Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting Agenda: 06/20/2024

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
regular Meeting
Thursday, June 20, 2024 – 7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley
Teleconference location: 3225 Simon Road, Manitowoc, WI 54220

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=StV8iv1VnftDeahcLsszUQPN5RdeeE.1. 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, June 20, 2024 
7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley
Teleconference location: 3225 Simon Road, Manitowoc, WI 54220

Video Archive (2:06)

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. – 2 min.*
    
3. Approval of Agenda – 1 min.*
    
4. Public Comment – 2 min.*
    
5. CONSENT ITEMS – 1 min.*
   1. Approval of the May 16th regular meeting minutes
       
   2. Proposal to approve staff recommendations on the following requests for waivers of late registration penalties (Executive Director/Registration Unit Manager)
      
      Ministerial Waivers
      Property Address
      
      2019 7TH ST
      1540 PRINCE ST
      1598 CAPISTRANO AVE
      1603 8TH ST
      1627 8TH ST
      1632 OREGON ST
      1301 ALCATRAZ AVE
      1764-1766 WALNUT ST
      1767 EUCLID AVE, #2
      1835 63RD ST
      1916 ALCATRAZ AVE
      1947 ROSE ST
      2010 HEARST AVE #A
      2106 SPAULDING AVE 
      544 WOODMONT 
      1772 WALNUT 
      3024 FULTON 
      1252 HOPKINS 
      1538 63RD 
      2631 REGENT 
      2238 RUSSELL 
      2400 DOWNLING PL #4
      2510 CHANNING WAY 
      2622 MARIN 
      2706 MLK 
      2730 8TH 
      2732 8TH ST
      2734 8TH ST
      2736 8TH ST
      2750 DWIGHT 
      
      
      Discretionary Waivers
      Waiver No.     Property Address
      
      W5118            916 EUCLID
      W5119            912 SPRUCE  
      W5120            1139 OXFORD
      W5121            1327 ASHBY
      W5122            1530 STUART
      W5123            1802 CEDAR
      W5124            2813 TELEGRAPH 
       
6. 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-6039 (1846 Spruce Street, Unit 2)
   
   Appellant Tenant (“Tenant”) appeals the hearing decision granting in part and denying in part Tenant’s Petition for Individual Rent Adjustment (“petition”), seeking a rent ceiling reduction due to certain claimed habitability and code violations and fair housing violations at the rental unit located at 1846 Spruce Street, Unit 2, Berkeley, CA (“premises”).
    
   Tenant appeals the decision on the basis of: (1) conflicting procedure regarding issues of harassment and ADA between the first and second hearing, (2) the hearing examiner allowing testimony of a witness not listed as a witness prior to the December 8, 2024 hearing, and (3) the hearing examiner’s failure to correctly weigh evidence, including the credibility of witnesses. However, Tenant’s appeal fails to substantiate such claims as harmful and how the decision, or parts of the decision, were negatively impacted by such perceived issues. In the end, Tenant fails to meet their burden to establish errors in the decision and to state facts or arguments in support of the appeal.
   
   A review of the record confirms that the hearing examiner awarded appropriate rent ceiling reductions for Tenant’s various claims. Furthermore, the record shows that the decision is supported by substantial evidence. Therefore, the decision of the hearing examiner should be affirmed.
    
7. 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) Demolition Ordinance Update: Status of City of Berkeley Demolition projects – Verbal (Senior Planner Lief Bursell) – 5 min.*
        
   2. Special presentation on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-2025 Budget, Staffing Model, and Expenditure Level (Finance Director Shamika Cole & Executive Director) – 20 min.*
       
   3. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 24-13 approving the FY 2024-2025 Line-item Budget, Staffing Model, and Expenditure Level (Finance Director Shamika Cole and Executive Director) – 10 min*
       
   4. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 24-14 authorizing the Executive Director to extend the contract with Berkeley Community Media through June 30, 2025, and increase the contract by an amount not to exceed $25,000 for FY 2024-2025 (Executive Director) – 5 min.*
       
   5. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 24-15 authorizing the Executive Director to extend the contract with QuickCaption, Inc. through June 30, 2025, and increase the contract by an amount not to exceed $10,500 for FY 2024-2025 (Executive Director) – 5 min.* TO BE DELIVERED 
       
   6. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 24-16 authorizing the Executive Director to modify the contract with Goldfarb Lipman for legal services through June 30, 2025, and increasing the contract by an amount not to exceed $75,000 for FY 2024-2025 (General Counsel) – 5 min.*
       
8. 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 Constant Contact email titled, “Important Changes to Security Deposit Law” sent to landlords and tenants in early June (Executive Director) – 2 min.* 
       
   2. Deadline to submit agenda items/topics for July’s regular Rent Board meeting: Monday, July 8th by 5:00 p.m. (Board Secretary)
       
9. COMMITTEE/BOARD MEETING UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
   1. Budget & Personnel Committee (Commissioner Walker, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting: To Be Announced (TBA) 
       
   2. Environmental Sustainability Committee (Commissioner Martinac, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting date: TBA
      
      June 5th agenda
       
   3. Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Commissioner Elgstrand, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Tuesday, September 10th at 6:00 p.m.
      
      June 11th agenda 
       
   4. Legislation, IRA/AGA & Registration Committee (LIRA Committee) (Commissioner Kelley, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  TBA
       
   5. Outreach Committee (Vice-Chair Alpert, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  Monday, July 8th 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:  Wednesday, June 19th at 3:00 p.m. 
      
      June 19th agenda packet
       
   7. 2 x 2 Committee on Housing: Rent Board/Berkeley Unified School District (Commissioner Marrero, Co-Chair) – 5 min.* 
      Next meeting date: TBA
       
   8. Updates and Announcements – 5 min.*
       
   9. Discussion of items for possible placement on future agenda – 5 min.*
       
10. CLOSED SESSION – Pursuant to California Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(4), the Board will convene in closed session for an update on litigation: 
    
    Amicus brief authorization for California Apartment Association et. al. vs. City of Pasadena, et al. (B329883, pending).
     
11. ADJOURNMENT