SV@Home helped achieve some major housing successes in Sunnyvale and Mountain View last night! Read on for more details:
Sunnyvale City Council Unanimously Approves Over 3,600 Additional New Homes for Lawrence Station!
Last night, the Sunnyvale City Council unanimously adopted amendments to the Lawrence Station Area Plan (LSAP) that added development capacity for over 3,600 more homes above and beyond the original housing-rich Plan. The vote was the culmination of years of hard work by staff to fulfill the Council’s housing-rich vision. The amendments will increase the area’s housing capacity by 3,612 for a total of 5,935 units!
The original LSAP, adopted in 2016, envisioned a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood centered on the Lawrence Caltrain Station with more jobs, retail, housing, and open space. Following the Plan’s adoption, the Sunnyvale City Council decided it wanted to be even more bold in potential housing opportunities at Lawrence, and instructed staff to explore ways to further increase transit-oriented residential density.
In coalition with Livable Sunnyvale, Greenbelt Alliance, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Friends of Caltrain, and the Housing Action Coalition, SV@Home provided support for the City Council to adopt the updated Plan. We are thankful to the Sunnyvale City Council for their leadership in planning for dense housing around Caltrain and to Sunnyvale City Staff for translating that leadership into an exciting, region-leading plan. We look forward to collaborating with the City as the updated Plan goes into implementation and as the actual housing becomes developed!
Mountain View Approves Rent Stabilization for Mobilehome Residents!
Last night also, after years of advocacy by tenant groups and mobilehome residents, the Mountain View City Council passed a rent stabilization policy to cover mobilehomes! Check out SV@Home’s play-by-play of the Council discussion on our Twitter account.
While Mountain View voters overwhelmingly approved rent control city-wide by supporting Measure V in 2016, the City had long taken the position that the Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act (CSFRA) does not explicitly apply to mobilehomes. Thanks to the hard work of mobilehome advocates and ongoing concerns that mobilehome residents are disproportionately on low and fixed incomes, the Council voted 6-1 for an ordinance to limit allowable rent increases on mobilehome rent and space rent!
The ordinance will limit rent increases to the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) while providing mechanisms for park owners to ensure a fair rate of return. While the Council made a couple of changes to staff’s proposed ordinance, the biggest one is allowing for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) system if a park owner and tenants agree on their own, separate set of rental terms. The City’s Rental Housing Committee, which currently oversees the implementation of the Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act (CSFRA), will be charged with oversight of the ordinance’s implementation.
SV@Home is strong supporter of the extension of rent stabilization protections to mobilehome residents. We applaud the City of Mountain View for taking this opportunity to build on its existing tenant protection policies to support vulnerable tenants, no matter what type of home they live in!