BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
A company trying to build the world’s first self-driving air taxi could leave Mountain View because of an influx of RV dwellers, according to a city memo.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office of economic development has met with city employees to understand the situation and advocate for Wisk Aero, Assistant City Manager Audrey Seymour said in a June 22 memo to council.
Wisk is “reconsidering plans to invest in facility improvements and maintain and grow their business in Mountain View,” Seymour’s memo said.
Wisk has five buildings at the end of San Antonio Road, between the Palo Alto Baylands and Shoreline Park. The company has about 800 employees, led by CEO Sebastien Vigneron, and is backed by Boeing.
The city counted 65 people living in vehicle around Wisk’s campus in March, up from 18 in 2022.
Intuit has 11 buildings and around 4,000 employees in the area and is also struggling with RV dwellers, Seymour said.
For example, Intuit has faced logistical and public relations challenges hosting a small business AI workshop, Seymour said.
Employees are also scared to bike to work, Seymour said.
Bike lanes to ban RVs
Both companies are interested in adding bike lanes that would ban RVs from the streets, Seymour said.
The city wasn’t planning to add bike lanes in the North Bayshore area for at least five years, but Intuit can accelerate the timeline by funding and managing the project, Seymour said.
The city is hoping to give Intuit a permit by December, and the company already has a permit to do four street sweepings per year, Seymour told council.
The city painted red curbs around Wisk’s campus and gave Wisk a permit to install crosswalks at both ends of Broderick Way, Seymour said. The issues around Wisk and Intuit are a microcosm of challenges that businesses and the city are facing in nine areas concentrated with RV dwellers, Seymour said.
Palo Alto Preparatory School has seen a 40% decline in enrollment because of RV dwellers, who have followed and cat-called female students and defecated on campus, Seymour said.
The influx of RVs in Mountain View coincides with new bike lanes on El Camino Real and the city of Palo Alto stepping up its enforcement and regula-tions, Seymour said.
Settlement ending
The city of Mountain View settled a class-action lawsuit by RV dwellers in September 2022, allowing them to park their RVs on at least three miles of city streets and providing them a map of where they can go.
The settlement expires at the end of February.
When the settlement ends, the city could ban detached trailers and “vanlords” who rent out RVs to tenants, City Manager Kimbra McCarthy told council on June 23.
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