To the Mayor and all Council members: Although I do not own any apartments in Menlo Park, I write to you as an owner of rental
property for over 40 years. Many of my units are in San Jose which has had rent control since 1994. Since 1994 San Jose has nearly
doubled its’ rental stock and enjoyed relatively few problems under the rent control ordinance. And with all that said, San Jose
rents are among the highest in the United States. In the past year, San Jose has modified the rent control ordinance and made it
even more strict. The result, rents continue to escalate.
What many fail to realize is that the exorbitant rent increases people rant and rave about only happen in a handful of buildings
and typically it comes when tenants have enjoyed very low rents for a long time. Most owners seek to keep their buildings full and
have few, if any problems. They do this by keeping their rents at a modest level. What rent control brings is a heightened
importance of rental increases by the owners. They figure they have to raise rents every year because if they don’t they’ll lose
the opportunity. In reality, rent control works against the very people it is trying to protect. Many owners go from passive to
aggressive. Thus when you look at the highest rent rate cities in the USA, you’ll see they all have rent controls.
Another thing to consider is that rent control puts a significant burden on the city to monitor rents and become involved in
tenant disputes. Before you know it you have a new committee and more people on the payroll. I’m not sure Menlo Park needs this.
Most owners I know in Menlo Park are not raising rents through the roof. Rent control will not build more badly needed inventory
and in fact Rent Controls of any kind make building less attractive. What you need is more inventory of units which is a difficult
proposition under your current restrictive building height guidelines.
Please take a deep breath and pause on this matter. It is very serious and you are steering the ship in an administrative heavy
direction with any type of rent control. Your hearts may be telling you rents are too high but your head has to tell you that the
proposal on the table will benefit very few and endangers much. I strongly urge you not to pass the proposal on the table.
Lastly, I would thoroughly enjoy talking to anyone about this matter.
John L Worthing
Worthing Capital
845 Oak Grove Ave. Suite 105
Menlo Park, CA 94025
650 327-6677
650 327-6699 (fax)
