirable than the area in which the tenant then resides in regard to each or the following:
a. 
Accessibility to the tenant's place of employment, and
b. 
Accessibility to community and commercial facilities; and
5. 
Adequate in terms of numbers of units to provide for displaced tenants.
"Condominium conversion"
means the development of real property previously devoted to residential use by creating a "condominium," as defined by Section 783 of the Civil Code of the state, a "stock cooperative," as defined by Section 11003.2 of the Business and Professions Code of the state, and/or a "community apartment project," as defined by Section 11004 of the Business and Professions Code of the state.
"Director"
means the director of the community development department or his or her designate.
"Disabled household"
shall mean a household in which the head of the household is "disabled," as defined by Section 223 of the United States Social Security Act, or "handicapped," as defined by Section 50072 of the Health and Safety Code of the state.
"Elderly household"
means a household in which the head of the household is sixty-two years of age or older at the time of an application for a conversion as specified in this chapter.
"Low income household"
means a household which has a total income from all sources not greater than eighty percent of the median income level for the Sacramento Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMASH). "Moderate income household" means a household which has a total income from all sources not less than eighty percent nor greater than one hundred twenty percent of the median income level for the Sacramento SMASH. Low and moderate household income shall be adjusted based on family size and based on a median income as defined in the most recent income limits established for the Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments program by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"Protected tenant"
means any household which is a low income, elderly, single or disabled household as defined in this section.
"Single head of household"
means a household in which the head of the household is unmarried or separated and has one or more children under the age of eighteen living within the unit.
"Tenant"
means the person or persons most recently approved by the owner/manager to occupy the unit.
C. 
Additional terms and phrases used in this chapter are defined in Chapter 17.04 of this code.
(County code § 8-6.201—8-6.212)