ATT 4 - Written Correspondence Received — Mountain View City Council, June 10, 2025

1 Hagan, Lindsay
From: [email protected]
Subject: FW: Home electrification permit fees increase
From: Sunshine Gardens
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2025 12:01 PM
To: Crosby, Kristine
Subject: Re: Home electrification permit fees increase
CAUTION: EXTERNAL EMAIL - Ensure you trust this email before clicking on any links or attachments.

Th
ank you Kristine. Can we suggest to them to put it on Fiscal Year end which is September 30th? This would give ample time for homeowners and multifamilies to do their electrification work over the summer. And also encourage people to do it this year.

July is only less than two months from now so it is not enough time for people to get info from SVCE, register, get contractors and get permits. But it is a brilliant opportunity to encourage people to reduce greenhouse gas emissions this summer. We should involve Cool Blocks and SVCE so it can be a coordinated effort.

Sincerely,
Deborah ??
Sunshine Gardens Apartments
West Dana St, Mountain View, CA 94041
On Mon, May 12, 2025 at 10:00 AM Crosby, Kristine <[email protected]> wrote:

Hi Deborah,
Thank you for your feedback. I have forwarded it to the Community Development and Finance Dept. staff who are working on the Citywide Fee Study.

Thanks,
Attachment 4
2 Kristine Crosby
Assistant Community Services Director
City of Mountain View
650-903-6410

From: Sunshine Gardens
Sent: Sunday, May 11, 2025 4:59 PM
To: Crosby, Kristine <[email protected]> Subject: Home electrification permit fees increase

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Dear Kristine,

It was recently brought to my attention that the city is raising the permit for any projects to increase 100% starting in July 1st.

I'm writing if there is any way to delay this because some of the projects can be encouraged to occur this year if residents are given notice. This way electrification can be rapidly put in place if there is a punitive incentive as this permit price. As you know, with the economy unstable, many people are wary of starting new projects. However, by letting residents and multifamilies know about these prohibitive fees, we can try to do this before the end of 2025. This is a very rapid increase that we as a local business struggle to pay. I cannot speak for every resident, but I believe giving people ample time to implement electrification strategies during the summer can help their bills over the winter.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Sincerely,

3 Deborah ??

Sunshine Gardens Apartments
West Dana St, Mountain View, CA 94041

1 Hagan, Lindsay
From: [email protected]
Subject: FW: Concerned about proposed new city fees

From: Aaron B. Phillips
Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2025 2:43 PM
To: Crosby, Kristine <[email protected]> Subject: Concerned about proposed new city fees

CAUTION: EXTERNAL EMAIL - Ensure you trust this email before clicking on any links or attachments.

I'm concerned about the significant new increases in building permits and planning fees. I'm a home owner that has done a few renovations in the past and filed building permits each time. To be frank, I didn't get a lot of value out of this process but it seemed like the right thing to do. I worry that if the fees are increased as proposed, most homeowners will simply avoid pulling a permit. As a resident, I think it would be detrimental to our city if much of our housing stock has unpermitted modifications. A modest increase year to year is understandable but the table showed significant increases. If the current fees don't cover the costs of work, then perhaps the city should consider less bureaucracy and fewer inspections in order to keep the costs more manageable.

Thanks

Aaron

1 Crosby, Kristine
From: Yelena Orduyan
Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2025 6:35 PM
To: , Recreation; Crosby, Kristine
Subject: Re: Notice of Proposed Community Services Fee Modifications CAUTION: EXTERNAL EMAIL - Ensure you trust this email before clicking on any links or attachments.

Hello,
This is just a quick note to acknowledge that I received your email and to express my interest in learning more about the outcome of the meeting regarding the rental of the small hall for local piano schools. We're hopeful that the pricing will be more accessible and the scheduling more flexible, especially for small educational businesses like ours. Thank you for your time and your email.

Have a great weekend!

http://www.orduyan.com/orduyancenter/foundation/
The Digital Monkey School Foundation - Orduyan
Сommunity-events 2020 Community Events. Piano Recital at the Belmont Recreation Center. Welcoming all students of different heritage and religion at our public piano recital in the Belmont Recreation Center 2019, we showcase the results of our vocational training that provides financial stability and support for young teachers of different socio-economic backgrounds. www.orduyan.com

Best regards,

Elena

Co-founder of Digital Monkey School
Piano Teacher and Curriculum Developer

5/29/25, 8:39 AM Re: Notice: Proposed Community Garden Fee Increase - Crosby, Kristine - Outlook about:blank?windowId=SecondaryReadingPane9 2/2

From: Gardens
To: Crosby, Kristine
Cc: Grzan-Pieracci, Maureen
Subject: FW: Notice: Proposed Community Garden Fee Increase Date: Friday, May 16, 2025 4:48:15 PM
Attachments: Outlook-2h4vs5wd.png

From: Rebecca Chopra
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2025 6:35 PM
To: Gardens <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Notice: Proposed Community Garden Fee Increase

CAUTION: EXTERNAL EMAIL - Ensure you trust this email before clicking on any links or attachments.

