Agenda packet — San Anselmo City Council, January 9, 2024 (part 3 of 3)

Similar to the City of Larkspur and using the City of Ojai appeals model2, staff is recommending a proposed fair rate of return petition process that would charge the Planning Director, or designee, to provide a formal decision within 60-days of the appeals application and based on the following factors:

1. Changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in the San Francisco Oakland-Hayward, CA Area published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

2. The length of time since the last determination on a fair return petition, or the last rent increase if no previous rent increase application has been made.

3. The completion of any capital improvements or rehabilitation work related to the residential real property specified in the fair return petition, and the cost thereof, including materials, labor, construction interest, permit fees, and other items deemed

2 The appeals model is also similar to other jurisdictions throughout California such as Antioch and Palm Springs.
75% of CPI 1 CPI 2 4% 3 5%+CPI, Max 7% 4 5%+CPI, Max 10% 5 Base Monthly Rent Example 2,500.00 2,500.00 2,500.00 2,500.00 2,500.00 2025 2,605.00 2,640.00 2,600.00 2,675.00 2,750.00
2026 2,667.52 2,724.48 2,704.00 2,862.25 2,975.50
2027 2,702.20 2,770.80 2,812.16 3,054.02 3,174.86
2028 2,769.75 2,862.23 2,924.65 3,267.80 3,438.37
2029 2,850.08 2,973.86 3,041.63 3,496.55 3,744.39
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Item #: 2.2
appropriate.

4. Changes in property taxes or other taxes related to the subject residential real property.

5. Changes in the rent paid by the owner for the lease of the residential real property.

6. Changes in the utility charges for the subject residential property paid by the owner, and the extent, if any, of reimbursement from the tenants.

7. Changes in reasonable operating and maintenance expenses.

8. The need for repairs caused by circumstances other than ordinary wear and tear.

9. The amount and quality of services provided by the owner to the affected tenant(s).

The Planning Director, or designee may be allowed to consult with experts to help facilitate the final decision. The final costs associated with the petition would be borne by the property owner based on a cost recovery/time and materials basis.

Once a fair rate of return petition is decided, the final decision would be sent to the property owner and tenant(s). The property owner or tenant may appeal the initial decision to the Planning Commission within 30-calendar days. The Planning Commission would conduct a public hearing to review the petition de novo within 60-calendar days of receiving the appeal. The Planning Commission would render a decision in writing within 30-calendar days of closing the appeal hearing and may reverse, uphold, or modify the original decision. The Planning Commission would be the final administrative decision of the Town (no right of review by the Town Council) and judicial review may be sought after the Planning Commission’s decision.

Staff is recommending the above based on efficiencies related to process, the objective factors, and reasonable appeals process to an impartial decision-making body.

However, as an alternative, the Council could direct staff to return with a revised fair rate of return and appeals process that could include the following:

1. Allow the Council to be the final administrative decision maker related to the recommended fair rate of return appeal process.

2. Replace the Planning Director, or designee with the Town Manager or designee.

3. Establish a Rent Control Board that would establish by policy the fair rate of return criteria, designate a “Hearing Examiner” to conduct a hearing on the petition and render a decision with the Hearing Examiner decision being appealed to the Rent Control Board for the final decision. Similar to the City of Larkspur, the Rent Control Board could be comprised of two rental property owners, two tenants, and one person who is neither a tenant nor rental property owner and appointed by the Council.

Rent Cap, Notice, and Exemption Provisions.

Beside the fair return appeal process provisions, the draft Ordinance contains other factors common to rent stability ordinances. For example, certain properties are exempted consistent with State law. It also provides a section for the annual allowable rent provides that this annual rate is presumptively a fair and reasonable return on property. Additionally, a rent increase pursuant to a fair return appeal will be ineffective if the property owner: fails to comply with the remainder of the Ordinance (e.g., required notices); maintains the in violation of codes including health and safety requirements; or 811
Item #: 2.2
fails to make repairs ordered by the Town or a court. Finally, property owners would pay a fee to cover the Town’s costs. This fee would be established by the Town Council resolution at a future date.

4. Applicability in San Anselmo
The current US Census Bureau Quickfacts data from 2017-2021 states that there are 4,995 units (AKA Households) located in San Anselmo. The households are comprised of single-family residences, duplexes, triplexes, and multifamily units. Of those units, approximately 3,436.56 units, or 68.8%, are owner-occupied and the remaining 1,558.44 units, or 31.2% are renter occupied. Other data sources available, such as RentCafe.com, Zumper, and City-Data.com shows that the number of rental units is fluid and ranges from 31% to 34%. The increase in units may be attributed to previous owner-occupied units coming onto the market.

Upon review of the Marin County Assessor’s Office data and as of the writing of this staff report, there appears to be 338 parcels totaling 1,276 units that may be eligible for rent stabilization policies (single family units have not been counted). Of those units, it appears that 106 parcels or 206 units would be exempted under the Tenants Protection Act because they are owner occupied units located within a commercial zoning district or an owner-occupied duplex. Thus, 232 parcels totaling 1,070 units (2 or more units on a single parcel) are remaining. Furthermore, as presented at the June 21, 2023, Town Council meeting, 117 parcels have three or more units totaling 839 units and 84 parcels have more four units or more units that total 733 units.

5. Adopt Ordinance or Place Measure on the November 2024 General Election Ballot In addition to receiving direction on the above listed items, staff seeks direction regarding the Council’s preference on whether a draft ordinance be brought back to the Council for consideration and potential adoption or to prepare a ballot measure for the November 2024 General Election.

RECOMMENDATION
Staff requests the Council provide direction to staff on the following items:

1. The establishment of an annual rent cap

2. The establishment of “base rent”

3. A determination regarding the process for how increases that exceed the cap will be processed and how they can be appealed

4. A determination on the types of housing units to be included a potential ordinance

5. Whether to direct staff to bring a draft ordinance back to the Council for consideration or direct staff to prepare a ballot measure for the November 2024 General Election.
812
Item #: 2.2
Alternatively, the Council could direct staff to return to a future meeting with additional information for further discussion.

FISCAL IMPACT
None.

CEQA AND CLIMATE ACTION PLAN CONSISTENCY
Conducting a discussion regarding potential residential rent stabilization is not considered a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), because it does not involve an activity which has the potential to cause a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. (Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 21065).

ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1: DRAFT Rent Stabilization Ordinance
Attachment 2: Link to staff report and attachments from October 24, 2023 Town Council meeting
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Attachment 2:

Link to staff report and attachments from October 24, 2023 Town Council meeting Link to Video Recording
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From: Katie Hogan
To: Town Council
Subject: I am concerned about Rent Control
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 09:11:35
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear Town Council,
I am concerned about having extra rent control enacted in our town. I believe that the negative financial consequences to all residents - homeowners, housing providers and renters, far out weighs any perceived benefit.

Also, these regulations do nothing to increase housing affordability, the main concern of our town. Please think this through before you bring this to the voters.

