Now that Measure V has passed, Mountain View officials are trying to figure out how to implement a citywide rent-control program, a complicated endeavor that could require creating a new branch of staff at City Hall. Mayor Pat Showalter is reportedly calling for a special meeting to consider an urgency ordinance to prevent a potential backlash of evictions before rent control takes effect, by enacting just-cause protections for tenants.
Showalter, who could not immediately reached for comment, is proposing to immediately enact the just-cause eviction protections spelled out in Measure V to ensure there is no gap in coverage before the election results are certified next month, according to Councilman Lenny Siegel. The special meeting is tentatively proposed for Tuesday, Nov. 15, but it remains uncertain as city officials determine whether enough members of the City Council will be able to attend, said Shonda Ranson, the city's spokeswoman.
Mountain View voters on Tuesday favored Measure V with a 52.97 percent majority. The citizen-backed initiative was considered the more aggressive of two competing ballot measures to curb rising apartment rents, and it won despite a well-financed opposition campaign. The City Council-backed alternative, Measure W, was defeated.
In a memo sent out to council members on Thursday, City Manager Dan Rich said that city staff is preparing a comprehensive plan to have Measure V take effect next month. After the election results are certified and formally adopted by the city, the rent-control provision are expected to take effect on Dec. 23.
Mountain View's Housing Division staff members are taking the lead to investigate what will be needed to launch a new enforcement system and education program. At this time, it's unclear whether any new staffing will be needed or how much the new rent-control program will cost the city.
City officials are currently examining other rent-control cities for insight in how they could fashion a local program, said Wayne Chen, Mountain View's Housing and Neighborhood Services Manager, who is just three months on the job. A robust program, like Santa Monica, would require one staff person for about every 1,000 apartment units, while a lighter system, like those in San Jose or San Francisco, calls for one staffer for every 5,000 units, he said.
Mountain View has approximately 15,000 apartment units that would be affected by rent control.
"There's a lot of work to be done to implement this," Chen said. "It's a whole new structure and program, and whether this is done in-house or if we choose to partner with external organizations, that's still in flux."
The most important piece to implement will be forming the city's new Rental Housing Committee, a five-member panel appointed by the City Council that would be in charge of setting allowable rents or making new regulations. City staff expect to begin accepting applications for the committee by the end of November. Current plans are for the rental committee to convene its first meeting by early next year.
One the bigger questions hanging over Measure V are provisions calling for the rollback of apartment rents to October 2015 rates. Mountain View does not keep a database of individual apartment rents, and Chen said it would likely be up to individual tenants to petition to have their rents reset to earlier rates.
This provision in particular is also being closely watched by Measure V's opponents. Joshua Howard of the California Apartment Association noted in an email to the Voice that a rent rollback could be illegal and violate the U.S. Constitution.
"We will be conferring with our legal counsel to evaluate options and actions," he wrote. "Unfortunately, Measure V may lead good property owners to leave the rental housing business and deter others from becoming landlords or building more housing."