Mountain View Tenants Coalition

PBS NewsHour puts the national spotlight on the increasing number of people living in RVs in Mountain View. Most of these folks used to rent or own homes in Mountain View, according to a recent report from the city. This is why we must Vote YES on Measure V.

“I often feel like there’s a black cloud hanging over us- it’s kind of a renter’s anxiety that a lot of people that I know who live in Mountain View have- that our days are numbered…” – Stacy Dow

The Santa Clara County Registrar’s Office has notified the proponents of Mountain View’s rent control (rent stabilization) initiative that it has qualified for the November ballot.

The Mountain View Tenants Coalition submitted 7,311 signatures, and at least 4,671 were found valid, enough to qualify the Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act for a city-wide vote on Nov. 8.

The news came as the grassroots campaign prepared for a rally and a big City Council meeting on July 14. Over 100 volunteers helped gather the signatures.

“Our rally today will also be a celebration” said founding MVTC member Joan MacDonald.  “While we were very confident we had submitted sufficient signatures, it is still a big step forward for the campaign to receive certification from the County.”

“Today is a historic day – the people’s initiative for rent stabilization in Mountain View has qualified for the ballot!” said Daniel DeBolt, MVTC member. “How ironic that this happens on the very day that the City Council  is considering “options” and “alternatives” that could only undermine our efforts. Given the council’s opposition to meaningful renter protections earlier this year, any support for a competing set of renter protections by the council is disingenuous.”

At a public meeting scheduled for Aug. 9, the Mountain View Tenants Coalition will continue to push the Council to refrain from placing a competing measure on the ballot, so that the will of the community can be clearly determined in the November election.

Election officials are now busy checking to make sure that all the signatures that we worked hard to collect are valid. To qualify a signature as valid, the person who signed the petition must be registered to vote at the address they put down next to their signature. If you are unsure about whether your signature will count, we urge you to click the following link and select “look up voter registration” and, if necessary, “register to vote” from the menu on the left: https://eservices.sccgov.org/rov.

Mountain View resident Duc Duong signs the last signature before over 7,300 signatures were delivered on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, to put a rent control measure on the November ballot in Mountain View.

That’s right, we’ve got enough signatures to submit to the City Clerk! Over 7, 100! That doesn’t mean we don’t need every single signed petition that’s out there though! We need as big a safety margin as we can get.

Please turn in all petitions by 8 p.m. on Monday the 13th. You can drop them off at the parking lot at the corner of Church and Castro from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday. We will also come pick them up from you. Just  email us at mvtcmedia@gmail.com with a time and location.

Also, please join us Tuesday the 14th at 10 a.m. at City Hall when we turn the petitions in to the City Clerk! It’s going to be a historic moment! Don’t miss out!

Proponents of balancing the city’s job growth with adequate housing growth are now endorsing the rent stabilization (rent control) law proposed for Mountain View.

Both City Council member Lenny Siegel and the Mountain View Coalition for Sustainable Planning have endorsed the law proposed by the Mountain View Tenants Coalition, which does not impose any rent controls or restrictions on new housing development that would discourage new housing growth in Mountain View.

Siegel, also founder of the Campaign for a Balanced Mountain View, made the following statement:

“Everyone seems to agree that Mountain View and surrounding communities are suffering through a crisis of housing availability and affordability. Rapidly rising rents are the norm, and no-cause evictions are all too common. The continuing displacement of an unacceptable fraction of our population is destroying the fabric of our community, as we lose service workers, moderate income employees such as teachers, long-time civic volunteers, and students working for upward mobility.

“Mountain View is approaching consensus on the long-term solution to our housing crisis: building more housing near employment centers and transit. However, unless we limit the rate of rent increases and protect tenants against arbitrary evictions, it will be too little, too late. Because the City Council has NOT adopted any enforceable measures to protect Mountain View’s tenant population, I support the initiative charter amendment.”

The Mountain View Coalition for Sustainable Planning issued the following statement:

“MVCSP endorses the initiative petition regarding rent stabilization that is being circulated by the Mountain View Tenants’ Coalition, and also the charter amendment that the petition aims to see included on the ballot for Mountain View voters in November.

“Our members want all residents to be aware of this grave threat to our social and economic sustainability, and want registered voters in Mountain View to be able to vote on this major issue affecting the city’s future. Renters, a majority of our population, are faced with challenges that the City Council has been unable to address adequately.”