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Residents urge San Leandro council to act on mobile-home rent stabilization and stronger ethics rules
Summary
Multiple residents told the San Leandro City Council on Sept. 8 that while the handbook is important, mobile-home residents are losing housing now and the council should send a resident-drafted mobile-home rent-stabilization ordinance to the city attorney for review and schedule hearings on it.
Several residents used the public-comment period at the Sept. 8 San Leandro City Council special session to press for immediate policy action on two fronts: stronger ethics and an expedited mobile-home rent-stabilization ordinance.
Mitch Heidema urged immediate passage of the handbook’s ethics language and urged the council to strengthen enforcement later, calling it “shocking” that a code of ethics was not already in the handbook. Deborah Acosta, representing the Mission Bay Residence Association, said mobile-home residents are being displaced monthly and asked the council to send a fully revised mobile-home rent-stabilization ordinance produced by residents to the city attorney for review, return it to rules, and schedule its first hearing.
Roseanne Menina cited allegations including misuse of public funds, improper pressure on staff and links to an FBI corruption investigation related to a local housing project; she said the proposed ethics section lacks whistleblower protections and stronger consequences. David Jackson of the League of San Leandro Voters supported adopting the handbook but called for three specific changes: a clear complaint channel for residents, staff and council; spelled-out, transparent consequences for code violations; and a requirement that council members correct the record if they misstate facts.
No formal city action on the mobile-home ordinance occurred at the meeting; commenters asked staff and the council to take next steps. The clerk reported no public comment on consent and three in-person speakers plus two online commenters for Item 5. The council adopted the handbook in the same meeting; commenters asked that adoption not delay immediate review of the mobile-home ordinance.
The public-comment sequence concluded and council resumed deliberations on the handbook; public requests to send the mobile-home ordinance to the city attorney were recorded but no motion to do so was made at this meeting.