Thank you, Catherine Hogan
Sent from my iPhone
Catherine Hogan, Broker Assoc
Madison Company, Realtors
Cell # 415-259-8184
DRE #00597940
861
From: Mary Nahorniak
To: Town Council
Subject: Please pass renter protections ASAP
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 12:46:31
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear council members,
Thank you for your proactive effort to protect renters in San Anselmo. I've been a town resident for two years, and you have heard from me previously on this and other issues. I'm strongly in favor of protections that keep renters in their homes. The housing crisis in Marin and in California at large is multi-pronged and goes back decades, but this is a tangible action we can take right now, right here, to protect all kinds of folks who make our community vibrant, including teachers, firefighters, and other key people in our workforce. We also know that people of color are more likely to be renters, and this protects them and keeps them in their homes in our county, which severely lags on diversity.

I am asking for the renter protections to be passed by the council ASAP, and not be taken to a ballot measure, and to do three things:

Adopt a strong rental cap that will keep San Anselmo tenants in their homes: 60% of inflation (CPI) or 5%, whichever is less.

Apply the ordinance to as many renters as possible. Don't cut out small apartment buildings – this would leave over half of our neighbors without any local protections.

Pass the ordinance directly through council, don't kick the can down the road and put it on the November ballot. The group that will have more money to spend on a campaign is the landlords.

Thank you,
Mary Nahorniak
Oak Ave.
862
From: shawna perloff
To: Town Council
Subject: We need rent stabilization
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 09:39:00
CAUTION: External Sender
Hello and thank you for reading my story.

I have lived in San Anselmo for over 20 years now. I was a homeowner, then got a divorce and have been raising my daughter pretty much on my own every since. My goal has always been to stay where I am in support of my daughter so that we didn't have to move out of the area she has been living with her friends and school and all that she knows.

San Anselmo and surrounding area should not just be for the rich and double income homes who can afford this beautiful area. The fact that rent continues to increase yearly almost to a level that makes it unaffordable or house poor is a shame. When landlords care more about the money versus even updating your apartment is a shame and letting them continue to increase rents making honest, stabile, loyal tenants have to move because they can't afford to live any longer is a shame and honestly criminal in some cases. Or should be.

I hope to keep Marin affordable and culturally diverse and it seems to just get harder and harder to live here as rent's continue to increase just because they can and everyone trying to match the other landlords rents so they continue to skyrocket.

This World is crazy enough and life is hard enough, let's make not having to struggle to stay in our homes a non issue. It should NOT be this stressful every time your lease is up for renew and hoping it's not more than you can afford and sending people packing who are otherwise incredible community members.

Please, let's stop this need to get as much as you can from renters and do our part as a community and as leaders of this community to protect those just trying to get by day to day without the worry of can they stay in their homes. It's shameful and not what this World needs. We can and should do better! Thank You for reading.

Shawna Perloff
863
From: Justin Rick
To: Town Council
Subject: Rent Control
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 07:21:07
CAUTION: External Sender
Hello San Anselmo Town Council,
As a former rental in the area, and now homeowner I wanted to voice my concern with the extra rent control measures that are being discussed.

From a RENTER perspective, this eliminates supply, which makes it harder to find a home, and once one is found, drives the price up from simple supply and demand.

As a homeowner additional rent control lowers property values, and lessons the ability for one to move out, and rent their home out (which provides additional rental housing.) The Fairfax town council has let the Democratic Socialists of America ruin their credibility with what they allowed last year, please don't let this happen to our town.

Increasing supply is how you create affordable housing, not additional laws that will hurt everyone.

Justin Rick
32 Greensburgh Ln, San Anselmo, CA 94960
864
1 Maraby Tanguay
From: Curt Ries <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, January 7, 2024 15:14
To: Town Council; Steve Burdo; Alexis Fineman; Tarrell Kullaway; Brian Colbert; [email protected]
Cc: Dave Donery; Planning; Jeff Zuba; Kyle Amsler; MAC Frost; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; sarachap4; wendy t; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Joint Renter/Homeowner Letter on Rent Stabilization & Just Cause Eviction Policies CAUTION: External Sender
To the San Anselmo Town Council:

Thank you for your careful consideration of rent stabilization and just cause eviction policies over the last six months. We are writing to you today to express our positions on the issues facing the council regarding these policies. We speak as San Anselmo renters and homeowners (all cc'd), volunteers on the San Anselmo rent control campaign, and on behalf of the over 800 San Anselmo residents who have signed the campaign’s petition explicitly calling on the town council to pass rent control and just cause eviction policies.

We would like to commend town staff for preparing such a thorough and approachable staff report for the 1/9/24 meeting. We will be commenting on their suggested topics below to communicate our positions on these issues.

1. Establishing a Rent Cap
We ask you to pass a rent cap set at 60% CPI or 5%, whichever is less. This cap will provide town renters with real housing security, while enabling landlords to receive a fair return on their investment. A strong rental cap tied to a percentage of inflation is essential to preventing displacement and ensuring working-class tenants, low-income tenants, senior tenants, and tenants with disabilities can afford regular rent increases.

2. Determining “Base Rent”
We ask you to set the base rent to those paid on June 21st, 2023, the first time rent stabilization was officially agendized by the town council. This “rollback” of the base rent is an important step to ensure that landlords are not allowed to preemptively jack up rents in anticipation of the council establishing a rent cap. We have already confirmed at least one instance of this taking place to tenants on Ash Ave, where the landlord explicitly admitted to raising rents because the council was considering rent stabilization.

3. Fair Right of Return/Appeals process
We support the proposal set forth in the staff report of the Planning Director or their designee reviewing petitions and with appeals directed to the Planning Commission.

4. Determining Applicability
We ask you to apply San Anselmo’s rent stabilization ordinance to as many rental units as possible given the limitations set by the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act. Specifically, we ask the council to make sure the ordinance covers renters in duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and all multi-unit apartment buildings, including those that are owner-occupied. All renters deserve fair and stable rents, regardless of the size of their building or whether their landlord happens to be their neighbor. Exempting renters living in smaller buildings would carve out between 31-53% of all tenants households in San Anselmo, according to data from the most recent staff report.
865
2 5. Consider Council adoption of a Rent Stabilization ordinance or placing a measure on the ballot for decision in the November 2024 General Election
We ask you to adopt a rent stabilization directly through the town council and not place a measure on the ballot. San Anselmo tenants need rent stabilization and just cause eviction protections as quickly as possible to stay in our homes. Waiting for the November election would be an unacceptable delay. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the town council as our elected officials to take action to stabilize rents for the several thousand San Anselmo tenants who are facing some of the highest rents in the country. The over 800 town residents who have signed our petition (roughly 60% renters and 40% homeowners) have called on the council, as their elected representatives, to pass this ordinance, not to kick the can down the road via a ballot measure.

Thank you for working to keep San Anselmo’s tenant families in our homes.

