Rent Control Measures Go Before Council Next Week

Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Mark Noack
Mountain View Voice

In what could be a heated conversation, the Mountain View City Council next week will consider two rent control ballot measures for the November election.

At the special Aug. 9 meeting, council members will vote to formally place on the ballot a measure by the Mountain View Tenants Coalition that would essentially link rent increases to rises in the Consumer Price Index.
Council members will also consider placing a competing rent control measure drafted by city staff as a milder alternative. Two weeks ago, council members voted to dust off a binding-arbitration system they had previously rejected and rewrite its language as a ballot measure for November.

The council's decision to draft an alternative measure was denounced by members of the Tenants Coalition as a ploy to split the vote. But supporters on the City Council said they wanted to give voters another option because the Tenants Coalition's measure, as an amendment to the city's charter, would be extremely difficult to tweak or change if it became law.

To put it lightly, the political situation surrounding Mountain View's rental housing is complicated. Five out of the seven council members have come out against enacting any form of rent control. Nevertheless, a landlord group has said that its polls show that a majority of Mountain View voters support the idea of restricting landlords' ability to raise rents and evict tenants.

The Mountain View City Council is scheduled to discuss the two measures at 6 p.m., following a 5:30 p.m. closed session, on Tuesday, Aug. 9, at the SecondStage at the Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St.

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