Santa Rosa council subcommittee recommends ‘soft’ rent control
The Santa Rosa Rent Stabilization Subcommittee has voted 2-1 to recommend “soft” rent control and a just-cause-for eviction policy for the city.
The committee, at its March 31 meeting, also recommended that an urgency rent moratorium be enacted to halt any rent increases for 45 days. The full City Council is set to discuss these recommendations at its May 3 meeting.
The votes for soft rent control came from City Council members Julie Combs and Chris Coursey.
Don’t let the terminology fool you. “Soft” or “limited” rent stabilization is no different than real rent control.
The only minor variation from “Berkeley-style” rent control is that “soft” rent control is a complaint-based system with a potential decontrol element triggered by a 5 percent vacancy rate.
But soft rent control will only lead to tighter vacancy rates in Santa Rosa, making 5 percent vacancy decontrol highly unlikely.
Combs and Coursey said this option for Santa Rosa will be much less costly than Berkeley-style rent control, which has a tracking system implemented by 22 full-time employees at a cost of over $4 million per year.
On May 3, the full Santa Rosa City Council is scheduled to take up soft rent control, just cause for eviction, and a possible rent moratorium. The meeting will be held at council chambers, City Hall, 100 Santa Rosa Ave., at a time to be determined.
CAA asks that its members continue sending letters to council and attend the May 3 City Council meeting to voice your strong opposition to any form of rent control and just cause evictions in Santa Rosa.
Contact the council