Sincerely,
Curt Ries, San Anselmo renter
Kyle Amsler, San Anselmo renter
Pamela Odetto, San Anselmo renter
Madeline Parnall, San Anselmo renter
Daniel and Michelle Brogowski, San Anselmo renters
Sacha Badame, San Anselmo renter
Cameron Ray, San Anselmo renter
Sara Chappelle, San Anselmo renter
Wendy Todd, San Anselmo homeowner
Jason Watkins, San Anselmo homeowner
Lisa Hamilton, San Anselmo homeowner
David Javid, San Anselmo homeowner
866
From: Simon-Weisberg, Leah
To: Dave Donery; Planning; Jeff Zuba; Town Council
Subject: Clarification on error in staff report
Date: Friday, January 5, 2024 08:57:50
Attachments: Outlook-uhdxhl3f.png
CAUTION: External Sender
January 5, 2024
Dear San Anselmo Town Manager, Planning Director, Finance Director, and Town Council:

My name is Leah Simon-Weisberg, Professor of Housing Law at University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco; Executive Director of California Center for Movement Legal Services, and Chair of the Elected Berkeley Rent Board. For over two decades, I have been consulting with municipal and county jurisdictions throughout California that have been considering rent stabilization and just cause eviction ordinances. Thank you for your work to advance these important anti-displacement measures for your town.

Upon reviewing your recent staff report for the upcoming 1/9/24 town council meeting, I came across this passage, under the section, ”Existing State Renter Protections:” “The Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act (1995) introduced three limitations. First, it exempts certain types of rental units from local rent stabilization (most notably single-family homes, and
owner-occupied condominiums and duplexes).”
Please note that the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act does not exempt duplexes of any kind from local rent stabilization. The act exempts all single-family homes and condominiums from local rent stabilization laws, but all duplexes, whether owner-occupied or not, may be covered by local rent stabilization. In fact, almost all California jurisdictions with local rent stabilization ordinances cover owner-occupied duplexes, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Oakland, Richmond, Concord, Antioch, East Palo Alto, Hayward, Maywood, Cudahy, Santa Ana, Mountainview, and your neighbor, Fairfax.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I would be happy to speak with staff or council members to provide additional policy and/or legal expertise relating to rent stabilization and just cause eviction ordinances as you continue with this process.

Thank you,
Leah Simon-Weisberg
323-842-8614
867
Leah Simon-Weisberg| Chair, Elected Rent Stabilization Board City of Berkeley | Rent Stabilization Board
2125 Milvia St., Berkeley, CA 94704
Ofc: (510) 981-4949 | Mobile (323) 842-8614
Email: Lsimon-Weisberg@@cityofberkeley.info | www.cityofberkeley.info/rent 868
From: Royce Truex
To: Town Council
Subject: Rent Control
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 12:46:28
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear Council members,
I don't live in San Anselmo but I believe strongly in rent control. I hope that you pass an ordinance at this meeting and not put it on the ballot.

I hope that you adopt a strong rental cap that includes as many renters as possible.

Thank you,
Royce Truex
869
From: Wong, Wendy
To: Town Council
Subject: TOWN COUCIL MEETING PUBLIC COMMENT (JANUARY 9, 2024, 7PM) Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 10:02:12
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear San Anselmo Town Council:

The current California 10% maximum rent control increase is far higher than what most renters ever receive in an annual pay raise. This has caused the current unhoused situation we see all over California. How is someone supposed to afford a place to live, when wages can’t keep up with rental housing costs? Preventative measures, such as a local rent control in San Anselmo, can help keep people housed and allow them to save some of those hard earned wages, so that they don’t end up in a dire financial situation where they fear becoming unhoused. We must be proactive and come up with solutions that will truly help because the current model is unsustainable.

The model where what renters pay provides the owner of a property all the income needed to maintain that property is no longer feasible. We must deal with the reality that everyone is being squeezed financially over the most basic thing, housing, that we all need for stability in our lives.

Providing rent stabilization and tenant protections for ALL renters would be a step in the right direction. A registry to track all rental properties in San Anselmo that is audited annually would provide accountability. Creating a town rental board that can come up with ways to provide financial assistance to help small rental property owners with their property expenses, would provide the balance needed to deal with this overwhelming situation that we are all in. We must work together to find a new model that can work.

Thank you for your time, and Happy New Year!
Warm Regards,
Wendy
Wong
San Anselmo Resident
870
From: Roger B
To: Town Council
Subject: Against Rent Control in San Anselmo
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 12:34:59
CAUTION: External Sender
Hello Town Council,
By adding additional rent control, the San Anselmo Town Council will force out the small landlords due to legal complexities and costs while larger landlords will control the market due to economies of scale.

The government has not been able to solve rising home costs yet they want to force small landlords to solve the problem at the landlord’s cost.In addition,rent control does not build new housing.

Landlords are local people too. Small landlords bear the cost of mortgages, the rising expenses of insurance, roofs, painting, plumbing and all the repairs and costs that come with property ownership. I made a financial plan for my retirement which included income from a rental in my home but the burden of excess regulation which demonizes landlords will change my mind.

I guess the San Anselmo Council will be telling United Market what prices to charge for food and toilet paper. And the Council will be controlling what All Autos charges for car repairs. And, of course, the restaurants, hair salons and coffee shops will need the Council to overlook their prices too.

The town forcing more control punishes the small landlords, a group that actually provides housing. It is easy to attack a small minority.

Regards,
Roger Bettini
871
From: Stacey Counts
To: Town Council
Subject: San Anselmo Rent Stabilization
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 12:46:50
CAUTION: External Sender
Hello,
I support rent stabilization for all rental units in San Anselmo, large and small buildings.

Thank you,
Stacey Counts
Sent from my iPhone
872
From: Larissa Daniels
To: Town Council
Subject: My concern about Extra Rent control.

Date: Sunday, January 7, 2024 10:52:26
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear Town Council.

Please do not punish us mom and pop landlord with an onerous rent cap of .75% CPI.

MMWD has raised their rates close to 20%, PG&E raised rates 20% and plan on another 17% this spring. Insurance if you can get it has sky rocketed. Property taxes continue to increase.

Garbage was just approved a 4.8% increase.

Why is the Town, City and State allowed to raise rates above 0.75% CPI but landlords can not? If CPI is 4.2% that gives me a rent cap or 3.15% far less than the increases I just mentioned above. At the last meeting one of the council members mentioned a 7% cap. I feel this is far more reasonable.

Currently my rents barley cover the mortgage, property tax, home insurance, flood insurance and utilities. If I can not keep up with the utility/insurance/ property tax rate hikes I will be forced to sell along with may other mom and pop landlords.

Please also know I am over 60 years old and was hoping to get above water and use this as a supplement to my Social Security income. I am not lucky enough to have an pension.

When I do sell my property it will most likely be bought out by a large company or a family that will do an Ellis Act so that the owner and their family can move in loosing more rental housing in San Anselmo.

Please reconsider the 0.75% CPI rental cap or put this to a vote. Please do not go down the extremely expensive road Fairfax has.

I work very hard for the money I have to pay in taxes that will be used by the Town Council.

Please use the Town’s money wisely.

Please put this on the ballot for the residents of San Anselmo to decide.

Regards,
Larissa Daniels
873
From: Lynn Gray
To: Town Council
Subject: I am very concerned about Rent Control
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 10:57:26
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear Town Council,
I am concerned about having extra rent control enacted in our town. I believe that the negative financial consequences to all residents - homeowners, housing providers and renters, far out weighs any perceived benefit. Also, these regulations do nothing to increase housing affordability, the main concern of our town. Please think this through before you bring this to the voters.

I am a property owner and also a real estate agent & I can tell you first hand that the additional measures that the Fairfax town council has imposed has already negatively impacted property values as well as increasing rent. (I own property in both SA and Fairfax.) Thank you.

