Yes In My Back Yard

We are Mountain View YIMBY, advocating for more housing in our city and beyond. We are pro-housing activists fighting for more inclusive housing policies and a future of abundant housing in Mountain View. We drive policy change to increase the supply of housing at all levels and bring down the cost of living in our thriving city.

The San Francisco Bay Area is not “full” of too many people. It is full of opportunity to create a dynamic economy and housing market that work for everyone. The housing shortage is a political problem: Zoning and other restrictions have prevented construction of enough places for people to live. We want to fix this and make our community more welcoming and inclusive. Let’s legalize housing.

Letter to Council - Density Bonus Ordinance

 Posted on February 8, 2021  |  Salim Damerdji

Dear Mayor Kamei and Members of the City Council, Mountain View YIMBY supports staff’s recommendation on Item 6.1 Density Bonus Ordinance, though we believe staff’s recommendation would be improved by slightly modifying §36.48.80(5)(d). City staff deserves credit for crafting such smart tweaks to the city’s density bonus law, as their tweaks would make our density bonus law clearer, simpler, and easier to administer. With these improvements, affordable homes can be built faster, and city staff will be freed up to spend more time on council’s legislative priorities. [Read More]

Letter to EPC - 555 West Middlefield Road Residential Project

 Posted on February 3, 2021  |  Pardis Beikzadeh

To the Environmental Planning Commission: Mountain View YIMBY, a local volunteer advocacy group, expresses enthusiastic support for the proposed project at 555 West Middlefield. We like this project because: It is a no-displacement project that adds 329 new homes in place of surface parking! 15% of on-site below market rate homes! Walking distance to downtown, Caltrain, and a grocery store, and right next to Stevens Creek trail this site provides a great location to lead a car-free lifestyle to the residents. [Read More]

Letter to EPC - Google Middlefield Park Master Plan

 Posted on February 3, 2021  |  Pardis Beikzadeh

To the Environmental Planning Commission: Mountain View YIMBY, a local volunteer advocacy group, expresses strong support for Google’s proposed Middlefield Park Master Plan. The opportunity to add 1,675 to 1,900 new homes, with a target of 20% below market rate makeup in a mixed-use setting, right next to jobs is quite exciting! This master plan has the potential to create a one-of-a-kind community that affords residents a car-free lifestyle and easy access to high paying tech jobs and their associated service jobs in Mountain View. [Read More]

Letter to Council - R3 Zoning Update

 Posted on November 13, 2020  |  David Watson

Dear Mayor Abe-Koga and Members of the City Council, Mountain View YIMBY would like to share our vision for Item 8.1 R3 Zoning District Update. Overall, we would like to see the city adopt changes to the R3 zoning that make it more flexible, feasible, and predictable in terms of both the total fees and timing of the process. We think this can be achieved via a form-based code. More specifically, we would like to see: [Read More]

Mountain View YIMBY bids farewell to Mayor Adrian Fine of Palo Alto

 Posted on November 7, 2020  |  Ilya Gurin

Mountain View YIMBY sends its regards to Mayor Adrian Fine of Palo Alto, who declined to seek re-election this year. Adrian, we wish you all the best in your future endeavors, and we will miss having you as an ally. We share the sentiments Adrian expressed in this interview with The Six Fifty in October. We appreciate the shout-out to our city of Mountain View, but we need to keep up the momentum and keep up the pressure on our neighboring cities to build more! [Read More]

November 2020 Endorsements

 Posted on September 21, 2020  |  David Watson

We’ve completed our endorsement process. For Mountain View City Council, we’re endorsing Alex Nuñez Pat Showalter John Lashlee Sally Lieber Other Endorsements No on Measure C Yes on Prop 15 Mountain View City Council Alex Núñez Alex Núñez is a strong housing and anti-displacement advocate in Mountain View. He supports building affordable housing for low- and middle-income workers; exploring additional business taxes to support BMR construction; and a strong Right of Return policy coupled with No-Net-Loss development standards. [Read More]

Letter to Council - Displacement Response Strategy Update

 Posted on September 20, 2020  |  Michael Abramson

Dear Mountain View City Council: Dear Mayor Abe-Koga and the members of council, The Mountain View chapter of South Bay YIMBY appreciates the opportunity to comment on Agenda Item 3.1. Displacement Response Strategy Update. We’ve read the Staff report and we support its recommendations. We find especially important the emphasis on Acquisition/Preservation Program. We encourage the City Council to award the grant for developing the options for sustainable funding for this program as soon as possible and to consider a wide range of funding sources. [Read More]

Letter to Council - Public Storage/Alta Housing Gatekeeper

 Posted on August 23, 2020  |  Ilya Gurin

Dear Mountain View City Council: I am writing to support the gatekeeper development request (item 6.1 on Tuesday’s agenda). There are many families who live or work in Mountain View who desperately need (I do not use that word lightly) the proposed 105 below-market-rate units. Public Storage’s proposed land donation is commendable, and would set a wonderful precedent of cooperation. And I’m sure that Council is already aware that the site is conveniently located near both employment centers and the future transit artery on Shoreline. [Read More]

November 2020 Endorsements

 Posted on July 12, 2020  |  David Watson

Mountain View City Council

We’re beginning our endorsement process, stay tuned for endorsements in the 2020 Mountain View Council Election.

If you’re a candidate interested in early endorsement, please contact us: hello@mvyimby.com

State Legislation

At Mountain View YIMBY, we’re excited to endorse Prop 15, which closes corporate property tax loopholes.

Letter to ABAG - One million new homes is the real RHNA number

 Posted on July 7, 2020  |  Jeremy Hoffman

Dear Mayor Jesse Arreguin, President, Association of Bay Area Governments, As I wrote in an Op-ed in the Mountain View Voice last year, regional coordination is the only way we can solve the Bay Area’s regional challenges of housing affordability and transit. Now, more than ever, we need ABAG to provide bold leadership to get out of the hole we’re in. So it was with great disappointment that I read about the dubious assumptions going into our RHNA needs determination. [Read More]