Attn: Supervisors Miley and Tam

Dear Editor,

I write to urge Supervisors Miley and Tam to consider the needs of unincorporated Eden Area residents, by passing the ordinance establishing Just Cause, Fair Chance, and a rental registry at their meeting on Feb. 28. The recent press statement from Miley’s office says compromise is needed – What does compromise even mean when renters facing the threat of eviction are still unable to get a meeting with Supervisor Tam, and when renters have already met with Miley repeatedly and shown up at countless meetings to share their testimonies? Miley’s position has certainly not changed. I read in last week’s article that Supervisor Tam has paid attention to “hundreds” of letters from landlords but can’t take the time to hear directly from my neighbors who have requested to meet with her.

As someone who faced a sudden eviction notice in 2021, I feel for my neighbors. I scrambled to find a new place with little notice, even as someone with a white-collar job, no kids, and no record. Meanwhile, my neighbors talk about choosing between feeding their families and making the rent. 60% of residents in the Eden Area are renters and our area is 80% single-family housing. Exempting smaller units makes no sense. Despite Tam’s insistence that existing state law is sufficient, my neighbors report otherwise, noting the challenges of fear of retaliation if they report maintenance issues, the threat that a landlord will only fix their apartment with the intent of booting them out for a higher-paying tenant, and sudden rent increases. As someone whose relatives grew in an unpermitted garage unit in a tenuous economic situation, I saw the mental health stressors that places on families, especially younger generations.

I’m calling on our County Supervisors to put the needs of our most vulnerable neighbors first.

–Eva Poon, San Lorenzo