Salinas residents launch a referendum to bring back repealed tenant protection ordinances.

A vote by Salinas City Council on Tuesday night to repeal four housing-related ordinances was by now expected. The council had previously voted twice to take this action, and the June 3 vote was the final step to authorize the direction.

But this time, the discussion did not draw hundreds of people to City Hall, nor the signs for or against that have filled the chamber previously. But just minutes after the vote, a small crowd gathered outside clapping and chanting: “¿Qué queremos? Justicia! ¿Cuándo? ¡Ahora!” and “¡Sí, se puede!”

The group, called Protect Salinas Renters, is a coalition of doctors, teachers, students and more. Their goal: To launch a referendum campaign to repeal the council’s decision.

They aim to collect 10,000 signatures of registered voters within 30 days. (For a referendum, they need signatures from 10 percent of the number of registered voters. In the previous election there were 68,878 registered voters, which would amount to 6,888 signatures.)

“We feel like there’s a window here to bypass city council and go directly to the people,” says John Silva, a member of Protect Salinas Renters. “I was disappointed that all that hard work was erased for ideological moneyed interests.”

“It seems that our voices have become invisible. Our people are no longer being heard,” says Sabino Lopez, with the Center for Community Advocacy. (Lopez believes people didn’t show up because they were discouraged by previous outcomes.)

The 5-2 vote on June 3 repeals four ordinances: rent stabilization, with an annual 2.75-percent rent increase limit; a tenant protection and just cause eviction policy stricter than the state’s; and an anti-harassment ordinance that all took effect Jan. 1. It also repeals a rental registry ordinance that took effect in 2023. Council also voted to explore a rental assistance program, at the direction of Councilmember José Luis Barajas.

None of the council members who voted in favor of the repeal delivered any final comments.

During a previous discussion on May 13, Mayor Dennis Donohue said, “Good policy has to work over the course of time. In my mind, it was clear this was not a sustainable policy, and that it was important to be addressed sooner rather than later.”

Members of Protect Salinas Renters have argued the City should let the ordinances play out and adjust them as needed. “You can make amendments or corrections to that rental stabilization ordinance,” Silva says. He notes the rent stabilization ordinance included a provision where landlords can request higher increases to obtain a “fair return on investment.”

The coalition began organizing for a referendum in May, after the council’s previous vote to repeal. Since then, they say they have recruited over 80 volunteers.

If they succeed in gathering enough signatures, the June 3 repeal ordinance will be paused. According to Elections Code, council then has three options: Put the decision to the voters on the next general election ballot next June; put it to a special election; or repeal the ordinance themselves. In the first two options, the voters could choose to uphold or overturn council’s decision.

If they do not get enough support for a referendum, the ordinance takes effect in 30 days.