Ata Shaheen
SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) — The back-and-forth over a referendum concerning renter protection ordinances in the city of Salinas continues this week.
Council members picking talks back up on Tuesday.
They must decide whether to bring the ordinances back while also modifying them, or leave it up to voters.
During the last meeting, at least one council member who previously voted to repeal the ordinances looked to switch sides, filing a motion to “repeal the repeal.”
The move was made by council member Jose Luis Barajas, however, was not seconded, which delayed the final decision.
Salinas City Council accepts referendum saving tenant-protection ordinances; ultimate fate still TBD
SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) – The Salinas City Council accepted the results of a grassroots referendum blocking their vote to strip four renter-protection ordinances
It’s the latest stage in an ongoing saga between the council and tenants’ activists.
The group Protect Salinas Renters has been fighting for almost three months now to “repeal the repeal”.
Activists had worked with the previous city council last year to secure a rental registry, tenant-anti-harassment ordinance, regulations on evictions, and a cap on annual rent hikes.
This past June, all five new council members voted to roll those protections back.
“People are working two, 3 to 4 jobs to keep a roof over their head. And it’s wrong. It’s wrong. It’s like in this country, you should be able to afford to live,” said Bill Freeman of Salinas.
Protect Salinas Renters launched a signature-gathering campaign to block the city council, and after the elections office verified at least 7,000 signatures – one in ten Salinas voters – the council had no choice but accept that referendum tTuesday night.
“I respect what you have done. You’re to be congratulated for the work and effort you’ve put in to express your point of view, and, and, and it’s hard also not to be impressed by that and commitment to democracy and the people,” said Mayor Dennis Donohue.
Next up, the city council will decide to either let the ordinances stay, or allow voters to decide their fate.That would either be a ballot measure in next year’s election or a standalone choice in a special election much sooner.
Many of the activists hoped their petition would end the debate, but they don’t have much faith that the battle is over.
“It’s a lot more challenging with this city council than it was with the previous city council. But we have some more time to go, you know, and we’re looking forward we’re looking forward to to this. This will ultimately make us stronger,” said Luis ‘xago’ Juarez.
A special election for the issue would cost Salinas between $1 million and $1.7 million, while adding it to the ballot next November would cost between $500,000 and $700,000.
Councilmember Andrew Sandoval – one of two seats held over from the previous council, and one of two council members who opposed the protections repeal in June – made sure his colleagues acknowledged that cost as well.
“The next item up for discussion is funding homeless. If my colleagues decide that there’s no money for homeless but decide that they want to spend $1.5 million on a special election, we should question that a little bit,” he said.
Mayor Donohue has in the past suggested that the ordinances would exacerbate the housing crisis and it would be better to instead support more housing construction.
“People of goodwill, different points of view, so now let’s see what the next couple weeks bring us and let’s just hope that’s a good solution for this entire community because there’s real work to be done,” he said.
Councilmember Sandoval suggested holding educational workshops for both tenants and landlords to explain the details of the ordinances.
Other council members said they wanted to hear from the community on both sides before the next meeting on September 9.
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