In response to the extreme ordinances adopted by the Fairfax Town Council, a citizen's initiative was created, and 1100 signatures were gathered to mandate the Town Council to put this on the ballot so the residents could vote their conscience.

The Fairfax extreme rent control ordinance supersedes California's comprehensive statewide rent control created by common sense Democrats and Republicans at the state level.

Opponents of Measure I claim they “crafted local rent control ordinances with all constituents in mind.” The Fairfax Town Council conducted no meaningful outreach and purposely excluded local rental housing providers from the process. Then they naively adopted these paralyzing ordinances without knowing how their plan will impact local rental housing.

Opponents claim their “modest local rent control ensures landlords a fair return.” However, they failed to conduct any local economic analysis before adopting their misguided ordinances.

Far from delivering a “fair return”, Fairfax’s yearly rent cap of 75% of inflation is economically unsustainable. This punitive cap severely limits the income of neighborhood housing providers, reducing their ability to cover rising taxes, insurance, and utilities; limits funds for critical maintenance, and will result in a blight on our neighborhoods. Owners will be motivated to leave the rental market or change the use of their units.

Opponents claim the existing ordinances can be amended. While true, the Town Council only adopted minor amendments under extreme pressure after 1,100 residents signed a petition to demand this issue be placed before voters.

The 'Just Cause' provisions limit owner control of the unit setting up disincentives to renting out units. Less rental options result in higher initial rents.

The 'Just Cause' provisions allow for lax restrictions on adding tenants and subleasing, creating maximum occupancy to the determent of living conditions of other tenants.

The 'Just Cause' provisions create added hardship when an owner needs to sell a unit for medical and financial reasons.

The ordinances do nothing to promote affordable housing - the real solution to expensive rents

The ordinances create a disincentive to investing in existing units and creating more units. More units means cheaper rents.

For larger properties, the flawed rent control ordinance leads to lower valuations and assessments meaning less property tax revenue for the Town.

The ordinances were written by Leah Simon-Weisberg, the head of the Berkley Rent Board as the "Fairfax Model Ordinance". The ordinance was not created out of a community need but rather submitted by the DSA as part of their agenda.

The Town Council specifically refused to allow the residents of Fairfax to Vote on the ordinances