Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting Agenda: 02/16/2023

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
Regular Meeting
Thursday, February 16, 2023
7:00 p.m.

Zoom Video Archive (2:31)

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. 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.
    
3. Approval of Agenda – 1 min.*
    
4. Public Comment – 2 min. per speaker for non-agendized items*
    
5. Public Comment – 2 min. per speaker for items on the agenda*
    
6. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS – 10 min.*
   1. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 23-02 In Honor and Recognition of  Assembly Member William Byron Rumford for His Extraordinary Service and Leadership for Racial Justice for Tenants of Berkeley and Beyond, in  Commemoration of Black History Month (Commissioner Mizell, Commissioner Marrero & Chair Simon-Weisberg)
   2. Recommendation that the Board send a letter of support for the City of Berkeley’s Proclamation to Honor William Byron Rumford on the 60th Anniversary of the Rumford Fair Housing Act of 1963 – Verbal (Commissioner Marrero & Chair Simon-Weisberg)
       
7. CONSENT ITEMS – 1 min.*
   1. Approval of the January 19, 2023 regular meeting minutes
       
   2. Discussion and possible action to adopt Resolution 23-03 to allow the Board to continue to meet exclusively by teleconference throughout the remainder of the state of emergency associated with the COVID-19 pandemic (General Counsel)
       
   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
      
      2624 REGENT
      1278 DELAWARE
      1464 BANCROFT
      921 REGAL RD
      2020 PRINCE
      2223 BONAR
      940 FRESNO
      1645 CORNELL
      1235 CARRISON
      1923-1929 CURTIS
      2624 REGENT
      
      Discretionary Waivers
      Waiver No.     Property Address
      
      W5071            2133 RUSSELL ST
      W5072            1334 ORDWAY
      W5074            1104/1106 EUCLID
       
8. APPEAL – 7:30 p.m.**
   **This appeal will not be heard before 7:30 p.m. but may be heard any time thereafter.
   
   Case No. T-5991 (2705 Ridge Road, #14)
   
               Landlord  filed an appeal of a hearing decision granting in part and denying in part Tenant’s Petition for Individual Rent Adjustment (“petition”), seeking a rent reduction due to certain claimed substandard conditions of the rental unit located at 2705 Ridge Road, Unit 14, Berkeley, CA (“premises”).
               On appeal, Landlord claims that: (1) the decision was based on false information and false assumptions, and (2) the decision is not credible or acceptable because of the Rent Stabilization Board’s (“Rent Board”) bias against property owners. However, a review of the record shows that the hearing examiner’s decision is supported by substantial evidence. Landlord fails to substantiate a claim of Rent Board bias against property owners. The decision of the hearing examiner should be affirmed.
    
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) – 5 min.*
      
      (1)  Discussion and possible action regarding the California Department of Housing and Community Development’s formal comments on the City of Berkeley’s Revised Draft Housing Element
      
      (2)  February 1, 2023 Berkeleyside article by Nico Savidge titled, “The state rejected Berkeley’s housing plans. What happens next?”  https://www.berkeleyside.org/2023/02/01/berkeley-housing-element-builders-remedy-hcd
   2. Discussion and possible action to deliver official communication to Council recommending that it extend the Eviction Moratorium (BMC Chapter 13.110) beyond the expiration of the state of emergency (LIRA Committee) – 20 min.*
       
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. Update on providing mediation services and technical assistance to the Town of Fairfax – Verbal (Executive Director) – 2 min.*
        
    2. Copy of January 26, 2023 letter to Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher regarding the Board’s vote to demand that the University of California Regents divest from the Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (Chair Simon-Weisberg) – 1 min.*
        
    3. Copy of January 20, 2023 letter to Assembly Member Haney conveying the Board’s support for AB 12 (Chair Simon-Weisberg) – 1 min.*
        
    4. Date to submit agenda topics/items for March’s regular Rent Board meeting is Monday, March 5th by 5:00 p.m. (Board Secretary) – 1 min.*
        
11. COMMITTEE/BOARD MEETING UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
     
    1. Budget and Personnel Committee (Chair TBA) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  Thursday, Feb. 9th at 5:30 p.m.
       
       February 9th agenda
        
    2. Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Chair TBA) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  TBA
        
    3. Legislation, IRA/AGA & Registration Committee (LIRA Committee) (Commissioner Kelley, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  Monday, Mar. 6th at 5:30 p.m.
       
       February 6th agenda
        
    4. Outreach Committee (Chair TBA) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  Wednesday, Feb. 15th at 5:30 p.m.
       
       January 31st agenda
       
       February 15th agenda
        
    5. 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:  Wednesday, Feb. 15th at 3:00 p.m.
       
       February 1st agenda packet (revised)
       
       February 15th agenda packet
        
    6. Ad Hoc Committee on Environmental Sustainability (Chair TBA) – 3 min.*
       Next meeting date:  TBA
        
    7. 2 x 2 Committee on Housing: Rent Board/Berkeley Unified School District
       (Chair TBA) – 1 min.*
       Regularly-scheduled meeting date:  TBA
        
    8. Updates and Announcements – 3 min.*
        
    9. Discussion of items for possible placement on future agenda – 5 min.*
        
12. CLOSED SESSION – Pursuant to California Government Code Section 54956.9(a), the Board will convene in closed session for an update on litigation:
    
    Andrew Marowitz v. Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board (Alameda County Superior Court Case # RG19042977)
    
    Williams, et al. v. Alameda County, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, City of Oakland, Oakland City Council (United States District Court for the Northern District of California Case # 3:22-cv-01274-LB) – amicus brief
     
13. ADJOURNMENT