The proponents of the rent control referendum timely submitted to the City Clerk this morning more than the required signatures to suspend the effective date of the ordinance and to require the Council to reconsider it. See Elections Code 9237.

To be clear, the Rent Control and Just Cause Ordinance passed on a second reading by the City Council on August 5 and scheduled to go into effect September 4, is suspended.

The petitions will be hand-delivered today by the City Clerk to the County Elections Office for verification of the signatures. The County has 30 days, not counting weekends and holidays, to complete the verification and certify the results. Once that is accomplished, the matter comes to the Council for consideration. The Council may then repeal the ordinance or place it on the ballot at the next regular municipal election (November 2016) or call a special election (likely the presidential primary on June 7, 2016).

Initiative petitions with the requisite number of signatures have also been recently filed (city manager compensation, development proposal on Marina Way South). Both of these have been sent to the County for verification of the signatures. They will also be presented to the Council for consideration (adoption or place on the ballot). The Council may order a report on the effects of these.