|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
At Mountain View’s annual “State of the City” address last week, Mayor Emily Ann Ramos highlighted the city’s key accomplishments over the past year as well as its future priorities, including plans to put a potential tax measure on the November ballot.
“It not only takes ‘people power’ to build the Mountain View of tomorrow, it also takes money, especially when you have a bold vision for what our city can become for current and future generations,” Ramos said.
For the second year, the May 19 event was held at the Mountain View Community Center and free for the public. City officials, local leaders and residents chatted over drinks, dinner and dessert ahead of the mayor’s speech. Before last year, the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce co-hosted the annual event, which required a paid ticket to attend.
Last week, Ramos presented a generally positive outlook for Mountain View, describing several initiatives that seek to improve residents’ quality of life. Some of the city’s plans include a new police and fire headquarters, affordable housing projects, road improvements for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians, and adding new parks and open spaces.
“We are exploring options to increase revenue for addressing these community needs and these options include a possible general obligation bond measure,” Ramos said. She added that the City Council would discuss the tax measure at its June 23 meeting.
Two years ago, Mountain View voters backed a city-initiated revenue measure that raised the property transfer tax on residential and commercial buildings that sell for more than $6 million. The tax is expected to add about $8 million annually to the city’s coffers, according to an April city staff report.
Affordable housing projects also featured prominently in the annual update. The city is a regional leader on adding housing, Ramos said. In March, nonprofit developers Related California and Alta Housing broke ground at Lot 12, a city-owned parking lot on Bryant Street that is being turned into a 120-unit affordable apartment building. The project is expected to be completed in 2028, Ramos said.
Affirmed Housing, also a nonprofit developer, is making progress on a city-owned site at 87 E. Evelyn Ave. that would bring 161 new affordable homes, Ramos said.
The mayor wrapped up her speech by calling for community members to pitch in to make Mountain View a better place.
“The true strength of Mountain View has always been its people,” Ramos said. “It is the neighbors who show up for one another, the volunteers who give their time, the small business owners who invest in our community, and the families who make this city their home.”
The message resonated with Mountain View resident Kaushali Thakore who attended the event and browsed some of the information tables displaying volunteer opportunities outside the community center. Thakore expressed an interest in Deer Hollow Farm, a working homestead and educational center at Rancho San Antonio County Park and Open Space Preserve.
“I didn’t know about it before,” she said.
