Something new (to eat) under the sun WEEKEND | 15 AUGUST 11, 2017 VOLUME 24, NO. 29
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MOVIES | 18
Rent control rumored to be driving apartment sales By Mark Noack
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MICHELLE LE
Free lunches were offered to children at Rengstorff Park this year, part of the Mount View Whisman School District’s “Seamless Summer” program to make sure children who rely on school lunches don’t go hungry while school’s not in session.
Free summer lunch program reaches more hungry children MORE THAN 60,000 MEALS SERVED THROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT’S “SEAMLESS SUMMER” By Kevin Forestieri
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n just two years, the Mountain View Whisman School District has quadrupled the number of meals served to hungry kids during the summer months, going a long way
toward improving the North County’s dearth of free food services when schools close for summer break. The district’s “Seamless Summer” program looked a whole lot different this year, extending its operation from six weeks to
eight weeks, and using food delivery trucks to expand to Rengstorff and Klein parks as well as the Mountain View Public Library. It ran from June 12 through the first week of See CHILD HUNGER, page 8
ountain View’s rentcontrol program has already survived political and legal trials — but what about the business test? An increasing number of apartment owners appear to be cashing out rather than working under the new restrictions. If the trend continues, some say it will lead to a cascade of redevelopment spearheaded by large corporate buyers. This scenario would result in older apartments being phased out and replaced with new housing that is exempt from rent control. Those looking at the data with a more critical eye point out that sales of apartment buildings are up throughout the South Bay, and that the number of buyers indicates a healthy interest in investing in Mountain View housing, regardless of rent control. To take one example, Fremont residents Ann and Paul Lethers decided in June to sell their 18-unit complex on Del Medio Avenue in Mountain View, which they created from separate purchases of two adjacent nine-unit buildings. They say they had to make a significant cut to their sales price, getting about $7.55
million for the property, which is subject to rent control. It’s no small sum, but it’s a loss compared with what they spent on purchasing one of the two apartment buildings in the complex a couple of years ago, Ann Lethers said. Now her family wants to get out of the apartment business in Mountain View. “Only rich people or corporations can buy these apartments now,” Lethers said. “My feeling is the rich are getting richer, and small fish like us are getting squeezed out.” The buyer of the complex is listed as Forest Casa Real LLC, but Lethers identified the buyer as a local billionaire, though she declined to give a name. For tenants, the news is bittersweet. Everyone seems to agree that they had good relations with their landlords — that is, up until late last year when the Lethers family tried to evict their tenants just before the city’s rent control law was implemented. But in some ways, renting from the new owner feels like a step backward, said Martin Cortez, a Del Medio tenant. His neighbors had to complain for weeks before maintenance workers would See APARTMENT SALES, page 10
Delivery robots heading to Mountain View THREE COMPANIES SEEK CITY APPROVAL TO LAUNCH PILOT PROGRAMS By Mark Noack
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obots in Mountain View are already driving passengers, running security patrols and baking pizzas. But very soon, these automatons could also be delivering dinner, going on beer runs or picking up your dry cleaning. Three startup companies have recently asked Mountain
INSIDE
View officials for permission to test out their prototype delivery bots in town. These robots — some of which look like they were built to explore the surface of Mars — will instead be navigating the city’s sidewalks and learning to maneuver around pedestrians, pets and traffic. Mountain View officials say they are eager to serve as the technology’s proving ground.
City staff expect to draft policies for a pilot program later this year. To hear the companies describe it, delivery robots are nearly ready for prime time. The technology closely mirrors the race to develop selfdriving cars, with 12 companies around the world reportedly See ROBOTS, page 6
GOINGS ON 19 | MARKETPLACE 20 | REAL ESTATE 22
COURTESY OF STARSHIP TECHNOLOGIES
Delivery robots, like this one from Starship Technologies, might soon be seen on Mountain View sidewalks.