Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting Agenda: 02/15/2024

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
regular Meeting
Thursday, February 15, 2024 – 7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley
 

PUBLIC ADVISORY: THIS MEETING WILL BE CONDUCTED IN A HYBRID MODEL WITH BOTH IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE AND VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION.

For in-person attendees, face coverings or masks that cover both the nose and the mouth are encouraged. If you are feeling sick, please do not attend the meeting in person.

To access this meeting remotely: Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, or Android device by clicking on this URL: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86351823870?pwd=6u9aivTslet7SqNRO_IBL3QRcsH57w.WN9X-NdkqPRvYdDc.  If you do not wish for your name to appear on the screen, then use the drop-down menu and click on "Rename" to rename yourself to be anonymous. To request to speak, use the “Raise Hand” icon by rolling over the bottom of the screen.

To join by phone: Dial 1-669-444-9171 and enter Webinar ID: 863 5182 3870 and Passcode: 662299. If you wish to comment during the public comment portion of the agenda, Press *9 and wait to be recognized by the Chair.

To submit a written communication for the Board’s consideration and inclusion in the public record, please email amueller@berkeleyca.gov with the Subject line in this format: “RENT BOARD MEETING PUBLIC COMMENT ITEM.” Please observe a 150-word limit. Email comments must be submitted to the email address above by 4:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting in order to be included.

Please be mindful that this will be a public meeting and all rules of procedure and decorum apply for both in-person attendees and those participating by teleconference or videoconference.

This meeting will be conducted in accordance with Government Code Section 54953 and all current state and local requirements allowing public participation in meetings of legislative bodies. Any member of the public may attend this meeting at the posted location(s). Questions regarding this matter may be addressed to DéSeana Williams, Executive Director, at (510) 981-7368 (981-RENT). The Rent Board may take action related to any subject listed on the Agenda. 

COMMUNICATION ACCESS INFORMATION:                                                                         
This meeting is being held in a wheelchair accessible location. To request disability-related accommodation(s) to participate in the meeting, including auxiliary aids or services, please contact the Disability Services Specialist at (510) 981-6418 (voice) or (510) 981-6347 (TDD) at least three (3) business days before the meeting date.

Attendees at public meetings are reminded that other attendees may be sensitive to various scents, whether natural or manufactured, in products and materials. Please help the City respect these needs.

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
Regular Meeting
Thursday, February 15, 2024 
7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley

Video Archive (2:11)

AGENDA

*Times allotted for each item are approximate and may be changed at the Board’s discretion during the course of this meeting.

1. Roll call – 1 min.*
    
2. CLOSED SESSION – Pursuant to California Government Code Section 54957(b)(1), the Board will convene in closed session for a Public Employee Evaluation of Performance:
   
   Title: Executive Director
    
3. Land Acknowledgment Statement:  The Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board recognizes that the rental housing units we regulate are built on the territory of xučyun (Huchiun-(Hooch-yoon)), the ancestral and unceded land of the Chochenyo (Cho-chen-yo)-speaking Ohlone (Oh-low-nee) people, the ancestors and descendants of the sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County. This land was and continues to be of great importance to all of the Ohlone Tribes and descendants of the Verona Band. As we begin our meeting tonight, we acknowledge and honor the original inhabitants of Berkeley, the documented 5,000-year history of a vibrant community at the West Berkeley Shellmound, and the Ohlone people who continue to reside in the East Bay. We recognize that Berkeley’s landlords and tenants have and continue to benefit from the use and occupation of this unceded stolen land since the City of Berkeley’s incorporation in 1878 and since the Rent Stabilization Board’s creation in 1980. As stewards of the laws regulating rental housing, it is not only vital that we recognize the history of this land, but also recognize that the Ohlone people are present members of Berkeley and other East Bay communities today. – 2 min.*
    
4. Approval of Agenda – 1 min.*
    
5. Public Comment – 2 min.*
    
6. SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Tenant Power Tool Kit by Rene Moya, Debt Collective – 30 min.*
    
7. SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Empty Homes Tax Ordinance by Lief Bursell, Rent Board Senior Planner – 10 min.*
    
