Worcester eviction moratorium standoff: Councilor says crisis deserves deeper conversation

WORCESTER — For the second straight week, an order from District 5 City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj got tangled up in procedure.

Last week, she asked the city manager to consider instituting a local moratorium on evictions and foreclosures in light of the surge in COVID-19 cases due to the omicron variant.

Her item brought out both landlords and housing advocates who came down on different sides of the issue. Several landlords said a moratorium would have a negative impact on landlords and said they rely on rent from tenants to maintain their properties and pay their bills.

More: Raymond V. Mariano: Rental assistance not eviction moratorium right solution for Worcester

Housing advocates said the moratorium would give tenants breathing room and would keep a roof over their heads as they sought services and assistance if they had fallen behind on rent.

Ultimately, some councilors had concerns about the legality of a moratorium in light of court challenges in other communities and Haxhiaj's order was held for a week.

Tuesday night, Haxhiaj sought to amend her original order to continue a longer-term conversation about how to protect residents from evictions. She said last week's meeting turned the discussion into an "us versus them" of landlords and tenants — none of it was helpful.

She said the discussion was about one mechanism the city could use to protect residents. The city is still in the midst of a public health emergency, Haxhiaj said.

She said City Solicitor Michael Traynor's legal opinion that the city had no authority to enact a local eviction moratorium doesn't prevent the council from having a broader discussion about looking at the root causes of evictions.

She said the search for solutions should not be limited to looking for more rent assistance and distribution, but should take a look at why people cannot afford rising rents in Worcester — why market-rate housing is not affordable, even for people with emergency housing vouchers.

She said Traynor's legal opinion does not address why the city is seeing a rise in no-cause evictions or why systemic policies are having an impact on access to housing.

Mayor Joseph M. Petty said he supported Haxhiaj's effort to have a broader conversation, but said it was distinct enough from her order last week that it constituted a new order and would be considered "under suspension," which means it was not posted to the agenda.

District 3 Councilor George Russell held Haxhiaj's new order; he said the requirements of the state Open Meeting Law and council protocol requires that the new order be posted and that the public be given opportunity to speak on it before it is sent to subcommittee.

At-large Councilor Khrystian King said it wouldn't make a difference if the item was held or if it was under suspension — it would be placed on next week's agenda. He said he has received calls and emails from people for and against a potential moratorium, but said he looks forward to having a deeper discussion of the issues on the Economic Development Committee.

District 1 Councilor Sean Rose said he understood Russell's hold, but looked forward to receiving the order in Economic Development, the committee he now chairs. He said there is a sense of urgency from both landlords and tenants.

At-large Councilor Donna Colorio said that since last week's meeting, she has heard from several different sources about the actual number of people going through eviction in the city. She said that as the discussion continues, it would be helpful if the city administration prepares a report on how evictions have trended over the past five years.

"Are we at an astronomical level, or are we at the same level as two years ago?" Colorio said.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester eviction moratorium city councilor says crisis deserves look