(a) The Board of Supervisors finds and declares as follows:
(1) That participation by owners of rental dwelling units and participation by their on-site or off-site managers in the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program, as sponsored by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, substantially reduces the risk of substandard and unsanitary conditions that render residential buildings and dwelling units unfit or unsafe for human occupancy and habitation, and jeopardize the health, safety and welfare of their occupants and of the public.
(2) That the training provided to owners and managers through the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program covers the eviction process, the Crime Free Lease Addendum (whereby criminal activity committed by renters; other members of their household; and their guests on the rented premises constitute a material breach of the rental agreement and, therefore, an independent basis for eviction), fair tenant screening procedures, the legal rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords, improving working relationship with law enforcement, and reducing the property's suitability for criminal conduct by identifying the physical or environmental features that invite criminal activity (e.g., inadequate lighting, lack of fencing, fencing that reduces or impairs visibility; overabundance of vegetation that creates hiding spaces or concealed routes of access to or escape from the property).
(3) That participation by owners of rental dwelling units and participation by their on-site or off-site managers in a Crime Free Multi-Housing Program substantially reduces the likelihood of such properties becoming blighted or promoting an environment conducive to criminal and nuisance activity, and actually reduces the occurrence of crime and calls for service. As a result, there is an improvement in the quality of life for the tenants of such properties, their neighborhoods, and the community as a whole.
(b) For these reasons it is hereby declared to be the policy of the County of San Bernardino:
(1) That it is in the public interest of the people of the County of San Bernardino to encourage owners of rental dwelling units, as well as their managers, to participate and continue to participate in the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program, as sponsored by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department; and
(2) That it is appropriate to encourage participation in the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program by waiving the application fee for the rental dwelling license required of owners of rental dwelling units under Chapter 25 of this Division, in that the waiver of the fee serves the public purposes described herein.
(Ord. 4044, passed - -2008)