From: Katharine Harer
Sent: Saturday, February 3, 2024 5:04 PM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Comment regarding rent control in San Rafael
Dear City Council members,
I cannot attend the meeting this Monday and I want to let you know how important it is to change the law(s) and create true and effective protections for renters in our city.
Our working class communities, especially in the Canal neighborhood where I have volunteered for many years, need to be able to remain in their homes. We must not push these hard-working members of our community out of San Rafael! Their kids go to our schools, they work their bottoms off in our gardens and houses, in the kitchens of our restaurants, in construction and many other useful professions in which they serve our community.
In this period of drastic income inequality, cities must protect their most vulnerable members, and rent control and protection from eviction is a vital step in that direction.
Please listen to the people of San Rafael, a city I am proud to live in. Please do the right thing for our city and our people. It's such a hard time economically for many of our residents. Let's not let big corporate real estate interests enrich themselves at the mercy of our residents. Let's prove to our citizens that we care in the most practical way possible, with rent and eviction control.
Thank you for listening,
Katharine Harer
Teacher & community member
From: Peter Goetz
Sent: Monday, February 5, 2024 3:45 AM
To: Distrib- City Clerk <[email protected]> Subject: Need for rent stabilization
Dear San Rafael City Council:
As a longtime resident of San Rafael, and a senior renter, I respectfully call upon the Council to put rent stabilization and eviction protections on your agenda at your earliest opportunity.
Our city needs to institute protections for all renters to keep people in their homes.
My personal situation — living in a rented apartment while depending on Social Security — is shared by many, but I write on behalf of all San Rafael renters. All of us face potential annual rent increases of 9 or 10% under current California law, and in the absence of any restrictions at the city level.
To face such a rise when one’s income may increase no more than the rate of inflation is a frightening prospect, and may result in a family needing to leave their home, needing to move away … or worse.
I request furthermore that the Council consider protections for renters who are evicted for no fault of their own. Placing this issue on your agenda will allow for research into the many cases that renters face without sufficient security or recompense when landlords make legal choices that result in tenant evictions.
Thank you for confronting this critical issue for your citizens, by placing rent stabilization and eviction protections on your agenda.
Sincerely,
Peter Goetz