Lynn Gray
415.235.3532
License #01754131
874
From: Jonathan Knight
To: Town Council
Subject: Rent stabilization and protections
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 13:04:16
CAUTION: External Sender
Good Afternoon and Happy New Year,
I'm writing to once again urge the council to adopt a strong rental increase cap and eviction protections. People in our community continue to become unhoused as rents increase. This is something that should come from strong leadership of the council. The opponents would like to see this on a ballot, but we know they are well funded and can flood the zone with signs and ads to beat any protections. Once they defeat it on the ballot it will be decades before any policy protecting renters would be possible. Let's build momentum for a fair Marin and keep renters of all income levels housed and included in our community. --
Jonathan Knight
157 Meadowcroft Dr, San Anselmo, CA 94960
875
From: Curt Ries
To: Town Council; Steve Burdo; Alexis Fineman; Tarrell Kullaway; Brian Colbert; [email protected] Cc: Dave Donery; Planning; Jeff Zuba; Kyle Amsler; MAC Frost; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; sarachap4; wendy t; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Subject: Joint Renter/Homeowner Letter on Rent Stabilization & Just Cause Eviction Policies Date: Sunday, January 7, 2024 15:14:00
CAUTION: External Sender
To the San Anselmo Town Council:

All renters deserve fair and stable rents, regardless of the size of their building or whether their landlord happens to be their neighbor. Exempting renters living in smaller buildings would carve out between 31-53% of all tenants households in San Anselmo, according to data from the most recent staff report.

5. Consider Council adoption of a Rent Stabilization ordinance or placing a measure on the ballot for decision in the November 2024 General Election We ask you to adopt a rent stabilization directly through the town council and not place a measure on the ballot. San Anselmo tenants need rent stabilization and just cause eviction protections as quickly as possible to stay in our homes. Waiting for the November election would be an unacceptable delay. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the town council as our elected officials to take action to stabilize rents for the several thousand San Anselmo tenants who are facing some of the highest rents in the country. The over 800 town residents who have signed our petition (roughly 60% renters and 40% homeowners) have called on the council, as their elected representatives, to pass this ordinance, not to kick the can down the road via a ballot measure.

Thank you for working to keep San Anselmo’s tenant families in our homes.

Sincerely,
Curt Ries, San Anselmo renter
Kyle Amsler, San Anselmo renter
Pamela Odetto, San Anselmo renter
Madeline Parnall, San Anselmo renter
Daniel and Michelle Brogowski, San Anselmo renters
Sacha Badame, San Anselmo renter
Cameron Ray, San Anselmo renter
Sara Chappelle, San Anselmo renter
Wendy Todd, San Anselmo homeowner
Jason Watkins, San Anselmo homeowner
Lisa Hamilton, San Anselmo homeowner
David Javid, San Anselmo homeowner
877
From: Barbara O"Toole
To: Town Council
Subject: Rent Control
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 15:48:33
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear Town Council,
No, no, no. Do not impose extra rent control on the citizens of San Anselmo. We do not want or need it. Nor do we need the divisiveness that occurred in Fairfax.

Thank you,
Barbara O’Toole
461 Scenic Ave
San Anselmo
878
From: Tim Hagerty
To: Town Council
Subject: January 9th: Rent Control Town Council Vote
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 13:50:24
CAUTION: External Sender
Good morning Esteemed members of the Won Council,
I wanted to write my opinion on your upcoming rent control vote and requesting that additional measures for the town of San Anselmo above and beyond the controls set forth by the State of California are not only not needed, but place an additional burden on the current homeowners within San Anselmo.

Already in California, where statewide rent control aims to protect renters, further rent control in residential communities can inadvertently harm homeowners, particularly seniors and young families. These measures may limit home resale values and reduce rental income, crucial for many homeowners' financial stability. Reduced income can lead to less property maintenance, decreasing property values, and affecting the community's economic health. This scenario can be especially challenging for seniors relying on property assets for retirement and young homeowners offsetting mortgages with rental income. Thus, while aiming to assist tenants, such rent control can unintentionally disadvantage the very groups it seeks to support.

Moreover, the larger question remains on why this burden is being considered and will it truly aid in making rent and home ownership more affordable. I also request that you consider the variability in home sale prices over the last few years and how should a single home landlord help weather this variability being restricted in a market driven price point.

Thank you,
Tim Hagerty
Owner: 49 Bennit Avenue, San Anselmo, CA
879
From: Kathrin Smith
To: Town Council
Subject: Please adopt rent control in San Anselmo!
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 13:16:51
CAUTION: External Sender
Hello Town Councilmembers,
Happy New Year!
Regarding tomorrow night's Council meeting, I am a San Anselmo renter and I have spoken at a few of the rent control meetings. However, I cannot be there in person or zoom this time because I am ill.

My biggest concern right now is that you may be considering putting this issue on the ballot. If that decision is made, I feel like it would be almost impossible for tenants to win on this issue. The real estate interests in this town have the financial means to cover San Anselmo in signs opposing our request.

Signs like "RENT CONTROL HURTS US ALL". What does that even mean?? But an uninformed voter may just vote to oppose rent control based on the number of signs they see all over town. The renters don't have the financial means to compete in this type of campaigning. Please pass the ordinance directly through Council. If it goes to the ballot, renters are sure to lose. And we will all be back next year fighting the same fight.

Please do the right thing and
Adopt a strong rental cap that will keep San Anselmo tenants in their homes.

Apply the ordinance to as many renters as possible. Don't cut out small apartment buildings – this would leave over half of our neighbors without any local protections. I LIVE IN A SMALL APT BUILDING AND JUST HAD MY RENT RAISED $200 a MONTH!! That was just $40 short of the 10% maximum that the State currently allows. That is a lot of money for a SENIOR on a fixed income.

Thank you for reading my letter prior to the meeting.

Take good care,
Kathrin Smith
880
From: Lauren Hamblet
To: Town Council
Subject: I am concerned about Rent Control in San Anselmo Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 16:48:51
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear Town Council,
I am concerned about having extra rent control enacted in our town. I believe that the negative financial consequences to all residents - homeowners, housing providers and renters, far out weighs any perceived benefit.

Also, these regulations do nothing to increase housing affordability, the main concern of our town. Please think this through before you bring this to the voters.

Thank you.

Thank you,
Lauren Hamblet
Coldwell Banker Global Luxury
(415) 233-1659
881
From: [email protected]
To: Town Council
Subject: Supporting Rent Control
Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 10:33:16
CAUTION: External Sender
Good morning,
I’m writing to express my support for rent control protections in San Anselmo. In 2018, my family and I lost our home of nearly a decade due to an unconscionable rent increase by the building’s new owners. We had to leave behind our son’s playmates, our little community garden plot, all of our beloved neighbors and community…simply because we aren’t rich. It was a depressing and dehumanizing experience I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

We were incredibly fortunate to move to San Anselmo and find a new home and wonderful landlord, but we know not all renters here are so lucky. We also know all of it can change in an instant. I urge the Town Council to enact rent control measures more robust than those under state law, to better protect all the renters who call San Anselmo home.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and thank you for all your hard work in service of our town.

