Last year WMA worked collaboratively with other property rights organizations in Butte County to remove rent controls that had been imposed four years prior due to forest fires. 

It was the result of several months of work and outreach, including letters to the Governor’s office, personal meetings with County Supervisors, and several remote meetings with their staff. 
During this process it became clear that some members of the county staff were keen on the idea of rent control, and wanted to find ways to put the idea in front of the full Board.

Before the Board directed the staff to study the issue, WMA asked the supervisors to take a step back and work with us to resolve problems instead of creating new ones. They agreed and asked staff to communicate with parkowners and residents first. We made ourselves available and stood ready to provide any assistance, but the staff had other plans.

For months, nothing happened. The staff went silent over the holidays. Then in April, parkowners in Butte County began receiving a survey and a notice of an in-person meeting later that month. After some digging we found out residents had received a similar communication, and were also meeting with county staff. In the resident meeting, county staff leaned heavily on the idea of a rent control ordinance or an MOU; their obvious intent was to rally residents to show up to the Board meeting asking for such. 

When WMA inquired, county staff responded that they were just trying to “build relationships’’ with residents and parkowners. When pushed further, county staff could not point to even one specific complaint made by residents that we could be of help with. It was clear, at that point, that having these discussions with staff was a pointless endeavor. WMA advised parkowners not to participate in the meetings, and we began contacting county supervisors directly instead.

During the public Board meeting, it was clear that the staff’s effort to rally residents failed. Only a handful of residents showed up to speak in favor of an ordinance. WMA spoke against it, and outlined ways in which we have tried and will continue to try to help resolve any outstanding issues between residents and parkowners. Fortunately, the Supervisors very responsive to our outreach, and ultimately asked staff to use current resources already available to them in order to help residents in need. 

While the item was being heard, WMA invited residents who showed up to have a discussion outside the boardroom so we could answer any questions. County Supervisors were appreciative of the effort, and during this time we were able to dispel a lot of falsehoods that had been recently circulated around the community. While we achieved a victory, this is a warning that even though elected officials in your area may not be interested in rent control, their staff may be. 

Be ever watchful of discussions happening in your region, and contact WMA immediately when you hear a rumor. It’s much easier to stop these efforts early before they become a big problem with a lot of momentum and “staff time invested.”

Saulo Londoño is WMA’s Regional Representative for the Northern California/Bay areas. He can be reached at 714.227.4009 or email saulo@wma.org.