WATCH: Riverside County Debates Coronavirus Restrictions

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Starting at 9:30 a.m., Riverside County supervisors Tuesday are debating several key issues that could have major impact on residents and businesses. Social distancing, face masks and a rent moratorium, among them. Watch live here.

Board of Supervisors Chairman V. Manuel Perez said he and Supervisor Karen Spiegel will jointly present a motion Tuesday to nullify the four active local health orders, signaling a potential end to restrictions that in some cases are more aggressive than those at the state level.

County orders still in effect include requiring face coverings be worn outside the home at all times — except for running, biking, hiking and walking — under penalty of misdemeanor charges and fines; banning short-term rentals except in the case of providing emergency shelter for vulnerable people; a limit on playing golf; school closures; and mandated social distancing.

If a majority of the board votes to rescind the local orders, the county will revert to alignment with only mandates issued by the state, which call on people to remain home as much as possible and allow only so-called "essential" businesses to remain open.

Perez initially argued the county has been long prepared for a surge in cases that never materialized, but on Monday Perez offered a more conciliatory message, pledging his support for continued social distancing and mandatory face covering."I feel that because of us being consistent on that message of social distancing, washing your hands, covering your face, only going out for necessities, I think that's the reason why we are in a better position today," Perez said.

Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, an emergency-room doctor, voiced caution on Monday to rescinding the remaining health orders in Riverside County too quickly.

"Removing precautions too early and without safeguards will only harm individuals and the economy in our community further," Ruiz wrote in a Facebook post. "We haven't yet hit our coronavirus peak, our Valley hospital COVID- 19 occupancy rates are going up again, and we don't have the safeguards like enough rapid testing, contact tracing, isolation systems, business and worker safety measures, or enforcement mechanisms in place to prevent or contain new flare ups."

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday he will relax some statewide restrictions this week, allowing more retail businesses to open but with operating restrictions, such as mandating only curbside pickup of goods.

Newsom said the relaxed order would allow shops such as book stores, florists, sporting goods stores and clothing stores to reopen, at least on a limited basis.

Newsom said as more businesses are allowed to open, officials will be monitoring for possible spikes in cases that might put pressure on hospitals.

There have been 56,251 people tested for the coronavirus in Riverside County.

The county is seeking to expand screening facilities, with new sites potentially opening in the San Gorgonio Pass and the San Jacinto Valley, joining sites in operation in Indio, Lake Elsinore, Perris and Riverside.

Rentals

Perez is also proposing criteria that the county might adopt to relieve renters from immediately meeting obligations to landlords when the statewide emergency comes to an end. Several cities in the region, including Palm Springs and Riverside, have put moratoriums in place.

"The loss of wages caused by the effects of COVID-19 impacts a tenant's ability to pay rent when due, leaving tenants vulnerable to eviction and homelessness," Perez stated in documents posted to the board's agenda. "Workers who experience a loss of income as a result of illness, layoffs, reduced hours, or the need to care for a sick or otherwise dependent family member are more likely to be unable to stay current on rent payments."

The chairman expressed concern that displaced tenants will further saddle the county with people in need of subsidized housing. He noted that the county's Housing Authority is already loaded with a waiting list of 90,000 applicants for housing assistance.

"More than 800 families currently have a voucher and are unable to find a landlord who will take it," he said.

Newsom issued two executive orders in March establishing limits on how evictions can be carried out amid the coronavirus state of emergency, but the orders left unaddressed how some procedures should be handled, leaving counties and municipalities with the discretion to set rules.

In a March 16 order, the governor directed that if a tenant's failure to pay rent is due to a substantial loss of income directly related to illness or the government's mitigation measures -- specifically, Newsom's stay-at-home order -- then evictions cannot proceed until at least May 31, when the executive order expires. However, lessees must show documentation proving their need.

The governor's action coincided with a Riverside County Superior Court administrative order on March 16 declaring that all unlawful detainer hearings -- eviction proceedings -- would be postponed 60 days.

Newsom followed up with an order on March 27 extending a tenant's time to respond to an eviction lawsuit from five to 65 days. However, certain conditions apply, including documentation indicating that the reason for failing to pay rent stemmed being sick, out of work because of the emergency or taking care of a child unable to attend school because it was shut down under a local emergency order.

That executive order expires on May 31, as well, and it makes no provision for how and when a tenant is obligated to pay overdue rent.

The California Judicial Council implemented procedures that further relax eviction requirements imposed on renters in default, banning automatic judgments against them because they fail to appear in court to defend against a landlord's suit during the statewide emergency.

Similar protections are available to homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief & Economic Security -- CARES -- Act signed into law by President Donald Trump in late March prohibits foreclosure proceedings on any federally backed mortgages until May 18, and borrowers can seek forbearance for up to 12 months.

Perez is seeking the board's agreement to begin drafting a county moratorium that would incorporate some or all of the following criteria:
-- establishing a timeline for when tenants are expected to pay part or all of their rent after the governor's emergency orders expire;
-- providing guidelines for the potential payment of back-due rent over time;
-- setting guidelines for when or whether a landlord is eligible to seek interest or late fees on overdue rent; and
-- specifying potential limits on no-fault evictions -- when a tenant is current on rent, but the property owner still wants him out -- during and immediately after the virus crisis.

Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, a property owner who has disqualified himself from board actions because of potential conflicts, expressed concern about a prospective moratorium when the matter was first broached over a month ago.

Meeting Schedule

Supervisors Tuesday will also consider returning their meeting schedule to normal, dropping planned suspensions that were put in place based over coronavirus mitigation concerns.

On March 17, the Board of Supervisors added four so-called "dark days" to the schedule -- March 24 and 31, as well as April 28 and May 12 -- believing then that the farther meetings were spaced apart, the greater the public health benefits.

However, the Executive Office is seeking to cancel the May 12 dark day with a resumption of business and also have the board in session on June 2, which had originally been scheduled as a day without any board activity.

The supervisors still would not be in session on May 26, the day after the Memorial Day holiday, which is traditional.

In a statement posted to the board agenda, the Executive Office said "pressing matters" behoove a return to regular business. Hearings to iron out details in the 2020-21 fiscal year budget are typically held throughout June.

The board is additionally slated Tuesday to abrogate some or all emergency health orders that county Public Health Officer Cameron Kaiser re- implemented last week.

Perez has noted that coronavirus infection data show the pathogen waning, while there is a need to make the county "workforce- ready" as Newsom begins undoing COVID-19-related mandates, which is expected to begin this week.

If the board approves the second revised meeting schedule, the remaining dark days for the year would fall on the following dates:
-- July 21 and 28;
-- Aug. 11 and 18;
-- Sept. 8;
-- Oct. 13;
-- Nov. 24;
-- Dec. 1, 22 and 29.

The board retains authority to amend the schedule as and when it desires.

—City News Service contributed to this report.