Warmly,
Amber
882
From: glennkamp
To: Town Council
Subject: Rent control
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 22:08:12
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear council members,
Thank you for looking so deeply into this issue. As a 12 year renter here in San Anselmo, I appreciate the listening you've done on both sides of the topic.

My hope is that you will adopt a strong rental cap, as my current property owner - Mission Rock Residential out of Colorado - has made it clear that they will continue to raise our rents the maximum allowed (currently 9 percent) each year.

Blessings to each of you,
Glenn Berkenkamp
100 Sycamore Ave. #11
San Anselmo
883
From: Bonnie Eastman
To: Town Council
Subject: Rent control
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 21:23:42
CAUTION: External Sender
Please don’t go down the same road as Fairfax!!!!
Sent from my iPhone
884
From: Ford Greene
To: Serge Avila
Subject: Rent Control
Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 06:58:12
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear All:

As you may have heard, in a fluke bike crash I have fractured the acetabulum on both sides of my pelvis, will continue to be hospitalized for a month or so and will be unable to bear weight on either leg for at least 60 days and thus unable to access my office or personally attend public meetings.

Please note my comment is in favor of a public vote on the issue.

Dear All:

I advocate for a public vote on the issue.

Both Fairfax and Larkspur sought to bypass a public vote. Thereafter, the citizens of both Fairfax and Larkspur employed the public referendum and/or initiative process to override the insensitivity and disregard of its wishes to vote on the issue. Please don't become the third municipality in Marin to make the same mistake. Look at the effectiveness of people power in San Anselmo vis-a-vis Flood Zone 9 as an example of what the disregard by local government may invite.

Ford Greene
Queen of the Valley Medical Center Acute Rehabilitation Unit Room 1216 B
1000 Trancas Street
Napa, CA 94558
Sent from my iPhone
885
From: Andrea Harris
To: Town Council; [email protected]
Subject: Renters Protection Meeting Jan.9th 2024
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 19:49:14
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear San Anselmo Council Members
My name is Andrea Harris and I and the concerned citizen.

As you are aware there has been public hearings and deliberations for months in support of the rental stabilization Act I too am in favor of adopting this ordinance for many reasons but one of the main reasons I speak in favor of this ordinance for rental stabilization is the importance of keeping our neighbors in their homes. There are families struggling to make ends meet and some are just a paycheck or two from homelessness and this ordinance will help prevent evictions of those family. This ordinance will also make a difference and impact the families who are single mothers who work everyday at minimum wage whose children go without meals and adequate clothing because most of their money goes to rent.

Let us make a difference and pass this ordinance we ask that this ordinance have a cap of 60% annually of this Consumer Price Index or 5% whichever is less. Time is of the essence so let's not delay adopt the renters stabilization ordinance today.

Thank you
Andrea Harris
[email protected]
415 305 3800
886
From: Bonnie Hayes
To: Town Council
Subject: I am concerned about Rent Control
Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 11:18:34
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear Town Council,
I am concerned about having extra rent control enacted in our town. I am a senior and live in an ADU on my property; the person who rents my house is an attorney and I’m on a fixed income. I do not think it’s fair for me to have to pay relocation fees if I need him to move out for some reason. These regulations won’t help the affordability crisis! Doing this only freezes the market more and many people will opt out of renting under these terms. I believe that the negative financial consequences to all residents - homeowners, housing providers and renters, far out weighs any perceived benefit. Please think this through before you bring this to the voters.

Thank you.

Bonnie Hayes
415-717-5386
Sent from my iPhone, please excuse auto correct mishaps! Sent from my cell phone…
887
From: Peter Hively
To: Town Council
Subject: My concern about Extra Rent control.

Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 08:01:08
CAUTION: External Sender
Please, do not pass any local extra rent control measure without putting it to a town wide vote.

Please do not allow yourselves to be unduly influenced by the DSA or other activists, many of whom do not live here in San Anselmo, over your constituents who elected you to represent us. The town of Fairfax made this mistake, pushing extra rent control and just cause eviction rules through without a vote, and with insufficient public notice and outreach which has caused a huge upset in the community, and are now having to put it to a vote after the fact.

We already have statewide rent control, which can be enforced at the state level. https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2024/01/08/bay-areas-biggest-corporate-landlord-to-pay-3-7-million-over-rentgouging-case/ Thank you,
Peter Hively
San Anselmo
888
From: Gita Honey
To: Town Council
Subject: My concern about Extra Rent control.

Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 10:57:01
CAUTION: External Sender
Hello,
As I have expressed my opinions against extra rent control that the town of San Anselmo is considering in one of the previous meetings, I reiterated them again here.

We already have statewide rent control and we don't need any more.

Extra rent control will increase the new rents which will make it difficult to enter the rental market for new tenants.

It will cost the town to administer it and that cost of course will be passed on to property owners - not tenants.

The proposed limited increase does not keep up with real inflation.

Property taxes keep going up with all the additional bonds but landlords cannot raise the rent accordingly.

Does the Council have a real idea of how much it costs to maintain and improve a rental property? When a tenant calls for a minor plumbing issue, a licensed plumber charges $175 per hour at the minimum. A licensed electrician, $185 to $220 an hour. I got three estimates to paint the exterior of my building. They ranged from $18,000 to $22,000. And it has to be painted every 8 to 10 years. Roto Rooter is $225 an hour to unclog a toilet into which tenant threw excessive paper and did not flush during the drought.

As it stands now, tenants have recourse through Legal Aid if a landlord increases the rent deemed to be excessive. Why add on extra, onerous and destructive burdens on the landlords.

If the town council thinks extra rent control is necessary, they should to put it on the ballot.

Don't copy Fairfax. It will be on the ballot in November. In the meantime, Fairfax is just incurring unnecessary costs which of course is passed on to ALL property owners.

Margarit Honey
889
From: Robert Keast
To: Town Council
Subject: Rent control
Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 10:05:13
CAUTION: External Sender
I have understand the desire to even things up between landlords and tenants. But making it financially burdensome to rent space will just dry up rentals in the long run. Most landlords in San Anselmo are fair minded people that frequently depend on the rental income to make ends meet. The financial burden placed on landlords with the Berkeley-style rent control with drive the good landlords into bankruptcy, and the “bad” landlords will skirt around it. Please reconsider what you are doing. I hear a lot about DSA, and after checking it out I really hope this agenda is not at the bottom of these rent control proposals.

Bob Keast
7 Santa Barbara Avenue
Sent from my iPhone
890
From: Caty McKenna
To: Town Council
Subject: In support of rent control ordinance
Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 11:47:51
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear Town Council,
I am writing on behalf of myself, my spouse Stian Rasmussen, and many other San Anselmo friends and neighbors in support of the proposed affordable housing ordinance. My husband and I grew up here, moved away for young adulthood, and found buying a home an impossibility upon our desired return to the area. We returned to San Anselmo for many reasons: to live near grandparents and other family who provide free childcare, to raise our child among dear old friends, and to make a home in the beautiful community we know and love so well.

