Members of the Mountain View Tenants Coalition are reporting this week they have collected more than 7,100 signatures, far more than needed to place their rent control initiative onto the November ballot. The group says it intends to submit the signatures and other paperwork for the measure to City Hall on Tuesday.
To qualify the measure for the November election, the tenants' group will need to submit 4,761 valid signatures from registered Mountain View voters.
The rental measure is certain to be a hot-button issue for the upcoming election since it takes aim at the affordability crisis that has taken center stage in local politics. In a concerted effort last year, hundreds of renters and advocates made regular appearances at City Council meetings, appealing to the council to make rental housing affordability a top priority
The tenants' group announced in April its plans to bring a ballot measure to Mountain View voters, after most City Council members said they would not support direct restrictions on the local rental market. Instead, most council members backed a mediation program to settle disputes between landlords and renters. In certain situations, landlords would be obliged to attend these resolution meetings, but they would not be required to accept any deal.
The city's new mediation system took effect this month, and city officials have been holding educational seminars to teach landlords and tenants about the new policies. Critics have blasted the new program as being toothless; among the complaints is that it doesn't cap the amount landlords can increase rents.