Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting Agenda: 06/16/2022

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
Regular Meeting
Thursday, June 16, 2022
7:00 p.m.
Zoom Video Archive (pending)

*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 PRESENTATION:  Update on the campaign to pass the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) by the Northern California Land Trust - Distributed at the meeting.
7. CONSENT ITEMS – 1 min.*
   1. Approval of the May 19, 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                       2501 HILGARD
      N/A                       1900 BERRYMAN
      N/A                       1628 TYLER
      N/A                       1526 JULIA
      N/A                       932 DELAWARE
      N/A                       2601 COLLEGE
      N/A                       1408 MILVIA
      N/A                       1760 UNIVERSITY
      N/A                       45 ALTA
      N/A                       2612 HILLEGASS
      
      Discretionary Waivers
      Waiver No.            Property Address
      W5025                  1313 CURTIS
      W5026                  2270 SHATTUCK
      W5027                  818 DELAWARE
      W5028                  2665 SHASTA
      W5029                  2914 ADELINE
      W5030                  2919 ACTON
       
8. 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. Discussion and possible action to adopt Resolution 22-12 revising Resolution 14-16 to increase Commissioners’ monthly stipend and to adjust this stipend on January 1 of each year beginning in 2023 in an amount based on the Consumer Price Index (Budget & Personnel Committee and Executive Director) – 15 min.*
       
   2. Discussion and possible action to adopt Resolution 22-12 revising Resolution 14-16 to include a technology stipend for Commissioners every four years beginning July 1, 2022 and to adjust this stipend on a four-year cycle in an amount based on the Consumer Price Index (Budget & Personnel Committee and Executive Director) – 15 min.*
       
   3. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 22-13 approving the Rent Board’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-2023 Line-Item Budget, Staffing Model and Maximum Expenditure Level, following a presentation by staff (Budget & Personnel Committee and Executive Director) – 20 min.*
       
   4. Following a presentation by the Eviction Defense Center:
      Recommendation to adopt Resolution 22-14 authorizing the Executive Director to modify the contract with the Eviction Defense Center by extending the term through June 30, 2023, and increasing the contract by an amount not to exceed $435,500 for FY 2022-2023 (Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee and Executive Director) – 20 min.*
       
   5. Following a presentation by the East Bay Community Law Center:
      Recommendation to adopt Resolution 22-15 authorizing the Executive Director to modify the contract with the East Bay Community Law Center by extending the term through June 30, 2023, and increasing the contract by an amount not to exceed $432,500 for FY 2022-2023 (Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee and Executive Director) – 20 min.*
       
   6. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 22-16 authorizing the Executive Director to modify the contract with Brian Augusta & Associates for legislative advocacy services by extending the term through June 30, 2023, and increasing the contract by an amount not to exceed $60,000 for FY 2022-2023 (Executive Director) – 5 min.*
       
   7. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 22-17 authorizing the Executive Director to modify the contract with Berkeley Community Media to capture and telecast all Board meetings by extending the term through June 30, 2023, and increasing the contract by an amount not to exceed $22,000 for FY 2022-2023 (Executive Director) – 5 min.*
       
   8. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 22-18 authorizing the Executive Director to modify the contract with QuickCaption, Inc. for remote closed captioning of all televised Board meetings and informational webinars by extending the term through June 30, 2023, and increasing the contract by an amount not to exceed $8,000 for FY 2022-2023 (Executive Director) – 5 min.*
       
   9. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 22-19 authorizing the Executive Director to increase the purchase order with ACRO Services Corporation for a total amount not to exceed $30,000 to allow for full-time temporary support of the Registration Unit during the registration period from May 30, 2022, through August 31, 2022 (Budget & Personnel Committee and Executive Director) – 5 min.*
       
   10. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 22-20 adjusting General Counsel Matt Brown’s salary according to the terms of his existing employment agreement (Chair Simon-Weisberg & Vice Chair Alpert) – 5 min.*
        
9. 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 the annual registration process for fully-covered units and Measure MM units for FY 2022-2023 – Verbal (Executive Director) – 3 min.*
       
   2. April 28, 2022 Owner Move-in Eviction Tracking Report (January 2019 - December 2021) (Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee & Executive Director) – 2 min.*
       
   3. Rent Board’s participation in the 35th Annual Berkeley Juneteenth Festival on Sunday, June 19th from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. – Verbal (Executive Director) – 2 min.*
       
   4. Update on the Rent Board’s presentation at 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. Date to submit agenda topics/items for June’s regular Rent Board meeting: Monday, July 11th at 5:00 p.m.  NOTE: This is a hard deadline and will be enforced.
       
10. COMMITTEE/BOARD MEETING UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
    1. Budget and Personnel Committee (Commissioner Chang, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  Monday, Sept. 12th at 5:30 p.m.
       
       June 6th agenda
        
    2. Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Commissioner Mendonca, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Thursday, June 23rd at 5:30 p.m.
        
    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, June 15th at 5:15 p.m.
       
       June 15th 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 Task Force 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.
        
    7. Ad Hoc Committee on Rent Board Technology Issues (Commissioner Selawsky, Chair) – 3 min.*
       Next meeting date:  TBA
       
       June 6th agenda
        
    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.*
         
11. CLOSED SESSION: Public Employee Evaluation of Performance pursuant to California Government Code Section 54957(b)(1).
    
    Title: Executive Director
     
12. ADJOURNMENT