We desperately searched for a rental home we could afford after leaving our rent-controlled SF apartment in 2018, and the search was nearly fruitless. We finally found a rental for our family of three for just under $4000/month, with a nearly $11,000 deposit, a month-to-month lease, and a host of existing issues that we knew would never be addressed by the landlord. We are highly responsible tenants who have made many improvements to our building and backyard. We have gone above and beyond to assist our landlord with many issues not related to our property. We are "dream tenants" who could be evicted at nearly any time or have our rent raised to an (even more) inflated and prohibitively expensive amount.

I understand that many homeowners are afraid of the notion of rent control, and fear that tenants will take advantage of them. All we want is the right to live with some personal agency and dignity, without the fear and anxiety of our homes being taken away on a whim. Existing homeowners seem to think that buying property decades ago bought them the keys to the city, and that they have the right to make all decisions in the community for the rest of time. We need more housing, we need fair housing, and we need to end the notion that rent control pits landlord against tenant. The only solution to our housing crisis is to move forward with the affordable housing ordinance and to provide consideration for the elderly, ill, and us middleand lower-income earners who work in your schools, stores, etc. and equally deserve housing.

Thank you,
Caty McKenna and Stian Rasmussen
San Anselmo home renters
Caty McKenna
Studio Manager, Neon Stian Inc.
891
From: Office Pate
To: Town Council
Subject: My concern about Extra Rent control.

Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 22:37:03
CAUTION: External Sender
I am opposed to additional rent control in San Anselmo. If a landlord was considering a lower initial entry rate, he may be deterred by additional regulation by the city, when the state already has rate increases legislated. This may also deter potential landlords from adding rental units to the rental pool.

While inflation continues to rise, it would limit a landlords ability to increase rents based on actual expenses, increase regulation and compliance, and make it a less hospitable rental environment. It could also impact a landlords ability to provide upgrades and improvements as a rental unit ages Please consider less regulation and allow landlords to be fair in their treatment of tenants, and continue in a favorable market.

When there are not enough rental units already, it seems counter intuitive to introduce additional red tape in a tight market. Adopt policy’s that encourage landlords to provide more rentals, rather than less.

Respectively, Leslie Schweitzer
Sent from my iPhone
892
From: Jeremy Peterman
To: Town Council
Subject: Rent control ordinance
Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 09:48:10
CAUTION: External Sender
Hello,
I’m emailing as a citizen of San Anselmo. I don’t have much at stake in terms of the rent control proposal (I’m not a landlord or renter, nor plan to be one). But I do think something of this magnitude should be taken to the voters.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best,
Jeremy Peterman
893
From: MICHAEL SEXTON
To: Town Council
Subject: The Extra Rent Control Crisis
Date: Monday, January 8, 2024 20:49:44
CAUTION: External Sender
San Anselmo Town Council
As a Director of MarinResidents.org, I am deeply concerned about housing affordability, the ability of our seniors to stay in their homes and the ability of young families and renters to afford to live here.

San Anselmo already has rent control. Like in Fairfax and the rest of Marin, Tenant Protections are regulated statewide, by AB 1482. Passed in 2019, this regulation has informed the way housing providers and tenants interact, mostly to the benefit of both.

Extra rent control, like what is proposed for San Anselmo, has many negative consequences for so many, that outweigh any benefits for a select group :

Studies indicate that extra rent control:

Does nothing to increase housing affordability,
Decreases the supply of rental units.

Limits the income of senior housing providers and homeowners depending on rental income.

Lessens the option for young families of buying a home with a rental unit.

Dings property values for all homeowners in the community.

Increases rents for new renters and renters wanting to transition.

These are the real world economic consequences coming for the residents of San Anselmo which are backed by economists and years of peer reviewed studies.

This dark path is not the way to housing affordability. San Anselmo and the surrounding area should not just be for the rich and double income homes who can afford this beautiful area. Bringing the burden of extra rent control and the premium it adds to new rents, makes this area unaffordable to many working families.

It would also be a shame to limit the ability of a housing provider to maintain the property and have it fall into disrepair, because they were not able to both cover the mortgage, put food on the table and charge what is appropriate to keep good tenants.

Our goal should be to help make Marin affordable and culturally diverse by making it easier for housing providers and homeowners to provide additional spaces for rent.

Instead, it just gets harder for new people to move here as rent control starts limiting rental options. This area will increasingly be only for the wealthy as new rents skyrocket due to extra rent controls.

The best way to bring down rental prices is to bring down barriers to renting out space.

This world is crazy enough and life is hard enough. Let's make it easier, not more burdensome for housing providers to stay in their homes or make a reasonable return on their greatest investment, save for their retirement and provide a decent, wonderful 894
living space for great tenants and their families.

Let’s not create the burden of extra rent control so that working families in San Anselmo can enjoy more rental options, cheaper rents and potentially help them on the pathway to home ownership with a rental unit of their own.

Thank you.

Michael Sexton
Director - Marin Residents
MarinResidents.org and FairfaxResidents.org
[email protected]
895
From: VICTOR TURKAN
To: Town Council
Subject: Rent Control
Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 11:57:36
CAUTION: External Sender
HelloA few points about Rent Control:
- Rent Control regulations will not increase housing affordability or bring new housing to SA. - Rentals will be removed from an already tight rental market. Check Craigslist and other sites. - The town will have a system of Have and Have Nots, existing renters will have lower rents and new renters will pay a higher rent to offset losses due to higher expenses. An example, some insurance providers are raising rates up to 20% or worse canceling policies. MWWD rates have gone up too. These are real costs. - A council should not decide how 12,693 residents could be affected by Rent Control policies which include Just Cause Evictions.
- Look what has happened with Fairfax and Larkspur? Those councils didn’t listen and the Rent Control issue will now be decided by the voters. Please allow SA voters to decide. What is the fear? We live in a democracy. - What is the perceived benefit of Rent Control? It seems one group receives the benefit. This doesn’t seem very equitable to me.
- There are state renter protections:

AB 1482 and SB 567,
Which provide adequate tenant protections. Why not just use them? - We need new affordable housing built in SA.

I hope this council does the right thing by
allowing the town voters to decide what is best. What is the fear of allowing the SA voters to decide? Obviously, Fairfax and Larkspur had some reservations on allowing a vote and now those town’s voters WILL decide. I believe this council should not decide this issue and let the VOTERS decide.

Thank you
Victor Turkan,
San Anselmo
896
From: Margot Van Riper
To: Town Council
Subject: Issue of extra rent control in San Anslemo
Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 10:42:28
CAUTION: External Sender
Town Council –
I strongly believe that any local measure that imposes extra rent control should be put on the ballot.

Let the voters of San Anselmo decide on this contentious issue.

Fairfax’s Town Council made the error of pushing extra rent control, egged on by outside activists, and it has torn their town apart. They are now having it to put in on the ballot. Their measure is shortsighted and will not result in a solution for any of the parties involved. Please do not follow their misguided lead.

The state of California has rent control in place already, and I personally know many tenants who benefit. Let’s not make this into an issue that tears our town apart too.

Kind regards,
Margot Van Riper
San Anselmo
897
From: Savannah Wheeler
To: Town Council
Cc: Caroline Peattie; Julia Howard-Gibbon
Subject: FHANC Comment- Rent Stabilization and Eviction Protections Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 15:06:12
Attachments: 01.09.24_Rent Stabilization_San Anselmo_FHANC_Comment.pdf CAUTION: External Sender
Dear San Anselmo Town Council,
Please see Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California's attached comment regarding rent stabilization and eviction protections. Thank you for your consideration.

