Mayor Ramos, Vice Mayor Clark, and Members of the Mountain View City Council,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Item 3.1 “Legislative Program Priorities for 2026.”
We appreciate that the city has prioritized many items for federal and state legislation that align with our city values, particularly of being a “Community for All.”
However, we recommend that the city prioritize lobbying for state legislation in areas which affect Mountain View most urgently.
In particular, we recommend that the city council:
- Support the introduction of legislation to clear up and extend the timelines for SB79 local alternative plans. As we pointed out to the council and city staff in previous presentations, much of the language around when plans need to be submitted is not clearly spelled out in the text of SB79. Since the council has given direction to not start work on an SB79 local alternative plan until 2027, having clarity in this matter is of utmost importance.
- Support legislation that would give cities like Mountain View that have a pro-housing designation more flexibility in determining where new housing will be built. Mountain View is one of the few cities in Santa Clara County to receive this designation, which represents a willingness to build more housing within our city limits. If the state were willing to reciprocate by giving cities with this designation more local control over where the housing would be built, more city residents would support the state’s housing legislative agenda.
Thank you for considering our view on this important topic.
Robert Cox, Louise Katz, Chuck Muir, Julie Muir, Nancy Stuhr, Maureen Blando, Leslie Freeman, David Lewis, Carol Lewis, Muriel Sivyer-Lee, Hala Alshahwany, Sean O’Malley, and Jerry Steach
For the Steering Committee of Livable Mountain View
