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The Redwood City Council will decide on Monday whether to support, oppose or take no position on a citizen-led rent control and tenant protection measure headed to voters Nov. 3.
If the council takes a position, it also may decide whether to submit an official ballot argument or rebuttal and select up to five people to sign each statement. State law allows the council to adopt a position during a public meeting but prohibits the city from using public resources to campaign for or against the measure.
The discussion follows a July 7 meeting at which the council voted 7-0 to place the measure on the ballot rather than adopt it outright. During that meeting, council members Diane Howard and Isabella Chu said they opposed the proposal, while Marcella Padilla raised concerns about how the city would pay to administer it. Chu tried to have the council formally oppose the measure, but staff said the council could not take that vote because the matter had not been listed on the agenda.
The measure would cap annual rent increases for covered multifamily housing built before Feb. 1, 1995, and expand just-cause eviction and other tenant protections to a broader range of rental properties.
The city now estimates that administering the program would cost $5 million to $11 million annually, according to a staff report prepared for Monday’s meeting. At the July 7 meeting, the city’s consultant estimated annual costs at about $4 million to $10.1 million. The latest staff report does not explain why the range changed.
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