Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting Agenda: 07/17/2025

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
Regular Meeting
Thursday, july 17, 2025 – 7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA

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/82242146544?pwd=apGVO1r6cRMRaV8w7HqRICIOyMD24y.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: 822 4214 6544 and Passcode: 738992. 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 address 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, July 17, 2025
7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA

Video Archive (2:27)

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. Approval of Agenda – 1 min.*
    
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. Public Comment – 2 min.* 
    
5. Public Comment for Unions representing Rent Board staff – 5 min.*
    
6. SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Shelter in Peace – What We Do and How We Do It
   Presenter(s): Anna Rossi, Executive Director – 15 min.* - Distributed at the Meeting
    
7. CONSENT ITEMS – 1 min.*
    
   1. Approval of the April 17th regular meeting minutes
       
   2. Approval of the May 15th regular meeting minutes
       
   3. Approval of the June 16th regular meeting minutes 
       
   4. Proposal to approve staff recommendations on the following requests for waivers of late registration penalties (Registration Unit Manager/Staff)
      
      Ministerial Waivers
      Property Address
      
      2716 Webster
      38 Brookside Ave
      1257 Francisco St
      2216 Blake St #B
      2216 Blake St #A
      1237 Rose St
      2108 Grant St
      2341 Carleton St
      1226 Ordway St
      1313 Haskell St
      1605 Julia St
      2925 Regent St
      2004 Parker 
      1624 8th St
      1633 San Pablo
      1822 Woolsey St
      2010 10th St
      
      Discretionary Waivers
      Waiver No.     Property Address
      
      W5154           1211 University Ave
      W5156           1339 Rose St
       
       
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. Chair Update (Chair Alpert)
      
      (1)  Recommendation to take a Support position on Senate Bill 655 (Dwelling Units: Indoor Temperature) (Commissioner Twu & Chair Alpert) – 5 min.*
       
   2. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 25-20 to adopt a policy to establish an amnesty period to allow for the automatic waiver of penalties of Measure BB affected properties that did not pay Registration Fees on time (Executive Director) – 10 min.*
       
   3. Recommendation to adopt Regulation 412 [Definition of Occupied Rental Unit Under B.M.C. section 13.76.135] and substantive changes to the following existing Regulations to administer Right to Organize established by Measure BB: 
      Regulation 411 [Property Management Company; definition] and Regulation 1209 [Parties] – All First Reading (LIRA Committee & General Counsel) – 20 min.*
       
   4. Recommendation to adopt amendments to Regulation 1312 [Filing Notices and Complaints with Rent Board] – First Reading (LIRA Committee & General Counsel) – 5 min.*
       
   5. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 25-21 authorizing the Executive Director to execute a contract with Kinnectics, LLC through June 30, 2026, in an amount not to exceed $40,000 (Executive Director) – 5 min.*
       
   6. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 25-22 authorizing the Executive Director to extend the contract with QuickCaption, Inc. through June 30, 2027, in an amount not to exceed $10,500 for the 2025-2026 fiscal year (Executive Director) – 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. Presentation regarding Brown Act Remote Participation Options for Public Meetings (General Counsel) – 20 min.*
       
   2. Year Over Year Comparison of Registration Fees collected as of July 9, 2025 (Registration Manager Amanda Eberhart) – 5 min.*
       
   3. Berkeley Rent Board Digital Communications presentation (Digital Education & Media Coordinator Kayla Ginsburg) – 20 min.* 
       
   4. Updated Appendix B of Rent Board Regulations, Chapter 12 – US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Information (Legal Unit) – 1 min.*
       
   5. Updated Appendix C of Rent Board Regulations, Chapter 12 – US Department of Housing and Urban Development Lower Income Limits (Legal Unit) – 1 min.*
       
   6. Deadline to submit agenda items/topics for the September regular Rent Board meeting: Monday, September 8th by 5:00 p.m. –Verbal (Board Secretary)
       
10. COMMITTEE/BOARD MEETING UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
     
    1. Budget & Personnel Committee (Vice-Chair Walker, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting: To Be Announced (TBA)
        
    2. Climate Resilience & Habitability Committee (Commissioner Martinac, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting date: TBA
        
    3. Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Commissioner Elgstrand, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Tuesday, September 9th at 6:00 p.m.
       
       July 8th agenda
        
    4. Legislation, IRA/AGA & Registration Committee (LIRA Committee) (Chair Alpert, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Tuesday, July 22nd at 5:30 p.m. 
       
       June 24th agenda 
        
    5. Outreach Committee (Commissioner Kelley, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Monday, July 14th at 6:30 p.m. 
       
       July 14th agenda
        
    6. 2 x 2 Committee on Housing: Rent Board/Berkeley Unified School District 
       (Commissioner Marrero, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next meeting date: TBA 
        
    7. 4 x 4 Joint Task Force Committee on Housing: City Council/Rent Board – 5 min.*
       (Councilmember Lunaparra & Chair Alpert, Co-Chairs)
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting: TBA
        
    8. Updates and Announcements – 5 min.*
        
    9. Discussion of items for possible placement on future agenda – 5 min.*
        
11. ADJOURNMENT