Rent control measure on hold Rent control measure on hold (July 30, 2004)

Lieber runs out of time to get question on ballot

By Jon Wiener

Only the market will be holding down the space rents at Mountain View's mobile home parks since state Assembly member Sally Lieber called off her plan to get a rent control initiative on the November ballot.

"We're going to have to bring it up at a later election," said Lieber. Gathering the 3,568 signatures necessary to get the measure on the ballot by the Aug. 6 deadline would take an estimated $5,000 and 30 volunteers, according to Lieber.

"The timeline was just too short to put that together for this election," she said Tuesday.

Lieber added that she will continue to pursue the matter and try to get the measure on a later ballot. As a city council member from 1999 to 2002, Lieber encouraged the council to hold a referendum on the issue, but found little support among her colleagues. She said she hopes that the new council elected this November will get behind the idea. If not, she will proceed with efforts to gather the signatures to qualify the initiative for a future ballot.

"We have folks who are very interested, and we feel like the community support is definitely there," said Lieber.

News that the issue would not be up for a vote drew a mixed reaction from mobile home owners.

"I'm disappointed, I really am," said Kate McDermott, a resident of Sahara Village -- which is owned by controversial developer John Vidovich -- and a supporter of Lieber's efforts. "I think it's absolutely necessary. I think Vidovich's rates are way out of line and simply not in tune with the Mountain View market."

Other mobile home owners are not as convinced.

"I haven't made up my mind myself," said Shawn Jipp, president of the homeowners association at Santiago Villa, also owned by Vidovich and the largest of eight parks in Mountain View. "People I thought would be against it are for it. Some people I thought would be for it are not."

The dispute over rent control in mobile home parks centers on whether park owners or residents should benefit from appreciating land value. Proponents of rent control say that any increase in space rents drives down the value of the mobile home at that location.

George Whitteker, manager at Santiago Villa and Sahara Village, countered by saying that rent control prevents park owners from spending money to maintain and upgrade their parks.

"I don't think she's given up," Whitteker said of Lieber. "I think you'll see the initiative on a ballot in the future."

Lieber has been an advocate for mobile home owners in their battles with management since she served on the city's ad hoc advisory committee on mobile home parks. Complaints from residents at Santiago Villa and Sahara Village dating back several years prompted the council to initiate a mediation process between residents and management.

Residents at Santiago Villa finished the second of two mediation sessions in June. Sahara Village residents are scheduled to also begin using mediation soon.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com.

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