Merced town hall: council advances anti‑slumlord ordinance draft after residents press for tenant protections

Residents at Merced’s first 2026 town hall pressed the City Council to treat housing as public safety, describing unsafe rental conditions and calling for legal help for tenants. Council members and staff said a draft ordinance and additional enforcement steps are in progress and pledged follow-up work.

Latana Rashard, speaking during public comment, framed the evening’s message: “Housing is public safety,” she said, and criticized what she described as an imbalance in the city budget that favors policing over housing. Rashard described a personal habitability case she said left her in “a unit that was filled with rodent droppings, mold, and cat urine,” and urged the council to adopt an anti‑slumlord ordinance, create a housing‑quality database and levy fees on repeat bad actors to fund non‑police code enforcement.

The council’s response centered on two immediate steps: completing a local ordinance draft and improving avenues for tenant support. Councilmember Shane Smith said the city attorney had sent him a draft for review and that he planned to return comments “by Monday,” and proposed a workshop and stakeholder focus group to shape an ordinance before it is brought to the full council. City attorney Cornwell told attendees staff has prepared a framework that addresses penalties for repeat offenders, tenant relocation protections and safeguards against retaliation; he said state Attorney General staff have also been asked to review the drafts.

Code‑enforcement capacity was an explicit follow‑up topic. Police Chief Stanfield described the current unit as “understaffed and overwhelmed,” noting it recently increased from four to five staff and that the office uses a top‑10/20 case list to triage the highest‑priority properties. “We’re trying to add more staff,” he said, and described recent coordination with the state attorney general’s office on enforcement strategies.

Advocates asked the council for legal resources for tenants. Ashley Marie of Leadership Council cited Judicial Council of California figures she said showed “over 800 filings for unlawful detainers were filed in Merced County in 2025 with over 600 dispositions,” and urged the city to help create an eviction‑protection program offering free legal assistance. Council members said a city‑funded right to counsel would be costly and likely infeasible locally, but pledged to convene local attorneys, pro bono networks and community partners to expand triage and low‑cost legal help.

City staff and council also noted parallel housing work: staff outlined multiple affordable‑housing projects under development and said the city has been successful at leveraging state and federal grants (including Homekey awards) to fund hundreds of units across Merced. That pipeline, officials said, does not replace the need to enforce habitability and prevent displacement.

Next steps: city attorney Cornwell will continue refining the ordinance draft (staff said outside reviewers are providing feedback), the council signaled interest in a workshop or focus group to capture tenant and landlord input, and staff committed to exploring ways to expand tenant legal assistance through partnerships and pro bono coordination. The city said specific ordinance language and a public hearing schedule will follow the draft review and stakeholder work.

Quotes in this article are taken verbatim from public comment and council/staff remarks recorded at the town hall.