Hello Sebastopol community,
As recently reported by the Press Democrat, rents in Sonoma County have increased 49.5% in the past 5 years and Sonoma County has 3 times the national homeless rate. We are in the middle of an unprecedented housing crisis where households and families are struggling to keep a roof over their head, living paycheck to paycheck, living out of their cars, couchsurfing homeless etc.
We have a City Council meeting this coming Tuesday, December 6th at 6 PM in which the decision to extend the rent moratorium for another 6 months will be made so that landlords (who have 3 or more housing units), cannot raise the rent on their units beyond 3% a year until the moratorium is over. We need 4 out of the 5 council members to vote in favor of the moratorium to have it extended which will allow more time to come up with solutions to the current housing crisis while also supporting vulnerable households and families in the meantime.
If you are so moved, please consider coming to the meeting to hold a sign, to speak, to be there in solidarity, or writing a letter or making a phone call to one or preferably all of the below council members. In addition to council member contact info, a letter that I am working on is pasted below that you could borrow from if you’d like. Here is a link to an article by UC Berkeley researchers about rent control in case that is of interestRent Control: The Key to Neighborhood Stabilization .
Also, if you have any questions, concerns etc, feel free to reach out to me.
Thank you,
Jacob
Sebastopol City Council members:
Neysa Hinton: [email protected] / 707 495-9087
Michael Carnacchi: [email protected] / 707 823-7204
Una Glass: [email protected] / 707 292-0631
Sarah Glade Gurney: [email protected] / 707 823-6500
Patrick Slater: [email protected] / 707 829-9090
Dear Councilmember ____________,
We are in the middle of an unprecedented housing crisis where households and families are struggling to keep a roof over their head, living paycheck to paycheck, living out of their cars, couchsurfing homeless etc. As recently reported by the Press Democrat, rents in Sonoma County have increased 49.5% in the past 5 years and Sonoma County has 3 times the national homeless rate. In consideration of the many families and community members like myself who struggle to continue to be able to continue to afford to live here, I ask that you extend the rent moratorium for another 6 months. Extending the rent moratorium will allow more time to come up with solutions to the current housing crisis while also protecting vulnerable community members from rent increases in the meantime.
With budgets stretched to the breaking point, households are increasingly vulnerable to displacement from their homes and neighborhoods. In addition to increased risk of displacement, housing insecurity comes with a multitude of consequences and is especially intense for children, causing behavioral problems, educational delays, depression, low birth weights, and other health conditions such as asthma.
Not only does this have impacts on low-income families and households the skyrocketing costs of housing is making it increasingly difficult for the people who power our local economy and provide essential services including teachers, retail and hospitality workers, builders, postal workers etc.
Sebastopol has a an extensive history of being a progressive stronghold that values inclusivity, equity and equality. I really hope that the Sebastopol City Council lives up to those values and extends the rent moratorium for another 6 months so that we can support many of Sebastopol’s vulnerable community members who are at risk in the midst of the current housing crisis.
Thank you for considering this,