Poway Adopts Law to Force Eviction of Tenants Who Deal or Use Drugs

Poway has become the first city in San Diego County, and perhaps in the nation, to pass legislation requiring landlords to evict drug users and dealers.

Poway City Atty. Stephen Eckis said Wednesday that the ordinance was patterned after Los Angeles statutes approved in April, “but we added users to the wording.”

Los Angeles calls for a $5,000 fine if landlords do not act within two weeks to start eviction proceedings against reported drug traffickers or users.

The Poway ordinance, which was passed unanimously by the City Council on Tuesday night and is up for final approval Sept. 12, specifies that a landlord may be charged with a misdemeanor for ignoring the city’s orders to evict the drug abusers.

Ted Kimball, attorney for the San Diego Apartment Owners Assn., said the Poway ordinance has the full approval of the landlord group and called it “a major step” toward formation of a private-public partnership to evict drug traffickers from rental housing.

The Poway ordinance establishes a “drug dealer removal program” that gives the city attorney power to require landlords to evict known drug users and dealers.

According to the ordinance, “A landlord shall not cause or permit any rental unit to be used or maintained for any drug-related use, illegal drug-dealing activity or drug-related nuisance,” including possession of a controlled substance for personal use.

Eckis said the main complaints he has heard about the ordinance is its possible preemption of a tenant’s civil rights.

“I don’t feel that we are breaking new ground,” Eckis said. “This law simply gives the landlords an out, a reason to evict tenants who are dealing in or using drugs, even if they are not causing a public nuisance.”

However, Eckis said, penalties in the proposed ordinance are directed at the landlords, who could face a sentence of up to one year in County Jail and as much as $1,000 in fines for ignoring city orders to oust a known drug dealer or user.

‘This May Be the Tool They Need’

“I admit I was surprised that the apartment owners were the driving force behind this legislation,” Eckis said. “Right now, it is difficult for them to get rid of ‘bad apples’ as tenants, and this may be the tool they need.”

Poway Councilman Jan Goldsmith, who proposed the legislation, said that currently drug dealers can be arrested, get out on bail and return to their rented quarters and continue their illegal activities.

Under the proposal, law enforcement personnel would inform Poway officials of a drug arrest and the city attorney would then notify the landlord to begin eviction proceedings.

Poway Councilman Bob Emery, though voting for the ordinance, said he had a few reservations about whether “a few nice people smoking dope” should be included in the ordinance, but he conceded that users “are part of the whole problem.”

Eckis said he does not expect many recreational drug users to be caught up in the enforcement net.

“This city is not a place to take on a major crusade. I’m just a part-time city attorney and don’t have a huge staff to use in investigations,” Eckis said.

He said he would not act to order an eviction without “a report, something in writing and not just some cop’s guess. There’s got to be solid evidence to proceed.”

The ordinance does not specify how serious the offense must be or at what stage the eviction process would begin.

Tenants would have their rights protected through the court-eviction process, he said.

Kimball said the San Diego Apartment Assn. and Board of Realtors had formed a countywide drug-abatement task force that included elected city and county officials to form a coordinated attack against drug dealers.

Goldsmith, a member of the task force, said he felt that the city has taken a lead in the drug war locally, showing the way to other communities.

“One thing we must be careful not to do is put the landlords in untenable positions,” Goldsmith said. “We want to create a situation of giving information to the rental owners on how their properties are being used and abused.”

At the final reading of the ordinance, Goldsmith expects further testimony on the proposal, “and we may wish to change some of the wording based on comments made.”

Joe Shilling, San Diego deputy city attorney involved in drug abatement, said that San Diego is proceeding against both owners and landlords in ousting drug dealers from their quarters, using state Health and Safety Code provisions, which allow the abatement of public nuisances.

The ‘Bawdyhouse Law’

The procedure is cumbersome, he said, but in recent months, about 30 drug houses have been shut down through negotiations with property owners without going to court.

Los Angeles’ ordinances carry a maximum $5,000 fine for landlords who do not act to evict drug traffickers within specified time limits. Artesia and Long Beach have also enacted statutes recently in an attempt to give landlords a tool to stop drug dealing in rental housing.

New York City Mayor Ed Koch recently announced that he would crack down on drug trafficking using a 19th-Century law to evict suspected drug dealers from rental units, with or without the cooperation of landlords.

The so-called “bawdyhouse law” gives city officials and neighbors the right to proceed against tenants engaged in “any illegal trade.”

California’s Legislature is considering a bill that would raise the maximum penalty against landlords refusing to act to evict drug traffickers from the present limit of $25,000 to a new maximum of $500,000.