Build the homes Mountain View needs

The single biggest thing the city can do for affordability is allow more homes — especially near jobs, transit, and downtown.

• Legalize more housing throughout the city, so that people can live near the transit, jobs, parks, schools, and services that they need.
• Modernize outdated rules, so the projects we zone for can actually break ground instead of stalling out on paper.
• Adopt single-stair reform so small lots can become the kind of mid-rise, family-sized apartments other cities already allow.
• Cut the time and cost it takes to get a permit approved so housing actually gets built.
• Base fees on new construction on real evidence, so that projects don’t die because they can’t pay arbitrary fees that the city has never justified.
• Continue strong tenant protections while we grow, so today’s residents aren’t displaced by tomorrow’s progress.
• As more housing is built, ensure that our parks, streets, and local businesses are set up to support our new neighbors. Embrace that more Mountain View residents means an improved quality of life for everyone, with more people to support more local businesses, more tax revenue to maintain our parks, and more people riding and funding our public transit.
• We are in a climate crisis, and allowing more homes to be built in Mountain View is critical to reducing emissions and reducing unsustainable urban sprawl into rural areas.