A second check of the signatures on a petition circulated by local property owners to prevent rent control in Alameda found not enough were valid to qualify their initiative for the November ballot.
The Alameda County Registrar of Voters initially determined the petition was not sufficient using a random sample check, which prompted a complete check.
Supporters needed 6,461 valid signatures to qualify the petition for the Nov. 8 ballot, or from about 15 percent of Alameda's registered voters, City Clerk Lara Weisiger said Wednesday. The registrar determined 5,928 on the petition supporting the "Alameda Homeowners and Private Property Rights Act" were valid.
Fahad Matin, a leading proponent of the initiative, said he and others supporters will now work to stop a competing initiative that calls for rent control in Alameda from passing.
That initiative, which qualified for the ballot July 6, would amend the City Charter so that rent increases are capped at 65 percent of inflation and the city has an elected rent board. It would also end no-cause evictions and require landlords to provide tenants with financial help for moving under some circumstances.
The Alameda Renters Coalition, a volunteer group, gathered 7,881 signatures for the proposed amendment.
"At this point, we as a community are coming together to stop (the coalition's) proposed initiative, which will cripple Alameda's ability to maintain our housing stock in a sustainable manner," Matin said.
He said some landlords have already taken rental properties off the market permanently and that requiring landlords to offer relocation assistance was unfair.
"It's one sided with the presumption of wealth on anybody who owns property," Matin said.
The coalition's effort to put rent control before voters follows the City Council passing an ordinance in March that limits the number of rent increases that a landlord can impose to once a year.
The ordinance, which was a response to reports that rising rents in the Bay Area are displacing longtime residents, also provides tenants with relocation benefits and bolstered the city committee that handles disputes between landlords and tenants.
On July 19, the council voted unanimously to place the ordinance on the November ballot, asking voters to confirm it.
Since the ordinance has been in place, 40 mandatory notices have been filed by landlords for rent increases above 5 percent and four notices have been filed by tenants over rent increases below 5 percent, according to city officials.
Thirty-eight cases have been resolved before a committee hearing took place, or worked out between the tenant and landlord; and 20 of them have resulted in agreed-upon rent increases between 5 and 10 percent.
City officials also said one tenant has petitioned for a binding decision by a hearing officer following a committee hearing and that 11 termination notices have been processed.