Rental Housing Committee authorizes up to $285,000 in legal services to support rent-stabilization rules

The Mountain View Rental Housing Committee on June 11 approved renewing legal services contracts with Goldfarb and Litman LLP to support implementation and litigation work tied to city rent-stabilization laws.

Staff said the contracts would provide counsel and litigation representation for the Community Stabilization Fair Rent Act (CSFRA) and the Mobile Home Rent Stabilization Ordinance (MHRSO). The committee was asked to authorize the rent stabilization manager, or a designee, to execute an agreement not to exceed $250,000 for CSFRA-related legal work and $35,000 for MHRSO-related work. Staff noted that any contract exceeding $50,000 requires Rental Housing Committee approval.

Committee member Kevin Ma moved to authorize the agreements; the motion was seconded and the committee voted unanimously to approve the contracts. The motion language on the record asked that the rent stabilization manager or designate be authorized to execute agreements for both CSFRA and MHRSO and to represent the committee and the city in related litigation.

The presentation listed the contract purpose as providing subject-matter expertise, drafting regulations and staff reports, attending meetings, and representing the committee and city in litigation. There was no public comment on the item and no committee questions beyond procedural clarification.

Notes on the record: when Kevin Ma moved the motion he explicitly stated, "I make a motion to authorize the rent stabilization manager or designate to execute an agreement with Goldfarb and Litman LLP"; a later line in the transcript miscited the mover and seconder in a way that conflicts with the speaker's self-identification. The transcript does not record individual vote names; the chair announced the motion passed unanimously.