Caltrain sales tax, Mountain View RV ban leading in early returns.

$108 million per year is expected to be raised

In early returns, voters on Tuesday were saying yes to a sales tax meant to keep the Caltrain commuter service operating, yes to taxes that would permanently fund Santa Clara Valley water projects and open-space programs and yes to a ban of RV parking on Mountain View’s narrower streets.

With Measure RR and its proposed 1/8-cent sales tax increase, Caltrain expects to raise $108 million a year to supplement the fares that cover the bulk of its operating costs. The measure, which is on the ballot in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties, needs to be approved by two-thirds of voters. Early numbers showed Santa Clara and San Mateo county voters favoring Measure RR; San Francisco returns had yet to be released.

Because many companies have allowed employees to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic, Caltrain and other transit agencies have seen major drops in ridership. Though Caltrain originally proposed the sales tax to fund an ambitious plan to transform the rail line into a BART-like system, the nose-dive in commuter ridership turned its narrative into one of survival.

In Mountain View, early numbers showed voters approving the city council-sponsored ballot Measure C, which would ban RVs and other oversized vehicles from parking on narrow city streets 40 feet wide or less.

Proponents argued that people who live in their cars and in oversized vehicles pose a threat to the public safety of residents and undermine the quality of life in the city. Opponents said it would displace many of the city’s roughly 200 RV residents during a pandemic. For the ban to pass, at least two-thirds of voters must approve it.

Early numbers suggest voters have approved Measure S, which requires twothirds of votes and would extend the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s parcel tax for flood control and water quality programs permanently, unless overturned in a future election. The measure would cost an average of $0.006 per square foot, or about $12 a year for the owner of a 2,000-square-foot home.

Voters also were passing the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority’s Measure T, which would permanently extend its $24 annual parcel tax set to expire in 2029. Measure T, which aims to protect open space and agricultural land, improve parks and open new trails and open space, must be approved by a two-thirds vote.