The Salinas City Council approved placing a referendum to the November general election ballot where voters will decide whether or not to repeal four rent-related ordinances originally adopted in 2024.
“Let's put this in the community's hands. I trust the community to make the right decision and whatever decision the community makes, I certainly will respect that,” Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue said on Tuesday, June 2.
“There is no letter or number assigned to this ballot measure yet. The Registrar of Voters will do that according to their own schedule, and there is no additional cost to the city to have this item placed on the ballot,” City Attorney Christopher Callihan said.
Although this vote was a procedural step on something that has already been the subject of lengthy discussion—and a successful referendum effort that gathered thousands of signatures—it still generated an hour of discussion and 13 residents spoke up during the public comment period. “Rents have not fallen, costs have gone up, housing production has not increased, it has effectively stopped and the affordable housing that was promised has not materialized. I urge everyone to vote yes on the repeal,” said Rose Maria Juarez Clark.
According to Zillow, average rents in Salinas are approximately $2,700 per month and have increased by about $163 over the last year. Renters account for roughly 53 percent of all households in the city.
This decision follows the City Council’s action on Sept. 9, 2025, to submit Ordinance No. 2687 to the voters, which repealed the four earliest ordinances: the residential rental registration program, which was approved in 2022; rent stabilization, limiting annual increase on certain properties to 2.75 percent; a tenant protection and just cause eviction ordinance; and a tenant anti-harassment policy.
Originally, Ordinance No. 2687 was adopted on June 3, 2025 on a 5-2 vote by City Council, repealing a previous council’s policies. The repeal was scheduled to go into effect on July 3, 2025. However, a referendum petition, backed the group Protect Salinas Renters, was submitted to challenge the ordinance. After a discussion in September, the City Council decided to let the voters have the final say on the matter during the upcoming election.
The same evening, council also voted to place a renewal of the existing Measure G sales tax on the Nov. 3 ballot.