Mountain View Housing Justice Coalition
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Fair Rent         Stop the RV Ban!         COVID-19         Homelessness         Other Housing

Updates

Fair Rent

April 20, 2021
Fearing unlawful evictions, Mountain View's Rental Housing Committee creates legal defense fund for tenants Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
April 17, 2021
San Jose RV dwellers find more leniency as tow companies find less profit Vicente Vera | San Jose Spotlight
March 17, 2021
Mountain View poised to pass mobile home rent control by September Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
Feb. 12, 2021
Mountain View landlords file more than 300 notices of failure to pay rent Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
Jan. 19, 2021
Despite defeat in court, Mountain View's mobile home residents fight to expand rent control Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
Oct. 28, 2020
Facing pressure, City Council drops plans to appoint rent control committee members early Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
Aug. 10, 2020
Landlord group withdraws ballot measure aimed at weakening Mountain View's rent control law Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
June 2, 2020
Rental Housing Committee again rejects extending rent control to mobile homes Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
May 20, 2020
Rent control committee caps rent increases at 2.9% for 2020 Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
May 12, 2020
California considers sweeping relief for renters, landlords Incentives to delay rent payments, boost small landlords Louis Hansen | The Mercury News
April 30, 2020
Report: Silicon Valley renters are ill-prepared for ‘eviction time-bomb’ Eduardo Cuevas | San Jose Spotlight
Mar. 19, 2020
Mountain View: City leaders question likelihood of mobile home rent control Ballot initiative “clearest way forward,” mayor says, though advocates are not going in that direction Aldo Toledo | Mercury News
Feb. 21, 2020
Measure D undermines rent control Opinion by Pat Showalter | Mountain View Voice
Feb. 21, 2020
League of Women Voters says No on D! Opinion | Mountain View Voice
Feb. 20, 2020
Read the text. Follow the money. Vote no on D. Opinion by Dave Arnone | Mountain View Voice
Feb. 14, 2020
No on Measure D, the City Council's rent control rewrite The argument in favor of Measure D, the City Council's rewrite of Mountain View's rent control law, boils down to this: Trust us. Editorial | Mountain View Voice
Feb. 14, 2020
Measure D: In reshaping rent control, council members ask for community's trust Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
Feb., 2020
Vote No On Measure D Endorsement | League of Women Voters Los Altos-Mountain View
Jan. 31, 2020
Measure D is misleading and unnecessary Council's rent control measure would weaken current law Ronald and Dorothy Schafer | Mountain View Voice
Jan. 24, 2020
Local Democratic Party urges 'no' vote on Measure D Early endorsement criticizes council's measure for diluting renter protections Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
Jan. 24, 2020
San Jose should lower rent control cap, offer eviction legal assistance, report says The report was the result of a year long public-private partnership Maggie Angst | The Mercury News
Nov. 13, 2019
Mountain View to ask voters to support raising the city’s rent control caps It’s the latest saga in the city’s four-year-long battle with rent control Maggie Angst | The Mercury News
Nov. 13, 2019
Rent control reform measure heads to voters in March Mountain View City Council backs 4% annual apartment rent increase, excludes mobile home parks Mark Noack | Mountain View Voice
Current
City of Mountain View Below Market Value (BMR) Rental Program Waitlist Application
Nov. 5, 2019
Despite existing rent control laws, mobile home residents in Mountain View lack protection Rachel Oh | Peninsula Press
Oct. 18, 2019
Council subcommittee punts on how high to raise Mountain View's rent control limit Mark Noack | Mountain View Voice
Sept. 18, 2019
Higher Rent Cap Shot Down by Council. Elected leaders seek greater control over rent control program Mark Noack | Mountain View Voice
Aug. 30, 2019
11th-hour deal paves way for bill to end rent gouging in state Alexei Koseff and Dustin Gardiner | San Francisco Chronicle
July 10, 2019
California-wide rent cap advances despite landlord opposition. Bill would have sweeping impact, even in watered-down form Marisa Kendall | The Mercury News

Homelessness

Aug. 21, 2019
The New American Homeless: Housing insecurity in the nation’s richest cities is far worse than government statistics claim. Just ask the Goodmans Brian Goldstone | The New Republic
July 12, 2019
Homelessness surges in Mountain View. Sunnyvale, Los Altos also post big increases in Santa Clara County's Point in Time census Mark Noack | Mountain View Voice

Other Housing

Nov. 27, 2019
City readies a trio of safe parking lots for homeless New sites expected to take in 70-plus vehicles during the winter, but opening date is uncertain Mark Noack | Mountain View Voice
Nov. 21, 2019
City Council dumps high-density vision for Terra Bella amid protests from neighbors Mountain View's latest candidate for taller mixed-use development gets canned, at least for now Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
Oct. 7, 2019
‘Place life over wealth’: Mountain View tenants rise up to save vanishing rent-controlled units A developer wants to raze their 29 rent-controlled apartments to make room for 188 for-sale condominiums Maggie Angst | The Mercury News
Aug. 8, 2019
City launches new registry to rein in Airbnb. Rules on short-term rentals aim to protect neighbors, housing supply Mark Noack | Mountain View Voice
Sept. 23, 2019
The Californians forced to live in cars and RVs. As the state grapples with a housing crisis, thousands of people around the San Francisco Bay Area are sleeping in their vehicles Vivian Ho | The Guardian

Stop the RV Ban!