Hi Sueli,
I hope that you are doing well. I think that you know me a bit by now - and know that I have the best of intentions. I am only trying to be helpful and see improvement in systems.

I did see this email and think that there is room for improvement by the city when sending something like this to the residents. I ran it through AI and this is what is mentions as ways the email might cause consternation.

· The actual proposed fee change amount is not stated. While the message directs residents to page 31 of the Proposed Fee Schedule, it doesn't clearly state how much the fee might increase (or decrease) from the current $50 per year. This lack of transparency could cause anxiety as residents would need to look up the document themselves to understand the potential financial impact.
·
No context about the scale or percentage of the potential increase. Residents would want to know immediately if this is a minor adjustment or a significant change to their garden plot fees.
· No timeline for when any approved fee changes would take effect. While it mentions the June 10th meeting, it doesn't specify when new fees would be implemented if approved. ·
No explanation of the rationale behind the potential fee changes. The message doesn't provide any justification for why fees might need to be adjusted. ·
Limited options for providing feedback. Only one email contact is provided, with no mention of opportunities for in-person feedback before the Council meeting or whether residents can speak at the June 10th meeting.
· No information about how to attend the Council meeting (whether in-person or virtually) to voice concerns directly.
·
No reassurance about existing paid fees. Current plot holders who have already paid their $50 might wonder if they would need to pay an additional amount if fees increase mid-year. ·

· Warmly,

· Rebecca

On Wednesday, May 14, 2025 at 01:13:40 PM PDT, Gardens <[email protected]> wrote:

Hi,

The City of Mountain View is reviewing proposed modifications to Community Services Department fees as part of the Citywide Fee Study. These proposed changes may affect fees for recreational facility rentals and programs, including the Community Garden program.

Community members are encouraged to review the Proposed Fee Schedule presented to the Council Finance Committee on May 8, 2025. The meeting agenda and related documents, including the Proposed Fee Schedule, can be found on the City’s website . The proposed
Garden Fees are listed on page 31 of the Proposed Fee Schedule.

Comments about the proposed fee modifications for Community Services Department fees may be directed to [email protected]
.

The City Council will consider community input of the Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget, including the proposed fee modifications for the City’s Master Fee Schedule, during the Public Hearing of the Regular Council Meeting on June 10, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter can be heard.

From: Elizabeth Marie Hedrick
Sent: Fri day, May 30, 2025 9:20 PM
To: Crosby, Kristine <[email protected]> Subject: Community garden fee increase

CAUTION: EXTERNAL EMAIL - Ensure you trust this email before clicking on any links or attachments.

Hello,

We are very much against proposed fee increases to the community gardens. It's already as expensive as it should be. Any increase would be a barrier to full community participation.

Since it's not prorated from when a plot becomes available, we've already had to pay way more than normal for the amount of time we've actually had a plot. It will take many years before that evens out.

E. Marie Hedrick

1 Rampone, Derek
From: , Finance Admin
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2025 2:34 PM
To: Hong, Jessica; Nguyen, Jun; Zheng, Grace
Subject: FW: Increase in All Utility Rates
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged

-----Original Message-----
From: John Canata
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2025 2:05 PM
To: , Finance Admin <ﬁ[email protected]>
Cc: John Canata <[email protected]>
Subject: Increase in All UƟlity Rates

CAUTION: EXTERNAL EMAIL - Ensure you trust this email before clicking on any links or aƩachments.

To Whom It May Concern:

How can people aﬀord to stay in Mountain View given the fact that over the past 4 years the total percentage of increased uƟlity rates is way over 50%?

As a Mountain View resident for almost 50 years please rescind this request.

Thank you.

John Canata

From: Lalit Kumar
Sent: Sunday, May 25, 2025 12:21 PM
To
: , City Clerk <[email protected]>
Subject: Protesting proposed Utility Rate

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Hello

As a tax paying resident of Mountain View , this email is my protest against the proposed utility rate hikes effective 7/1/25.

Over the last decade, you have increase rates >50%. My usage of the trash/water etc services has only come down yet I am paying more. The increase is ridiculous. You are making living in MV unaffordable.

Force the utilities to cut their own costs rather than force citizens to cough up 6% more compounded annually.

Hope you hear this message and act on it
Lalit

Mountain View City CouncilJune 10, 2025

Mountain View City Council
June 10, 2025