Mountain View's City Council unanimously approved an urgency ordinance on Tuesday, Oct. 13, that freezes applications for new detention, custodial or processing facilities for 45 days, the Mountain View Voice reported.
Why it matters:
- The pause runs through Nov. 27 and can be extended for about 22 more months while staff write permanent land-use rules.
- There is no ICE detention site in Mountain View now; the city says it is closing zoning loopholes after a federal judge halted ICE construction near Gilroy.
- Gilroy and San Jose have adopted similar pauses.
What the ordinance covers
The rule stops the city from filing, accepting, processing or approving applications for detention, custodial or processing facilities. It does not cover routine law enforcement, hospitals that temporarily limit a patient's movement, ordinary school or child-care supervision, residential care facilities or judicial hearing locations, according to the Voice and a city staff report cited by San Jose Source.
"This is a zoning change," Councilmember Pat Showalter said. "This is within our powers."
Councilmember Ellen Kamei called the vote "a testament to the community that we're building."
The Gilroy backdrop
Mountain View earlier this year barred ICE from using city-owned property for civil immigration enforcement and joined a legal brief supporting California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Santa Clara County's challenge to the Holsclaw Road ICE site near Gilroy. U.S. District Judge Eumi Lee ordered a temporary halt to construction there until an environmental review is completed, the Voice reported.
Rep. Sam Liccardo has published a toolkit urging cities to define detention facilities in zoning codes and exclude them as allowed uses. Related: Gilroy's own detention freeze.