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  • Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting Agenda: 05/19/2022
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Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting Agenda: 05/19/2022

For links to individual agenda items for this meeting, please see below.

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
Regular Meeting
Thursday, May 19, 2022
7:00 p.m.

 

PUBLIC ADVISORY: THIS MEETING WILL BE CONDUCTED EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH VIDEOCONFERENCE AND TELECONFERENCE
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e)(3), City Council Resolution 70,030-N.S., and City of Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board (Rent Board) Resolution 21-29, this meeting of the Rent Board will be conducted exclusively through teleconference and Zoom videoconference. Please be advised that pursuant to the Resolutions and the findings contained therein that the spread of COVID-19 continues to be a threat to the public health and that holding meetings of City legislative bodies in person would present imminent risks to the health and safety of the public and members of legislative bodies. Therefore, there will not be a physical meeting location available.

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/82402468719?pwd=bHBCS0xkRUN3R2xFdmJPYVVGTWNkZz09. 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 1-669-900-6833 and enter Meeting ID: 824 0246 8719 and Passcode: 437465. 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 an e-mail comment, email amueller@cityofberkeley.info with the Subject line in this format: “RENT BOARD MEETING PUBLIC COMMENT ITEM.” Please observe a 150-word limit. Written comments will be entered into the public record.  Email comments must be submitted to the email address above by 5:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting in order to be included.

Please be mindful that this meeting will be recorded, and all other rules of procedure and decorum will apply for Rent Board meetings conducted by teleconference or videoconference.

This meeting will be conducted in accordance with Government Code Section 54953, 54956, and all current state and local requirements allowing public participation in meetings of legislative bodies. Any member of the public may attend this meeting. Questions regarding this matter may be addressed to DéSeana Williams, Executive Director, at (510) 981-7368. The Rent Board may take action related to any subject listed on the Agenda.


RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
Regular Meeting
Thursday, May 19, 2022
7:00 p.m.


Zoom Video Archive (1:32)

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. Introduction of recently-hired Rent Board staff – 5 min.*
     
  4. Approval of Agenda – 1 min.*
     
  5. Public Comment – 2 min. per speaker for non-agendized items*
     
  6. Public Comment – 2 min. per speaker for items on the agenda*
     
  7. CONSENT ITEMS – 1 min.*
    1. Approval of the April 21, 2022 regular meeting minutes
    2. Proposal to approve staff recommendations on the following requests for waivers of late registration penalties (Executive Director/Registration Unit staff)

      Ministerial Waivers
      Waiver No.     Property Address

      N/A                 2535 RIDGE ROAD # A
      N/A                 2 PANORAMIC # 203
      N/A                 1116 PARKER ST
      N/A                 2627 FULTON AVE

      Discretionary Waivers
      Waiver No.     Property Address

      5022                1706 DERBY STR
      5023                1524 HEARST AVE
      5024                1192 CARRISON ST
       
  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. L-4343 (2116 - 2118 Roosevelt Avenue)

    Landlord appeals a hearing decision dismissing a petition seeking rent ceiling increases for capital improvements.  The hearing examiner found that the work performed did not meet the specific definition of work eligible for capital improvement passthrough permissible under Regulation 1267.  On appeal, the landlord argues that significant aspects of the project improved the seismic safety of the property and thus qualifies as a capital improvement under Regulation 1267(C)(2), and the Board should therefore authorize passthrough of the costs for the work performed.  A review of the record and analysis of relevant Board precedent and case law, however, establishes that the hearing examiner correctly ruled on the issue, as the work did not qualify for a passthrough under Regulation 1267.  For this reason, legal staff recommends that the Board affirm the hearing examiner’s decision to dismiss the petition.
     
  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. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 22-11 to authorize the Executive Director to enter into a contract not to exceed $77,246 with The Social Science Research Center at California State University Fullerton to conduct the Board’s Tenant Survey (Outreach Committee & Executive Director) – 10 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. City of Berkeley Rental Assistance update – Verbal (Executive Director) – 3 min.*
       
    2. Update on the May 9, 2022 “Fair Chance Access to Housing” webinar presented by the Berkeley Property Owners Association, Just Cities, and the Rent Board – Verbal (Executive Director) – 2 min.*
       
    3. May 4, 2022 Housing Element Update from the Planning Commission (Executive Director) – 1 min.*
       
    4. Rent Board’s participation in the May 20, 2022 “Rent Stabilization: Lessons Learned from Implementing Rent Stabilization Policies” webinar (Minneapolis/St. Paul) from  9:00 a.m - 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time – Verbal (General Counsel) – 2 min.*
       
    5. May 3, 2022 KTVU.com article by Alexa Mae Asperin titled, “California launches new program for first-time homebuyers”  (Commissioner Kelley) – 1 min.*
      https://www.ktvu.com/news/california-launches-new-program-for-first-time-homebuyers
       
    6. Date to submit agenda topics/items for June’s regular Rent Board meeting: Monday, June 6th at 5:00 p.m.  NOTE: This is a hard deadline and will be enforced.
       
  11. COMMITTEE/BOARD MEETING UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
    1. Budget and Personnel Committee (Commissioner Chang, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  Tuesday, May 17th at 5:00 p.m.

      May 17th agenda
       
    2. Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Commissioner Mendonca, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Thursday, June 23rd at 5:30 p.m.

      April 28th agenda 
       
    3. Legislation, IRA/AGA & Registration Committee (LIRA Committee) (Commissioner Kelley, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  TBA
       
    4. Outreach Committee (Commissioner Laverde, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  Wednesday, May 18th at 5:15 p.m.

      May 18th agenda
       
    5. 2 x 2 Committee on Housing: Rent Board/Berkeley Unified School District (Chair TBA) – 3 min.*
      Regularly-scheduled meeting date:  TBA
       
    6. 4 x 4 Joint Committee on Housing: City Council/Rent Board – 5 min.*
      (Mayor Arreguín and Chair Simon-Weisberg, Committee Co-Chairs)
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  Monday, June 22nd at 3:00 p.m.

      May 3rd agenda packet
       
    7. Ad Hoc Committee on Rent Board Technology Issues (Commissioner Selawsky, Chair) – 3 min.*
      Next meeting date:  TBA
       
    8. Ad Hoc Committee on the Status of Virtual Meetings (Chair TBA) – 3 min.*
      Next meeting date:  TBA
    9. Updates and Announcements – 3 min.*
       
    10. Discussion of items for possible placement on future agenda – 5 min.* 
       
  12. ADJOURNMENT 
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Aimee Mueller, Board Secretary
Email: amueller@cityofberkeley.info
Phone: (510) 981-4932

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