Salinas council prepares to repeal its rent control ordinances.

Celia Jiménez here, thinking about how best to approach the housing crisis. 

One controversial approach is on the agenda tomorrow, May 13, where Salinas City Council is set to consider repealing four ordinances that the previous council put in place to help residents who are struggling to pay their rent. They are a rental registry; rent stabilization, capping annual increases at 2.75 percent; tenant protection and just cause eviction; and tenant anti-harassment ordinance. 

Since January, when the makeup of the council changed, people for and against these ordinances have been showing up regularly at council meetings, making their opinions heard. 

On April 22, the council voted 5-2 to repeal the ordinances at a later date. The only two opposing votes were councilmembers Andrew Sandoval and Tony Barrera, who both had voted in favor of the previous suite of ordinances.

Various residents, nonprofit organizers and doctors have advocated to keep these ordinances in place and have met with councilmembers over concerns about how rescinding them could negatively impact the quality of life for Salinas residents.

On the other side are property owners and managers—and a majority of City Council—arguing that the path forward to build more housing (an obvious need) is paved by removing the renter protections, and instead defaulting to state protections, which are less strict than the city’s.

One vocal supporter of repeal is Audrey Wardwell of 36 North Properties, who issued a press release Friday afternoon announcing that a judge in an eviction case brought by C&C Property Management determined that part of the city’s protections—a 10-day required timeline for an eviction notice, more stringent than California’s three-day requirement—is an unconstitutional violation of state law. (We wanted to know more, but such cases are confidential in the court system until after property owners win; as of Monday afternoon, the case remains confidential in the Monterey County Superior Court system.) 

Salinas was the first city in Monterey County to implement a rental registry and rent stabilization ordinance, but it’s an accomplishment that may be short-lived. Many renters have voiced that most of their income is used to pay rent. To address those concerns, even as they vote on repealing renter protections, council tomorrow is also set to also consider the first steps in creating a rental assistance program.

The discussion is scheduled for Tuesday, May 13 at 6pm at Salinas City Hall. You can participate in person—if the past is any indication, the chambers will be packed—or offer comments by calling in.