PRESS RELEASE

City of Woodland

300 First Street

COVID-19 - Continue to Stay the Course

April 15, 2020 - The City of Woodland continues to closely monitor the impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and provide information to assist residents and businesses to respond to the emergency as it evolves. 

Coronavirus in Woodland and Yolo County: The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Woodland is 43 (as of 5 pm on April 14, 2020). Stay up to date by visiting the Yolo County Novel Coronavirus website. 

City Council Update: On Tuesday, April 14, the City Council held a special meeting with topics on the agenda related to COVID-19. The meeting started with an update from Yolo County Public Health Officer, Dr. Ron Chapman, on the status of COVID-19 in Yolo County and Woodland. He praised the residents of Woodland for following the social distancing guidelines and stressed the importance of continuing to practice social distancing and other measures to minimize the transmission of COVID-19. "These are incredibly difficult times. The Covid-19 virus continues to spread through our communities. The huge sacrifices that people have made are working to reduce the number of sick people and keep our healthcare system from being overwhelmed. We must stay the course. Thank you to all our residents for their amazing efforts to continue to stay home and practice social distancing." Dr. Ron Chapman, Yolo County Public Health Officer.

The Council also took action on participating in Yolo COVID-19 Non-Profit Relief Initiative and an item related to rent payment for commercial property tenants.

Non-Profit Organization Assistance: The City Council also approved the City’s participation in the Yolo COVID-19 Non-Profit Relief Initiative. This Initiative is being developed to respond to short-and long-term needs of non-profits within Yolo County as a result of COVID-19. The Initiative includes a three-pronged approach that Yolo County and the Yolo Community Foundation developed in coordination with the City, City of Davis, City of West Sacramento, and the City of Winters. The approach includes:

1) community engagement in a county-wide donor education campaign encouraging donations to local non-profits; 

2) technical assistance (applying for grants, managing cash flow, etc.) for local non-profit organizations, and 

3) developing a COVID-19 Relief Fund to grant monies to local non-profits needing assistance or to fill gaps in services, such as childcare for first responders/healthcare workers impacted by COVID-19. 

In addition to the City Council approving a fund contribution in the amount of $25,000, Council also approved Council Members Barajas and Rodriguez to represent the City as Leadership Advisors for the Relief Initiative. Leadership Advisors from Yolo County, cities in Yolo County, and any other participating entities will guide the Initiative’s efforts, provide information to the community about the assistance provided by the Initiative, and help solicit donations as necessary. Additional information about the Initiative can be found here.

Commercial Property Urgency Ordinance: Lastly, the City Council adopted an amended and restated urgency ordinance enacting a temporary moratorium on evictions due to non-payment of rent for commercial tenants as a result of income loss due to COVID-19. At its March 31, 2020 Special Council Meeting, the City Council adopted an urgency ordinance imposing a moratorium on evictions of commercial tenants in the City for failure to pay rent during the current state of emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This ordinance was similar to the ordinance adopted by the City Council on March 17, imposing a moratorium on eviction of residential tenants, but focuses on protecting commercial tenants whose businesses are in jeopardy as a result of the pandemic. While the City Council adopted the urgency ordinance on March 31 for commercial tenants, they directed staff to return with an amendment(s) to the urgency ordinance to incorporate provisions obligating tenants, in addition to demonstrating inability to pay rent, to take steps to mitigate financial impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the amended and restated urgency ordinance, tenants must provide documentation to support their claim that they are unable to pay rent due to a specified reason related to COVID-19 outlined in the ordinance and they also must demonstrate that they have taken steps to mitigate the financial impacts of COVID-19 by applying for loan or grant funds through one or more programs established to provide relief for businesses that are impacted by COVID-19.

Next City Council Meeting: The next regularly scheduled council meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 21 at 6:00 pm. The public is encouraged to listen to the City Council meeting live on Woodland TV Channel 20 or by visiting www.cityofwoodland.org. If you wish to make a comment during general public comment or on a specific agenda item, there are two ways to do so. You may leave a voice mail message at (530) 661-5900. All voice mail messages received by 6:00 p.m. will be played during the City Council meeting and read into the record at the appropriate time. Any member of the public watching the live stream who wishes to make a comment on an item as it is being heard may submit an email to the City Clerk at CouncilMeetings@cityofwoodland.org prior to Public Comment on that item. Email comments submitted to be read into the record shall be no more than three (3) minutes when read aloud. Please include the agenda item in the subject line.

Need More Information? 

Yolo County is the lead agency for the COVID-19 response, for more information on the County response, please visit: yolocounty.org/coronavirus.

Additional information can also be found at www.cityofwoodland.org. To receive email alerts from the City of Woodland visit www.cityofwoodland/notifyme. To receive email alerts from the County visit www.yolocounty.org.