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“Every day we sit on our hands and pretend like there’s nothing we can do, is one day that one more person joins our homeless population.” -Mayor Alysson SnowBy Armando Rasing II
Photo by Armando Rasing II: The Lemon Grove City Council listening to a local resident during public comment on Tuesday night
February 9, 2026 (Lemon Grove) - The Lemon Grove City Council voted 4-1 last Tuesday to approve an emergency ordinance to help assist no-fault evicted tenants.
Tenants that were given no-fault evictions will be given 120 days to move out regardless of income, provided relocation assistance in the amount of one month of actual rent at fair market value, and if the tenant is over the age of 60, disabled or low-income - they will receive two months of fair market value rent for relocation assistance.
“I know how urgent this issue is,” said Mayor Alysson Snow. “And every day we sit on our hands and pretend like there’s nothing we can do, is one day that one more person joins our homeless population.”
Photo, left, by Armando Rasing II: Mayor Alysson Snow Almost 20 volunteers spoke in front of the council, with a majority of them being tenants that were in favor of the ordinance. Several Lemon Grove residents, particularly those living in the Serra Grove apartment complex, spoke about being evicted by new landlords for “substantial renovations” and their experiences with paying rent.
“The substantial remodeling - we were given a 16-day notice for that,” said local resident Judy Tachiquin. “I found our apartment listed for March 11 to be available for double [what] we are paying right now. So if it’s a substantial remodel, how are they supposed to do that in two days?”
Carla England, who has lived in Lemon Grove for almost 30 years, said that her two-bedroom apartment is too expensive. She acknowledged that she lives by herself, but that the one-bedroom apartments in her complex go for over $2,400 a month.
“We have to have a stable residence to afford to live here,” England said. “[Rent] is going up everywhere.”
England’s daughter spoke alongside her mother and said the Serra Grove property owners who are serving these eviction notices are trying to replace those that live there.
“You can’t claim to care about the community and then take actions that will displace them and render them homeless - to not provide relocation assistance to double the rent and not guarantee a space for the current tenants to return,” said England’s daughter. “This is gentrification, and this is not fair or moral.”
There was one speaker, local homeowner Darrel Exline, who spoke against the ordinance. He said that the new ordinance will “discourage property investment and improvement” in Lemon Grove.
“Apartments in Lemon Grove are not public housing,” Exline said. “They are private investments that only exist if they can be maintained and improved. When no lease is in place and proper notice is given, tenants should be expected to plan ahead for their own housing needs. 60 days was more than enough notice.”
The ordinance does not apply to tenants who have already received eviction notices. It came into effect last Tuesday and will last for 180 days. After the 180 days, the council can decide to ask for an extension if a more permanent solution has not been agreed upon.
How the ordinance came about
In January, the ordinance was introduced following complaints from tenants at the Serra Grove apartment complex.
Prior to the approval of the emergency ordinance at Tuesday’s meeting, there was an initial urgency ordinance that was rejected by the city council 2-3 earlier in the meeting. Mayor Snow and Councilmember Jennifer Mendoza voted yes. Mayor Pro Tem Jessyka Heredia and Councilmembers Seth Smith and Yadira Altamirano voted no.
Councilmember Smith said the city council only had two weeks to make a decision, while cities like Imperial Beach, San Diego and Chula Vista had a year to discuss the topic.
“I don’t think that we’re [going to] be able to help you [at] this moment,” Heredia said, in response to the initial ordinance. “Only because we didn’t have enough time. We didn’t have enough dialogue.”
Snow spoke for approximately 20 minutes, emphasizing the urgency and importance for the original ordinance to be approved.
“We have an opportunity to make protections available, to keep people housed before they fall into homelessness,” Snow said. “And we do not have the financial resources to keep getting $8.4 million to help people, but if we had just passed this ordinance, we wouldn’t have to [rely on grants] for these people.
The initial ordinance would have doubled relocation payments, which are payments that landlords have to pay to no-fault evicted tenants to help assist them with moving expenses. It also mandated that more than 75% of an apartment unit has to be remodeled for an eviction notice to be served.
“None of this will stop renovations from happening,” Snow said. “It just stops people [from] being evicted because of renovation.”
Photo, left, by Armando Rasing II: Mayor Alysson Snow reacts to the initial ordinance being rejectedFollowing the 2-3 vote to reject the initial ordinance, Snow motioned for the emergency ordinance. Four of the City Council members voted yes, with Councilmember Altamirano casting the lone dissenting vote. The City Council agreed to have public workshops to answer questions from the public and get their opinions on what they would want from a long-term ordinance.
The Council also agreed to have a closed session at their next meeting on whether they should file litigation against property owners against property owners that are not following substantial renovation rules.
The next City Council meeting will be held on Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. at the Lemon Grove Community Center.
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