Falling for apples WEEKEND | 18
OCTOBER 25, 2019 VOLUME 27, NO. 40
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MOVIES | 21
Council approves RV ban, critics swiftly launch voter referendum By Kevin Forestieri
T
MAGALI GAUTHIER
Ferenc Dobronyi, a key player in the Bay Area surf music scene, plays his Fender Stratocaster at home in Corte Madera. KFJC is hosting a surf music show on Saturday at Foothill College.
Reveling in reverb: Concert celebrates rich history of Bay Area surf music DOZENS OF LOCAL BANDS KEEP THE TWANGY SURF SOUNDS OF THE 1960S ALIVE AND WELL By Kevin Forestieri
E
very Saturday night when the clock strikes 8 p.m., the Bay Area radio waves are drenched with a torrent of heavy reverberating guitars and powerful drum beats evocative
of crashing waves, seaweed, sand and bubbling sea foam. It’s been a staple of local radio station KFJC’s weekend programming for decades, broadcasting the mostly underground genre of surf music that has proliferated in the Bay
Area. The region remains one of the pre-eminent places in the world to hear the classic twangy, echoing sounds reminiscent of beaches, bikinis and surfboards.
he Mountain View City Council took a final vote Tuesday to enact a sweeping law prohibiting oversized vehicles from parking on most city streets, despite criticism that the ordinance will oust homeless residents living in RVs and trailers. Critics swiftly reacted to the so-called RV ban, mobilizing a grassroots campaign to prevent it from taking effect. Hours after the vote, the Mountain View Housing Justice Campaign announced it has begun circulating a petition to hold a referendum on the council’s decision and let voters decide. The ban, which will take effect in June 2020, has two distinctive parts. One prevents so-called oversized vehicles — ones that exceed 22 feet in length, 7 feet in width or 7 feet in height — from parking on streets with bike lanes, which passed unanimously
at the Oct. 22 meeting and is not being opposed by the campaign. The more controversial ordinance, which received a shakier 4-3 vote, would prevent oversized vehicles from parking on “narrow” streets 40 feet wide or smaller. Such a ban would prohibit homeless residents from living in RVs along many of the city’s streets including Crisanto Avenue, which has long been a haven for vehicle dwellers. Council members Chris Clark, Alison Hicks and Lucas Ramirez voted against the narrow streets ban. People living out of cars, trailers and RVs has become a top issue in Mountain View in recent years, as the growing number of homeless people across the county and rising cost of living swelled the number of vehicle dwellers on the city’s streets. Recent estimates for how many inhabited vehicles are in Mountain View vary from 212 to 367, See RV BAN, page 12
See SURF MUSIC, page 7
Matichak, Siegel declare plans to run for City Council in 2020 By Mark Noack
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t’s more than a year out, but Mountain View’s 2020 election for City Council is already beginning to take shape. According to city filings, at least two political veterans are throwing their hats into the ring. Oneterm Councilman Lenny Siegel,
INSIDE
who lost his bid for re-election in 2018, said he intends to give it another try at the ballot box. Mayor Lisa Matichak confirmed that she will seek a second term in office next November. The two candidates set the stage for an election that is See COUNCIL, page 10
SAMMY DALLAL
Lisa Matichak
VIEWPOINT 17 | GOINGS ON 22 | REAL ESTATE 23
Lenny Siegel
A Tesla drives past a row of RVs parked along Crisanto Avenue on Oct. 22, the same day the City Council passed an ordinance banning oversized vehicle parking on most Mountain View streets. Advocates for homeless people who live in vehicles have vowed to fight the so-called RV ban.