By Chris Kramer — Sept 15, 2023
I urge you to email the Monterey City Council members to let them know that the Rental Registry Ordinance is a bad idea. And then, either go to the meeting and make public comment, or submit your public comment in advance by sending it to the City Clerk. Time is of the essence, don’t delay! (It is easy to do. See the flyer for instructions.)
Even if you do not live in Monterey, you may want to take interest in whether this ordinance passes. It may very well affect you as well. Monterey looked to the Salinas rental registry ordinance in writing their own. And if Monterey passes their rental registry, which they are likely to do, then neighboring cities will take notice and potentially follow suit.
The stated intent of the registry is to provide transparency and data to guide future regulation. For the transparency piece, the info that will be provided to the public is already readily available. So reading between the lines, what this is really for is to guide future regulation. In other words, it paves the way for rent control. And it just so happens that there will be a ballot measure in November to move authority for rent control from the state to cities. So there you have it !!!
Rent control has consequences opposite of those intended. It discourages development, rental units, and landlords. If you make it difficult to be a landlord, then landlords will want to quit being landlords. In an area that has a shortage of rental units, we don’t need to cause an even greater shortage. This shortage will not hurt just Monterey renters. A greater shortage in Monterey means a greater shortage in the county overall. This ordinance would have an impact on the lives of renters and landlords residing all over the county. If that will have an impact on you, then I urge you to write in for public comment, whether you live in Monterey or not. The meeting is Sept 19. Do not delay! Refer to the flyer for council member emails and how to submit public comments for the city council meeting.