Best regards,
Savannah Wheeler
--
Savannah Wheeler
Staff Attorney/Housing Counselor
Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California
1314 Lincoln Avenue, Suite A
San Rafael, CA 94901
(628) 226-3219
[email protected]
pronouns: she/her
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information in this e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may concern confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, and have received this communication in error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.

Thank you.
898
_____________________________________________________________________________________ 1314 Lincoln Ave., Ste. A, San Rafael, CA 94901 (415) 457-5025 TDD: (800) 735-2922 www.fairhousingnorcal.org [email protected] Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California
SENT VIA EMAIL ONLY: [email protected]
January 9, 2024
Town Council
Town of San Anselmo
525 San Anselmo Ave
San Anselmo, CA 94960
RE: Rent Stabilization and Just Cause for Evictions
Dear Esteemed Officials and Town Staff:

Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) is a private nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting individuals experiencing housing discrimination and educating the community, including tenants, housing providers, and government employees, as to their rights and responsibilities under federal and state fair housing laws. The mission of FHANC is to ensure equal housing opportunity and to educate the community on the value of diversity in housing.

We appreciate the Council’s consideration of these important anti-displacement measures to help address Marin’s affordable housing crisis, and we urge you commit to enacting rent stabilization and just cause eviction ordinances.

FHANC wholeheartedly supports rent control and rent stabilization in the town of San Anselmo and urges the Town Council to adopt these ordinances as part of an integrated approach. FHANC believes this is a crucial step to preserving affordable housing for the most vulnerable populations in the county who are protected under federal and state fair housing law.

It is essential to pair Rent Stabilization with Just Cause to prevent landlords from evicting tenants in order to raise rents or from raising rents so much that tenants are forced to leave.

Together, Rent Control and Just Cause are an essential cornerstone of protecting renters from displacement, harassment, uninhabitable living conditions and discrimination. Unaffordable rent hikes and no-cause evictions disproportionately impact protected classes; these are fair housing issues that are causing displacement. Rent Control and Just Cause protections have existed in select cities across the country for many decades and have a strong track record of success.

Even though the State of California provides some protections for many renters under the 899
Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (AB 1482), these protections do not go far enough, and Local Rent Control and Just Cause protections are essential to prevent displacement and affirmatively further fair housing.

Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Protections are Key to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
Enacting rent stabilization and just cause eviction ordinances would constitute a key step toward meeting San Anselmo’s duty to affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH). AB 686, enacted in 2018, requires cities to affirmatively further fair housing by taking meaningful action to “overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity” for communities of color, persons with disabilities, and others protected by California law.1
Residents of color in Marin County are more likely to be renters than homeowners, and those who can least afford single family homes in the County are African American and Latinx households.2 FHANC’s data has highlighted how Covid has exacerbated economic disparities in the region, where 95% of our clients unable to pay housing costs due to Covid are people of color. The forces of displacement also have a disproportionate impact on people with disabilities, who are often on fixed incomes, voucher holders, and other members of protected classes under California law. There is a dire need for strong tenant protection policies to prevent further displacement and segregation.

The burden of unaffordability is borne by tenants who are harmed by the current lack of affordable housing, and that many devote half or more of their monthly income towards their rent in order to live in San Anselmo and the County. At worst, they are forced out of the County altogether or face homelessness. We continue to see those tenants at our agency. For those who choose to stay near the jobs, schools, or support systems that sustain them, the choice is sometimes living in a car or couch-surfing. For families with children or people with disabilities (including senior citizens), staying housed becomes exponentially more difficult.

FHANC’s complaint-based investigations and systemic investigations during the last several years have uncovered discriminatory practices in Marin County, such as offering fewer units, quoting higher rents, refusing to rent and/or falsely denying the availability of units, and stating more burdensome qualification requirements for Latinos, African-Americans, families with children, and persons with disabilities. Some clients who received no-cause termination notices or excessive rent increases felt that the issuance of the notice was due to discriminatory reasons, particularly if they were the only family, or African-American, or Latino at the complex who received such a notice. As housing providers are permitted to give significant rent increases – in many cases forcing the tenants to move out – members of protected classes increasingly feel as though they have been discriminated against. 1 See https://www.nhlp.org/wp-content/uploads/AB-686-Fact-Sheet-Feb.-2019.pdf 2 See https://www.marincounty.org/-/media/files/departments/cd/housing/fair-housing/2020- ai/2020ai_english.pdf?la=en
900
Implementing a Rent Control or Rent Stabilization ordinance would provide responsible tenants with assurances that they can have a stable home and will not be subject to unfair rent increases. We must do more to keep people housed in San Anselmo and Marin County and to affirmatively further fair housing.

Adopting rent stabilization and expanded just cause eviction protections are necessary and fundamental steps to preserving and promoting diversity in the San Anselmo community, allowing San Anselmo to make progress toward meeting its requirement to affirmatively further fair housing. We urge the Town to move forward expeditiously in adopting such ordinances to address the urgent needs of San Anselmo residents. Thank you for your leadership.

Sincerely,
Savannah Wheeler
Staff Attorney/Housing Counselor
Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California
901
From: Denise Padgett
To: Town Council
Subject: Public Comment for Rent Stabilization 1/9/24 SA Town Council Mtg Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 14:49:09
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear Council Members,
As a tenant in a small fourplex apartment building in San Anselmo for the last 7yrs I would like to enter a public comment in support of San Anselmo adopting a broadly inclusive rent stabilization policy with a strong rental cap set at 60% of CPI or 5%, whichever is lower, and to ask that small apartment buildings (duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, etc) are included in that ordinance.

I am a caucasian female who's worked the last 15 years for Sutter Health's California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, and when my african american/filipino husband and I learned we were pregnant with our first child we looked to move to a safe and healthy community where our daughter would thrive, and thrive she has in San Anselmo where she graduated from the town's Parkside Preschool, and now attends Wade Thomas Elementary and the town's Robson Aftercare program.

Even with my husband and I working full time the high rents of the Bay Area and in San Anselmo cause us to struggle to make ends meet, and if our landlord decided to raise our rent or evict us for any reason we would not have the means to stay in town and would have to pull our daughter from her school and friends, and would be threatened with homelessness.

We are unable to attend the town council meeting tonight in person, but beg you to consider that San Anselmo tenants living in smaller buildings deserve basic protections from sudden rent increases and arbitrary evictions, especially if the town would like to preserve and grow much needed diversity in the area.

It is shameful that fair rent stabilization policies exist in San Francisco and all the counties surrounding us, yet San Anselmo and Marin County seem to reinforce the bias that many investigative reports and documentaries have asserted that Marin policies purposefully keep out people of color and working class families. San Anselmo needs to send a message that yes, working families, seniors, and people with disabilities are welcome here and deserve to stay in their homes and not be displaced.

