Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting Agenda: 07/18/2024

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
regular Meeting
Thursday, July 18, 2024 – 7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley
Teleconference location(s): Pilgutua 2, 2750 Gran, Norway and Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, G St NW, Washington, DC

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, July 18, 2024 
7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley
Teleconference location(s): Pilgutua 2, 2750 Gran, Norway and   
Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, G St NW, Washington, DC

Video Archive (0:47)

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 June 20th regular meeting minutes
       
6. Special Presentation:  Empty Homes Implementation Update by Senior Planner Lief Bursell – 10 min.*
    
7. 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-6055 (2150 Oxford Street, Unit 51)
   
   Appellant Tenants (“Tenants”) appeal the hearing decision granting in part and denying in part Tenants’ Petition for Individual Rent Adjustment (“petition”), seeking a rent ceiling reduction due to certain claimed habitability and code violations at the rental unit located at 2150 Oxford Street Unit 51, Berkeley, CA (“premises”).
    
   On appeal, Tenants dispute the hearing examiner’s denial of rent reductions for the following claims: (1) nuisance neighbor, (2) lack of bedroom heat, (3) inadequate kitchen electrical wiring, (4) inadequate building security, (5) unsafe stovetop, and (6) defective stove top. Tenants also dispute the amount of the rent ceiling reduction granted by the hearing examiner for the following claims: (1) loss of electrical outlet, and (2) rat issue. Tenants’ appeal simply repeats arguments and testimony previously submitted and a review of the record shows that the decision is supported by substantial evidence. Therefore, the decision of the hearing examiner should be affirmed.
    
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 Simon-Weisberg) 
      
      (1) Update on Ballot Measure 
      
      (2) Update on the passing of the Demolition Ordinance and Demolition projects status report (Senior Planner Lief Bursell) – 10 min.*
       
   2. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 24-17 Opposing the Criminalization of Homelessness Imposed by Grants Pass v. Johnson (Chair Simon-Weisberg & Vice-Chair Alpert) – 10 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. Updated Appendix B of Rent Board Regulations, Chapter 12 – US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Information (Legal Unit) – 1 min.*
       
   2. Updated Appendix C of Rent Board Regulations, Chapter 12 – US Department of Housing and Urban Development Lower Income Limits (Legal Unit) – 1 min.*
       
   3. Commissioner attendance records for Board and Committee meetings updated through June 2024 (Board Secretary) – 1 min.*
       
   4. Deadline to submit agenda items/topics for the August regular Rent Board meeting: Monday, August 5th by 5:00 p.m. (Board Secretary)
       
10. 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
        
    3. Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Commissioner Elgstrand, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Tuesday, September 10th at 6:00 p.m. 
        
    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, August 12th at 6:00 p.m.
       
       July 8th agenda 
        
    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:  TBA 
        
    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.*
        
11. ADJOURNMENT