{"id":8717655,"date":"2023-01-16T15:36:45","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T23:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8717655&preview=true&preview_id=8717655"},"modified":"2023-01-17T05:30:02","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T13:30:02","slug":"mountain-view-addressing-renter-displacement-as-housing-development-boom-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/16\/mountain-view-addressing-renter-displacement-as-housing-development-boom-continues\/","title":{"rendered":"Mountain View addressing renter displacement as housing development boom continues"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOUNTAIN VIEW \u2014 As cities across the Bay Area plan on building thousands of new homes in the next decade to deal with the ongoing housing crisis, cities like Mountain View are devising new strategies to keep low-income renters in their homes or help them find a new place to live when forced out by new developments.<\/p>\n

During housing booms, market rents rise fastest in low-income neighborhoods that are in proximity to richer neighborhoods, according to the Bay Area Equity Atlas. Many low-income communities of color, which have historically suffered economic neglect and disinvestment, are now at risk for rapidly rising rents due to gentrification.<\/p>\n

While Richmond and Mountain View have both recently passed rent control measures, and San Jose approved a list of 10 anti-displacement strategies it wants to implement in the coming years, a large part of Bay Area renters remain unprotected, and existing controls do not limit rent increases between tenancies or cover newer homes.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Mountain View city officials are taking on a month-long discussion with renters, landlords and developers to address the ongoing threat\u00a0of displacement as old apartments give way to new ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere may be situations where we can have policies or programs to prevent displacement, there may be some situations where it cannot be prevented,\u201d Assistant Community Development Director Wayne Chen said during a recent community meeting. \u201cSo that\u2019s why this is called a displacement response strategy, it\u2019s\u00a0to prevent (displacement) but also to reduce the impact of displacement so people don\u2019t have to lose their homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 2012, city staff estimates that over 1,000 rent-controlled units have been demolished to give way to new construction of mostly market-rate apartments, displacing hundreds of families who struggled to find a new place in one of the region\u2019s most expensive areas to live.<\/p>\n

In 2019, the city council for the first time made renter displacement a high priority, and after two study sessions held in Oct. 2019 and Sept. 2020, the city is forging ahead with talks to come up with strategies the council will consider at the start of the summer.<\/p>\n

The first two discussions scheduled for Wednesday afternoon will focus on property owners and nonprofit developers. On Jan. 19, city officials will hold discussions with market-rate developers, and on Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 tenants will be invited to give their perspectives. A final general community meeting is scheduled for Feb. 21 to summarize all public input from previous meetings before it goes to the city council.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t do it alone, so partnerships are very important,\u201d Chen said. \u201cTo the extent possible we want to keep people in the homes they\u2019re in and if not then keep residents in Mountain View somewhere in the city or if that\u2019s not possible then somewhere close to the city. It\u2019s a unit and place-based strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right now Mountain View has some of the best tenant protections of any city in the Bay Area. The city passed a rent-control law in 2016 and extended it to mobile homes in 2022, and throughout specific development projects, it has worked to make sure renters have a place to go or assistance to relocate.<\/p>\n

The city has just-cause eviction protections, rent control, rental assistance programs, and a Housing and Eviction Help Center to keep residents in their homes. It also\u00a0recently passed a Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance and\u00a0has approved new affordable units to reduce the impact of displacement.<\/p>\n

But former Mayor Lenny Siegel and other tenant advocates and housing justice activists believe the city can do more to protect renters.<\/p>\n

Siegel said he\u2019s glad that these discussions are taking place now since some state protections are set to expire soon and could use some local backing too. For example, SB 330 \u2014 which requires rent-stabilized units be prepared with deed-restricted affordable ones based on the former tenant\u2019s income \u2014 is set to sunset in 2030. And the Ellis Act, which allows demolished rent-controlled units to be replaced with \u201cnew\u201d rent-controlled units could be bolstered by a city mandate.<\/p>\n

Siegel said in an interview Monday that he hopes the council will \u201cestablish city policies that are more permanent and that would help as a guide to developers who are thinking of redeveloping parts of the city, especially mobile home parks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Siegel said another strategy could be requiring that developers keep units open as tenants move out before construction begins, allowing tenants more time to find new places to live and preventing landlords from renting units on a short-term basis which could also lead to displacement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a calculation there, obviously, so that you don\u2019t lose too much money by holding apartments open while trying to get approval for your development, but that\u2019s the way they can get around having to provide assistance to people,\u201d Siegel said.<\/p>\n

Also, if there\u2019s a legal way to do it, Siegel said the city should have a \u201cvery high bar\u201d for how many affordable units are included in a project that tears down rent-controlled apartments.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake it really difficult for it to happen,\u201d Siegel said. \u201cOr have rent-controlled apartments with affordable deed-restricted units given to displaced folks to continue living at rent-control levels in comparable apartments.<\/p>\n

But Siegel said the council\u2019s ultimate decision will depend on who replaces Sally Lieber \u2014 who was recently elected in 2022 to the State Board of Equalization \u2014 \u00a0on the council. After much debate, the council ultimately decided earlier this month to appoint a new member to the body instead of holding a special election. The council\u2019s current progressive makeup means they could choose someone who supports the kinds of ideas Siegel is proposing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all depends on the new council member,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

City officials are holding talks with landlords, tenants and housing developers to come up with new anti-displacement strategies over the next month. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":928,"featured_media":8717656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"subheadline":"Since 2012, over 1,000 rent-controlled units have been demolished for new developments, displacing hundreds of families","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[162,182,51687,161],"tags":[48735,10653],"feature":[],"location":[3,2,112,6,102,7],"type-of-work":[50053],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"51687","primary_tag":10653,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"cover","print_edition_date":"","print_pub_date":"","print_slug":"","print_content":"","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"","print_notes":"","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":""},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"","print_workflow_exported_username":"","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":52021,"print_status":9425,"add_export_buttons":""},"really_short_title":"Mountain View renter woes","short_title":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"metered","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":8717656,"title":"SJM-L-ROCKSTFOLO-1212-341","filename":"SJM-L-ROCKSTFOLO-1212-341.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/SJM-L-ROCKSTFOLO-1212-341.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/16\/mountain-view-addressing-renter-displacement-as-housing-development-boom-continues\/sjm-l-rockstfolo-1212-341-3\/","alt":"","author":"878","description":"","caption":"MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – DECEMBER 11: Royal Viking Apartments residents and supporters rally outside of Mountain View City Hall before the city council meeting in Mountain View, Calif., on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018. 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