DELANO, Calif. (KERO) — Rent control is one step closer to becoming a reality after Delano Fair Rents submit close to 3,000 signatures to the city clerks office to get rent control in the city on the November 2024 ballot.
- Big news comes to the residents of Delano as the idea of rent control is one step closer to becoming a reality. With members with Delano Fair Rent turning in paperwork to get the idea possibly on the November 2024 Ballot.
- According to Fair Rents Delano, 62.2% of renters in the city of Delano are paying over 50% of their income on rent.
- Arturo Rodriguez, campaign manager for Fair Rents Delano says the minimum required of signatures needed is 10% of the total registered voters in the city, which comes out to about 1,700 voters. Fair Rents Delano was able to turn in close to 3,000 signatures.
It’s efforts from Fair Rents Delano that have allowed the option for Delano residents to possibly have the option to vote yes for rent control on the November 2024 ballot. Their efforts have been so effective, turning in more than half of the required signature.
"This is my community, I want to walk to the cemetery and see my mom, go down the street and see my sisters but I can't afford It and this is why I'm here, there are so many farm workers and low-wage workers that they can't afford it either,” said third-generation Delano resident Yolanda Chacon-Serna.
Chacon-Serna says having been raised in the community all her life — she was heartbroken when the day came that she had to move away due to lack of affordability.
It's an increasing problem in the community, and with the increasing costs of food and other necessities, Chacon-Serna isn't the only resident who has had to relocate.
This is why for months, she and other advocates have gone door-knocking to collect signatures to support their fight to get rent control on the November 2024 ballot … and the work has paid off.
"It's going to be in the ballot you know we went way above it so that we would have no doubts. 10% of registered voters, we have just over 17,000 registered voters so that makes it about 1,700 in change,” said Campaign Manager for Fair Rents Delano Arturo Rodriguez.
Rodriguez says they were able to collect and submit close to 3,000 signatures.
Fair Rents Delano says 62.2% of renters in the city of Delano are paying over 50% of their income on rent.
And it's not just home renters that are being affected, many mom-and-pop shops have also struggled to pay rent, with some even having to shut down. It's a struggle that local business owner Maria Martinez knows all too well.
"I have problems finding a location because the locations are [charging] $6,000, $5,000,” said Martinez. “I can't afford to do that, even if I have my business."
If the idea of rent control makes it to the November ballot, Delano residents who live in hotels and or motels for 30 days or more, people living in dorms, hospitals, or non-profit senior homes, and rental units from a landlord's primary residence will be protected by the ordinance.
Making it so people like Chacon-Serna can have the opportunity to move back home.
"I used to say wherever I go, wherever I roam, Delano is always my home because my roots are deep,” said Chacon-Serna.
Currently, all signatures have been submitted to the city clerk's office. The next step is for those signatures to be validated to then qualify to show up on the November 2024 ballot.
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