I think the biggest reason for having an inventory is so that we know whether we need more and of what type.

I think the biggest reason renters, developers don't want said inventory is because it will show the facts of whether we need more housing stock and what type. The owners and developers obviously want more built but there is no way of knowing if the right size and types of housing are what Palo Alto actually needs.

While the City is still contemplating over how to create and update a landlord registry for over 22 years now, I don't think anybody needs to worry about this list until 2044. I presume I will be dead by then.

So can I add a $40 annual charge to my tenants for having to register with the CPA?

Given two city managers’ ineptitude and foot dragging in putting together a meaningful Palo Alto business registry as requested by council as far back as 2014, but opposed by business owners, and thus still far from being complete and a usable data base, it will be interesting to see if our city staff will take their time until future council interest wanes.

I assume that, because of no single-family homes being included, we also won't know about those ghost houses.

So charge landlords more money to keep a rental registry that makes them not want to be property owners in the City of Palo Alto.
Make more rigid rules that go beyond what even State rent control laws are about.
Going down a really rotten path here. This won't make City of Palo Alto better for anyone.

I don't really see the point of having a rental registry. We already have a pretty specific count of rentals as evidenced by the figures in this very article. Why would the city need a list of amenities?

How exactly will this support renters like the one quoted in the article? If an owner is going to sell, having their name in a database is not going to prevent that.

Given the existing housing crisis, the city should be making it easier for residents to rent their homes, not harder. This is a bunch of government busywork that doesn't help the situation. And yes, this is just another cost that will be passed on to renters.