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.

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.

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.

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. The status quo is a disaster and we shouldn’t extrapolate from it to guide the future! The proposed figure of 440,000 homes is not enough.

Dear Mayor Abe-Koga and Members of the City Council:

MV YIMBY, a local volunteer advocacy group, expresses its wholehearted support of the proposed development at 1001 N Shoreline. This development will provide 303 much-needed new homes, close to major employers, with zero displacement and minimal impact on existing neighborhoods.

The site is walking distance from employers in Terra Bella and North Bayshore. For those residents who will work outside the area, it is conveniently located to Highway 101 and future transit routes to the downtown transit center. And, since the new buildings will replace a surface parking lot adjacent to an existing office building of similar height, they will only minimally affect the character of the neighborhood.

Dear Mayor Abe-Koga and City Council:

The Mountain View chapter of South Bay YIMBY expresses its support for repurposing downtown street space for restaurant seating. We have long supported making Castro Street more walkable. We believe that auto traffic on the street’s downtown core is unnecessary, and that street parking there is especially detrimental to visitors’ experiences. We agree with Mayor Abe-Koga that “the social distancing requirements of COVID-19 makes this an opportune time for us to try this concept [pedestrianization]” (as quoted by Elena Kadvany in the MV Voice, May 13).

Dear Mayor Abe Koga and the members of council:

We are excited to see the first project in the East Whisman Precise Plan area coming to council for approval!
There’s much to like about this project:

• Located walking and biking distance to offices in the East Whisman neighborhood
• 427 much needed homes, including 157 missing middle ownership homes
• Addition of a 16000 sq foot public park
• Walking distance to Middlefield light rail station
• $4 million community benefit contribution ($1.5 million more than is required)

We urge the council to expedite the approval of this project, ensuring it can continue forward.
David Watson
Team Lead,
Mountain View YIMBY (30+ members)

Election Results

The results are in from the Primary election for Mountain View.

State Senate - District 13

Our endorsed candidate for State Senate race, Shelly Masur, will not continue into the General Election in the Fall. It will be a match up between Josh Becker and Alex Glew. We thank Redwood City Councilmember Shelly Masur for boldly taking pro-housing stances, including supporting SB-50, and we were proud to endorse her.

To the Environmental Planning Commission:

MV YIMBY, a local volunteer advocacy group, expresses its wholehearted support of the proposed development at 1001 N Shoreline. This development will provide 303 much-needed new homes, close to major employers, with zero displacement and minimal impact on existing neighborhoods.

The site is walking distance from employers in Terra Bella and North Bayshore. For those residents who will work outside the area, it is conveniently located to Highway 101 and future transit routes to the downtown transit center. And, since the new buildings will replace a surface parking lot adjacent to an existing office building of similar height, they will only minimally affect the character of the neighborhood.

Dear City Manager Kimbra McCarthy:

The Mountain View chapter of South Bay YIMBY would like to congratulate you on your recent appointment to the City Manager position.

We are a group of grassroots volunteers across the political spectrum that advocates for all types of new housing and fair housing policies. As Mountain View residents, our priority is to increase the availability and affordability of housing in walking distance to jobs, services, and mass transit.