Salinas City Council to decide what’s next on referendum over housing-related ordinances.

A 2.75-percent annual cap on rent increases, a rent registry and two other tenant protection ordinances are headed to Salinas City Council, again.

The council voted in June to overturn the four ordinances, and instead advance a rental assistance program. But a petition for a referendum was certified on Aug. 15 after organizers with the group Protect Salinas Renters obtained enough signatures to send the matter back to council. (Early in the referendum effort, the council’s repeal ordinance was suspended, pending the outcome of the petition. That means the ordinances at issue remain in effect for now.)

Salinas City Council is set to discuss next steps on Tuesday, Aug. 26. They have three options: undo their vote; send the matter to the voters in a special election; or combine it with a general election in 2026 (when there is a lower cost to place a referendum on the ballot).

Members of Protect Salinas Renters are urging the council to repeal their vote. “That’s our preference, and then there will be relief for renters,” says John Silva, a physician and member of the group.

Property owners, who have been vocal throughout the process, are backing a special election. “Families, renters and property owners deserve certainty and resolution now, not years from now. Delaying until a general election only prolongs uncertainty at a time when Salinas’ housing crisis demands immediate action,” Audrey Wardwell of 36 North Properties said in a statement.

Others continue to advocate for rental assistance, part of an alternate package put forward by the mayor. “Rental assistance actually helps the renters who need help the most with housing affordability,” says Adam Pinterits of the Monterey County Association of Realtors.

The four ordinances are rent stabilization; a rental registry, creating a database of all rental units in Salinas; just-cause eviction, requiring landlords to provide three months’ relocation assistance in evictions; and a tenant anti-harassment ordinance.