Thank you for your consideration,
Denise Padgett and Markus Brown-Lauron
1107 San Anselmo Ave Apt 1
415.603.8630
902
1 Maraby Tanguay
From: pamela waterstone <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 16:22
To: Town Council
Subject: Rent Control
CAUTION: External Sender
Dear San Anselmo Town Council Members,
Thank you for considering rent stabilization in the Town of San Anselmo. I am a long-time San Anselmo resident and even longer in the County (I owned homes for many years). However, due to being laid off and a divorce in 2010, I haven’t been able to afford a home of my own since that time. I have rented one apartment in SA since 2010. I paid $1600/mo from 4/2010 – 4/2016, $1750/mo from 5/2016-9/2017, $1850/mo from 10/2017-10/2018, $1925/mo from 11/2018-9/2022, $2094/mo from 10/2022-9/2023, and $2277/mo from 10/2023-present.

As you can see, rents are being raised and in increasingly more substantial amounts. I had previously planned my retirement and felt confident about being able to stay in Marin until I died, but no longer have that confidence. Given my age (65+), the pandemic, and just how fast the costs for everything have risen, I am back to working (which for now is fine but my health is already somewhat problematic and I can’t earn what I used to) and so I am hoping you will do your part to help hardworking people like me stay in Marin by doing the following:

1. Pass Rent Stabilization

2. Pass a strong rent cap (60% of inflation)

3. Include as many tenants as possible by not excluding small buildings.

Thank you for your consideration.

Pam Waterstone
903

January 8, 2024
Mayor Eileen Burke
Vice Mayor Tarrell Kullaway
Councilmember Brian Colbert
Councilmember Alexis Fineman
Councilmember Steve Burdo
SENT VIA EMAIL TO [email protected]
Re: Rent Stabilization and Just Cause for Evictions
Dear Esteemed Officials:

We represent a coalition of Marin non-profits working alongside and on behalf of thousands of Marin residents, especially the Latino immigrant community, BIPOC, older adults, persons with disabilities, and other lowerincome residents disproportionately impacted by the current housing crisis.

We are encouraged that this Council are considering important anti-displacement measures that will help keep San Anselmo tenants in their homes by closing gaps in housing laws that allows for pre-textual, no cause evictions. Market conditions1 and significant rent increases2 are displacing long-term San Anselmo residents. 51% of renters in San Anselmo are considered rent burdened or paying more than 30% of their income on housing costs.3 20% of those cost-burdened households are older adults.4 10% of rental units are disproportionately occupied by Latino or BIPOC residents when compared to home ownership.5 Since July of
2023, Legal Aid of Marin opened 12 housing cases for San Anselmo residents.6 8 of those cases are older adults facing eviction. So far, 4 of those older adults were forced to leave their home of many years. Had antidisplacement policies been in place, these tenants may have been able to stay in their homes or, at the very least, given enough time and money for a “soft landing.”
San Anselmo took thoughtful and bold steps during the pandemic to address the housing crisis that is acutely effecting San Anselmo’s most vulnerable populations. But for low-income residents, the financial impact from the pandemic is far from over. We urge this council build on this work by enacting ordinances that keep lowincome San Anselmo residents in their homes and community. 1 Buyers bet big on Marin multifamily market (therealdeal.com) 2 Average Rental Price in San Anselmo, CA & Market Trends | Zillow Rental Manager; Current allowable rent increases are 10% pursuant to AB 1482.
3 B25070: FINANCIAL CHARACTERISTICS - Census Bureau Table 4 B25072: Age of Householder by Gross Rent – Census Bureau Table 5 S2502: Demographic Characteristcs for Occupied Housing Units 6 Legal Aid of Marin can serve tenants who earn under 200% of the poverty line, or less than $29,160 for a household of 1. 904
The State Rent Cap is Not Enough
In the words of the esteemed author of AB 1482, former Assemblyman Chui, “This is the best we could do and we know it is not enough.” An annual 10% rent increase on the average 2 bedroom rental in Marin is not sustainable for San Anselmo’s low-income tenants, who are disproportionately represented by people of color, older adults, and persons with disabilities. The Town’s staff report provides an excellent picture (see “Table 2” of the San Anselmo staff report) of what low-income San Anselmo residents, many of whom are already rentburdened, face for their future housing costs. With no action at all by the council, tenants face an increase of over $1,200 per month in rental costs in just 5 years. This will only serve to exacerbate the displacement of logterm residents happening now.

The State’s Just Cause Protections are Not Enough to Protect San Anselmo Renters Long-term tenants – especially older adults and persons with disabilities, when forced out of their homes through no fault of their own, face a drastically changed rental market, with rents 2 to 3 times higher than what they had previously paid and very little inventory. Most displaced renters are forced to move out of the community, out of Marin7, and some even into their cars or into homelessness.8 The loss of these residents is devastating to our community as older adults are now the fastest growing homeless population in Marin.

However, capping rent increases is only a part of the solution. Without stronger just cause laws, owners can easily evict tenants to circumvent rent stabilization.

AB 1482 gave long-term tenants just-cause protections. However, it’s clear that AB 1482 does not go far enough. AB 1482 states the allowable reasons for eviction - including reasons that are no fault of the tenant.

AB 1482 further provides relocation costs for no-fault evictions in the amount of one months rent and a required 60 day notice period. For long-term renters who are already paying below market rents, a one months rent relocation payment is not nearly enough to get into a new home. Nor is 60 days nearly enough time in the current housing crisis to find an affordable unit.

Tenant’s Need Higher Relocation Payments And Longer Notice Periords When Evicted Through No Fault of Their Own
No-fault just cause evictions continue to be used, and abused, by owners to remove long-term, low-income tenants so that rents can be increased above the state rent cap. San Anselmo must go further to protect these renters - close current loopholes and bring tenant protections current with today’s economic environment.

As an example, a 82 year old client with Legal Aid of Marin lived in their rental home for 30 years, paying $800 per month. She lived on social security, which she had taken 20 years prior. At the time she began to collect social security, she knew money would be tight but doable. When she was evicted due to an owner move-in, she was given 60 days to move and $800 to find a new unit. After months of looking with the support of a housing navigation worker, she managed to find a unit for $1100. That would leave her $100 per month for food and medicine. Having no family to rely upon, she had no choice and took the unit, but continues to worry about how long she will be able to maintain it. She considers herself one of the lucky ones. The owner never did move into the unit our client was evicted from.

The notice period and relocation payments allowed by current law does not reflect current market conditions.

As Marin’s RHNA numbers reflect, not enough housing has been built to accommodate the population, thus vacancy rates are extremely low. Waitlists for affordable housing, if open at all, are years-long. A longer 7 B07413: GEOGRAPHICAL MOBILITY IN THE... - Census Bureau Table – 404 renters moved out of San Anselmo in 2021 8 Latest Homeless Count Reflects Pandemic’s Toll (marincounty.org) 905
notice period and higher relocation payment is critical to address current needs of low-income tenants when forced to move. This is especially true for older adults. With an ever-increasing aging population in Marin, seniors on fixed-incomes make up a disproportionate number of our clients and a disproportionate number of residents entering homelessness.

Conclusion
Low-income tenants do not have time to wait for an election and they certainly do not have time to wait for Marin to “build” its way out of this housing crisis. They need this Council to act now to stop the displacement.

Thank you for your leadership.

Sincerely,
Legal Aid of Marin
Community Action Marin
Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California
Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative
Canal Alliance
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San Anselmo City CouncilJanuary 9, 2024

San Anselmo City Council
January 9, 2024