Dec. 9, 2020
Mountain View: City council moving quickly to implement narrow streets RV ban The ban would displace dozens of RV dwellers parked on 444 streets across much of the city Aldo Toledo | The Mercury News
Oct. 19, 2020
Editorial: No on Mountain View Measure C Mountain View Voice Editorial Board
Sept. 15, 2020
Palo Alto green lights 'safe parking' program for people living in cars City Council approves use of Baylands site to provide parking, social services to residents without homes Gennady Sheyner | Palo Alto Weekly
May 8, 2020
Homeless try to ride out coronavirus threat sheltered in RV places Many are struggling to find work, food and pay rent on their RVs Aldo Toledo | The Mercury News
April 23, 2020
Safe parking program flourishes as cities scramble to house the homeless Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
Feb. 12, 2020
To ease its homeless crisis, Berkeley will open city-owned lots for 25 RVs Sarah Ravani | San Francisco Chronicle
Jan. 15, 2020
Mountain View RV ban will go to voters in November general election Council members unanimously decided to take the question to Mountain View residents Aldo Toledo | The Mercury News
Jan. 15, 2020
Mountain View voters will decide city's RV parking ban City Council's parking restrictions on RVs, oversized vehicles set for referendum vote in November election by Mark Noack | Mountain View Voice
Jan. 14, 2020
Letter from Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, American Civil Liberties Union, and Disability Rights Advocates to Council urging the repeal of the "Narrow Streets" Ordinance
Jan. 12, 2020
Mountain View residents could vote on RV rules in an April election Palo Alto Daily Post
Jan. 2, 2020
RV lots appear ready, but they’re still locked up Sonya Herrera | Palo Alto Daily Post
Nov. 22, 2019
Housing advocates deliver signatures to overturn Mountain View's RV ban Volunteers gathered voter signatures to block parking ban affecting homeless RV-dwellers Mark Noack | Mountain View Voice
Nov. 22, 2019
Signatures submitted in last-ditch effort to overturn Mountain View’s RV ban They gathered more than 4,900 signatures for a referendum petition Maggie Angst | The Mercury News
Nov. 19, 2019
Opponents of Mountain View’s RV ban work to overturn the enforcement By SeiMi Chu | Peninsula Press
Oct. 23, 2019
Mountain View City Council approves RV ban, homeless advocates to launch voter referendum to overturn it Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
Oct. 22, 2019
Mountain View residents launch campaign to block the city’s ‘inhumane’ RV ban. They have 30 days to gather more than 3,700 signatures Maggie Angst | The Mercury News
Oct. 22, 2019
The text of the Oversized Vehicle Ban laws City of Mountain View
Oct. 18, 2019
What kind of a community are we? Lenny Siegel | Mountain View Voice
Oct. 4, 2019
Questioning the City Council's RV ban: The recent action — and inaction — by the Mountain View City Council regarding vehicle dwellers is disheartening and somewhat baffling. Opinion | Mountain View Voice
Sept. 25, 2019
Amid protests, Mountain View council passes RV parking ban. Street parking rules would take effect in June 2020, impact growing homeless community Mark Noack | Mountain View Voice
Sept. 24, 2019
Despite legal threats, Mountain View bans RVs on most city streets. RVs will be banned on streets with bike lanes in the coming months Maggie Angst | The Mercury News
Sept. 23, 2019
Mountain View Whisman School board balks at safe parking program for homeless students. City regulations blamed; MV Whisman has 21 students who live in vehicles with their families Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
Sept. 23, 2019
After months of wavering, will Mountain View finally ban RVs? The proposal would push RVs into industrial areas of the city Maggie Angst | The Mercury News
Sept. 14, 2019
ACLU Threatens Lawsuit if Mountain View Bans Overnight RV Parking. Civil right attorneys warn that parking ban would illegally criminalize homeless Mark Noack | Mountain View Voice
July 12, 2019
Living on four wheels: The people inside the RVs on Palo Alto's El Camino Real. Some call their RV a home away from home, but others say it's all they have Cierra Bailey | Palo Alto Weekly
July 1, 2019
Car but no home? Safe parking lots spread across West Coast. Affordable housing built to replace parking lots? Maybe not right away. But here’s a temporary solution for homeless people that takes advantage of car culture – and the vast amount of real estate devoted to it. Francine Kiefer | Christian Science Monitor

COVID-19

April 13, 2020
County's halt on evictions is working, but families are already falling behind Local safety net agencies say they're swamped with requests from people who have lost their jobs Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
April 10, 2020
Mountain View's safe parking lot is now open 24/7, and RV dwellers are moving in City partnered with Santa Clara County to expand hours after its overnight-only restrictions failed to attract many vehicles Kevin Forestieri | Mountain View Voice
April 6, 2020
Mountain View’s coronavirus relief package won’t help everyone who qualifies Though 830 renters have applied for relief, just about 50 to 80 will get city money Aldo Toledo | The Mercury News