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Mountain View residents could see on their November ballots an option to approve changes to the city’s foundational contract, the City Charter.
Mountain View’s charter, which was first adopted in 1952, is a voter-approved legal document that essentially serves as a local constitution for the city, spokesperson Lenka Wright told the Voice. It lays out the basic rules, structures and powers for how the city operates.
In what could be the first of two rounds of proposed amendments to update the charter, the city is looking to make technical and clarifying changes, such as correcting typos, switching to gender-neutral language and revising outdated phrasing. City staff have characterized the changes as “non-substantive” and “non-controversial.”
The City Council reviewed the proposed amendments Tuesday evening, providing feedback to city officials who will eventually bring the amendments back for an official vote on whether to include them on November’s ballot. The city has until Aug. 7 to place a measure on the fall ballot, and the City Council will likely take action on whether to do so in June, according to Wright.
The city’s charter hasn’t been amended since 2016, which is when voters approved the city’s rent control law, known as the Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act. Per the California Constitution, a charter can only be amended by a majority vote of the electors.
“As a council we’ve been talking about this for a very long time,” Council member Ellen Kamei said at the Feb. 10 meeting. “It’s something hopefully that is not new news to our community, and to be able to take this step, will be really great.”
The City Council is expected to consider more substantive amendments to the City Charter in 2028. Those modifications have been deferred until then so as to minimize “ballot complexity” in a year with a city bond measure, according to City Attorney Jennifer Logue. It also reduces the risk of necessary changes not going through because of too many amendments being heaped into one measure and will allow for the creation of a charter review committee, she said.
When developing this first batch of proposed amendments, the city attorney’s office reviewed the charters of nine other cities, including nearby ones, as well as larger ones that are often making changes to reflect evolving standards, Logue said.
“The review definitely helped provide a general understanding of modern drafting approaches and commonly used requirements,” she told the council.
Council members weigh in on changes
Some of the proposed changes to the charter include fixing typographical errors, transitioning to gender-neutral terminology and aligning language to comply with state law. Other tweaks include clarifying phrasing and updating municipal code references in the city’s rent control law.
Council members generally backed the minor changes that staff is proposing for the coming ballot.
One specific proposal that drew support from council members was an amendment to extend the timeframe for the City Council to either appoint someone or call for a special election to fill a vacant seat from 30 to 60 days.
“Sixty days, I think, is sufficient,” Mayor Emily Ann Ramos said. “It’s literally double what we had before.”
Some Council members expressed hesitancy to make the suggested modification to the charter in regard to the city’s rent control law, which aims to update municipal code references.
“I would send that one back to the Rental Housing Committee,” Council member Pat Showalter said. “I don’t feel competent to really weigh in on that.”
Council member John McAlister suggested postponing the proposed amendments to 2028, noting that doing two rounds of changes would require “double effort” for staff conducting public outreach, but fellow council members disagreed.
“I don’t think we gain anything by waiting,” Council member Lucas Ramirez said. “I have waited eight years, so I’d like to do this before I die.”
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