8. CONSENT ITEMS – 1 min.*
   1. Approval of the December 21, 2023 regular meeting minutes
       
   2. Approval of the January 18, 2024 regular meeting minutes 
       
   3. Proposal to approve staff recommendations on the following requests for waivers of late registration penalties (Executive Director/Registration Unit Manager)
      
      Ministerial Waivers
      Property Address
      
      40 HILL RD
      1632 STUART
      2205, 2207 AND 2209 CURTIS 
      1600 KAINS
      2301 8TH ST
      2706 TELEGRAPH 
      2709 MCGEE
      1708 MLK #5
      1105 KEITH
      2447 DERBY 
      2012 GRANT 
      2919 HARPER
      2304 DERBY 
      3216 BOISE 
      
      Discretionary Waivers
      Waiver No.     Property Address
      
      W5110           2326 10TH ST
      W5111           1636 MILVIA 
      W5114           2224 GRANT 
      W5116           2647 STUART
                    
9. ACTION ITEMS
   from Board Members, Committees, Executive Director or Staff
   
   Public comment will also be heard prior to the Board’s vote on each action item listed below – 1 min. per speaker*
   1. Chair Update (Chair Simon-Weisberg) 
      
      (1) Recommendation to adopt 2024 Committee Assignments – 10 min.*  
      
      (2) Presentation on the Status of the City of Berkeley Demolition Ordinance (Lief Bursell, Senior Planner) – 20 min.* 
       
   2. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 24-03 amending the Rent Board Staffing Model (Executive Director) – 15 min.* TO BE DELIVERED
       
   3. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 24-04 amending the Rent Board’s Records Retention Schedule (Executive Director) – 5 min.* TO BE DELIVERED
       
10. INFORMATION, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND ARTICLES/MEDIA
    from Board Members, Committees, Executive Director or Staff
    
    NOTE:  The Board may vote to move Information Items to the Action calendar.
    1. Copy of January 19, 2024 letter to U.C. Berkeley Chancellor Christ and U.C. Berkeley Police Department Chief Pittman regarding People’s Park police occupation (Commissioner Mizell) – 5 min.* 
        
    2. Eviction Moratorium update - Verbal (Public Information Unit Manager) – 5 min.*
        
    3. Update on the Rent Board File Scanning Project – Verbal (Project Manager Basil Lecky) – 5 min.*
        
    4. Update on the Rent Board office move to 2000 Center Street – Verbal (Executive Director/Board Secretary) – 5 min.*
        
    5. Deadline to submit agenda items/topics for March’s regular Rent Board meeting: Monday, March 11th by 5:00 p.m. (Board Secretary)
        
11. COMMITTEE/BOARD MEETING UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
    1. Budget & Personnel Committee (Commissioner Walker, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Friday, February 23rd at 11:00 a.m. 
       
       February 8th agenda
        
    2. Environmental Sustainability Committee (Commissioner Martinac, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting date: Wednesday, April 3rd at 6:00 p.m.
       
        
    3. Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Commissioner Elgstrand, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Tuesday, February 13th at 6:00 p.m.
       
       February 13th agenda
        
    4. Legislation, IRA/AGA & Registration Committee (LIRA Committee) (Commissioner Kelley, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  To Be Announced (TBA)
        
    5. Outreach Committee (Vice-Chair Alpert, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  Tuesday, February 20th at 6:00 p.m.
        
    6. 4 x 4 Joint Task Force Committee on Housing: City Council/Rent Board – 5 min.*
       (Mayor Arreguín and Chair Simon-Weisberg, Co-Chairs)
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  TBA
        
    7. 2 x 2 Committee on Housing: Rent Board/Berkeley Unified School District
       (Commissioner Marrero) – 5 min.*
       Next meeting date:  Monday, March 11th at 5:30 p.m.
        
    8. Ad Hoc Committee to Consider Rent Ordinance Amendments at the 2024 November General Election (Commissioner Johnson, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next meeting date: TBA
        
    9. Updates and Announcements – 5 min.*
        
    10. Discussion of items for possible placement on future agenda – 5 min.*
         
12. ADJOURNMENT