Council's Katrina relief plans still taking shape Council's Katrina relief plans still taking shape (October 28, 2005)

By Jon Wiener

The city council approved a plan that could make it easier for refugees from Hurricane Katrina to find low-income housing in Mountain View, but it is still only a concept, and no one knows if it will accomplish much.

In a deal whose details have yet to be hammered out, the council voted 6-1 to rework an agreement with Mid-Peninsula Housing Coalition, allowing the nonprofit to give preference to Katrina refugees in filling any vacancies. The deal would apply to four of the agency's seven housing developments in Mountain View.

Matt Pear opposed the plan, saying it could only reduce the availability of housing for local residents.

Terese McNamee, director of asset management for Mid-Pen, said the increased flexibility might help, but she could not predict whether any refugees actually wanted to live here.

In mid-September, council members rejected San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales' request that each city in the county donate 50 cents per resident to the American Red Cross. At the time, council members said they could come up with more creative ways to help that wouldn't involve giving away taxpayer money.

But discussion of any potential alternative was delayed by the combination of a strange schedule and a long discussion about medicinal marijuana clubs two weeks ago.

"You can't turn your eye when something of this magnitude happens," said cCouncil member Mike Kasperzak, who sat out the meeting in September because he is on the board of the Palo Alto Area Red Cross.

Council members also directed staff, by way of a 6-1 vote, to look into potential "sister cities" programs in which Mountain View could donate staff time or surplus equipment to recovering areas in the Gulf Coast. The plan would focus mainly on communities in the Southeast that have absorbed large numbers of refugees. Laura Macias dissented.

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

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