ACTION Apartment Association - Rent control goes before Santa Rosa voters next week

Santa Rosans begin voting next week to determine whether the city should

implement rent control in a special election that is shaping up to be the most

divisive and expensive in the city’s history.

A sharply split City Council passed the controversial policy last fall, seeking to

address soaring rents and a spike in evictions. In response, local landlords and the

statewide organizations that support them funded a petition drive that suspended the law and

forced a referendum on the issue.

Now voters will decide the fate of Measure C in a citywide special election that is

shattering all spending records and putting Santa Rosa on the front lines of a

statewide debate over how cities can best address the housing crisis.

If approved, rent increases would be capped at 3 percent annually for about 11,100

apartments built in Santa Rosa before Feb. 1, 1995. Measure C would also require

landlords to give a reason for evicting tenants, and in some cases require them to

pay relocation expenses.

Voting by mail begins Monday, and residents go to the polls on June 6.