The City of Mountain View adopted long-anticipated changes to its Gatekeeper Policy this week, taking a step toward a more transparent and structured review process for major housing proposals. While the revised policy brings improvements, SV@Home continues to call for deeper reforms to ensure it supports—not hinders—housing production.
On Tuesday night, June 24th, the Mountain View City Council voted to adopt staff-recommended updates to the Gatekeeper Policy—a process that governs how development proposals requiring legislative changes, such as rezonings or General Plan amendments, are allowed to move forward. We thank city staff for their diligent work navigating this complex item and for helping to guide Mountain View toward a more predictable system for reviewing housing proposals.
SV@Home has been deeply engaged in this conversation over the past year, including sharing public comment, written feedback, and a March 26th article outlining our concerns. We advocated for a policy that removes unnecessary barriers, creates more predictable pathways for good projects, and prioritizes affordable housing—especially for projects with strong public benefits like high BMR percentages or deep affordability levels.
This week, staff returned to Council with a revised policy that included several meaningful improvements. We appreciated the new streamlined path for 100% affordable housing, the commitment to holding regular Gatekeeper hearings, and the introduction of clearer performance standards. At the same time, we flagged concerns around the narrow eligibility for streamlining and the added complexity of mandatory development agreements for all projects, including those that meet the new criteria.
Council ultimately voted 6–1 to adopt staff’s recommendations, along with several amendments—including revised performance standards for sustainability and biodiversity, a required menu of public benefits, and added study sessions for streamlined projects. Council also directed staff to explore future changes such as expanding eligibility for mixed-use and ownership-focused housing, and clarifying resubmittal rules for previously denied projects.
We’re grateful to staff and Council for their work and thoughtful engagement on this policy. While SV@Home continues to believe the Gatekeeper process is an unnecessary layer that can delay much-needed housing, we are committed to helping ensure that, if it must exist, it is designed to be as fair, transparent, and supportive of affordable housing as possible.