Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting Agenda: 07/20/2023
For links to individual agenda items for this meeting, please see below.
RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
Regular Meeting
Thursday, July 20, 2023 – 7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley
Teleconference location: 1001 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20036
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/81315510979?pwd=LytGV2RZUDNrNVl4NHRJWkhHcVhSUT09. 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 Webinar ID: 813 1551 0979 and Passcode: 101882. 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@cityofberkeley.info 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 5:00 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 20, 2023
7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley
Teleconference location: 1001 16th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20036
Video Archive (pending)
AGENDA
*Times allotted for each item are approximate and may be changed at the Board’s discretion during the course of this meeting.
- Roll call – 1 min.*
- 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.*
- Approval of Agenda – 1 min.*
- Public Comment – 2 min. per speaker for non-agendized items*
- Public Comment – 2 min. per speaker for items on the agenda*
- SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Eviction Defense Center (EDC) and East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) update on Berkeley eviction trends and data during the Eviction Moratorium Transition – 25 min.*
Presenters: Anne T. Omura, EDC Executive Director; and Linda Yu, EBCLC Co-Director, Housing Practice
- CONSENT ITEMS – 1 min.*
- Approval of the June 15th regular meeting minutes
- Recommendation to authorize staff to restore Chair Simon-Weisberg’s stipend deduction for a committee meeting absence on May 15, 2023 (Chair Simon-Weisberg)
- Recommendation to authorize staff to restore Commissioner Kelley’s stipend deduction for a committee meeting absence on July 10, 2023 (Vice-Chair Alpert)
- Proposal to approve staff recommendations on the following requests for waivers of late registration penalties (Executive Director/Registration Unit Manager)
Ministerial Waivers
Property Address
1709 SHATTUCK
1324 BURNETT
2818 MABEL
1916 STUART
1940 FRANCISCO
- Approval of the June 15th regular meeting minutes
- 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-5986 and T-5987 (1619 Walnut Street, Units A & B)
Both Tenants and Landlord filed an appeal of a hearing decision granting in part and denying in part Tenants’ Petition for Individual Rent Adjustment (“petition”), seeking a rent reduction due to certain claimed habitability and code violations of the rental units located at 1619 Walnut Street, Units A & B, Berkeley, CA (“premises”).
On appeal, Tenants claim that the hearing examiner erred in his determination that the heating system at the premises did not constitute a violation of the implied warranty of habitability and further take issue with his application of rent ceiling reductions and Annual General Adjustments (“AGAs”) for October through December 2022. The Landlord appeals on the basis that the hearing examiner misapplied the standard of evidence relating to the cockroach infestation and insufficient heat. However, a review of the record shows that the hearing examiner awarded appropriate deductions of rent and properly addressed AGAs for the premises. Furthermore, the record shows that the hearing examiner’s decision is supported by substantial evidence and the decision of the hearing examiner should be affirmed.
- 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- Chair Update (Chair Simon-Weisberg) – 5 min.*
- Recommendation to adopt Resolution 23-22 authorizing the Executive Director to execute a new contract with Public Interest Advocates for legislative advocacy services for a term of two years and an amount not to exceed $120,000 (Executive Director) – 10 min.*
- Chair Update (Chair Simon-Weisberg) – 5 min.*
- 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.- Eviction Moratorium outreach update – Verbal (Public Information Unit Manager) – 5 min.*
- Copy of July 2023 Eviction Moratorium Transition Period postcard sent to Berkeley landlords and tenants (Executive Director) – 2 min.*
- “Registration 365” presentation by Amanda Eberhart (Registration Unit Manager) – 20 min.*
- Year Over Year Comparison of Registration Fees Collected as of July 14, 2023 (Registration Unit Manager) – 5 min.*
- Copy of Appeal Opinion and California Supreme Court Order denying review in NCR Properties, LLC v. City of Berkeley et al. (Legal Unit) – 3 min.*
- Updated Appendix B of Rent Board Regulations, Chapter 12 – US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Information (Executive Director/Legal Unit) – 1 min.*
- Updated Appendix C of Rent Board Regulations, Chapter 12 – US Department of Housing and Urban Development Lower Income Limits (Executive Director/Legal Unit) – 1 min.*
- Updated Commissioner attendance at Board and Committee meetings through the 2nd quarter of 2023 (Board Secretary) – 1 min.*
- Date to submit agenda topics/items for August’s regular Rent Board meeting: Monday, August 7th by 5:00 p.m. (Board Secretary)
- Eviction Moratorium outreach update – Verbal (Public Information Unit Manager) – 5 min.*
- COMMITTEE/BOARD MEETING UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Budget & Personnel Committee (Commissioner Walker, Chair) – 5 min.*
Next regularly-scheduled meeting: To Be Announced (TBA)
- Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Commissioner Elgstrand, Chair) – 5 min.*
Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Tuesday, July 18th at 5:00 p.m.
July 18th agenda
- Legislation, IRA/AGA & Registration Committee (LIRA Committee) (Commissioner Kelley, Chair) – 5 min.*
Next regularly-scheduled meeting: TBA
- Outreach Committee (Vice-Chair Alpert, Chair) – 5 min.*
Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Tuesday, July 18th at 6:00 p.m.
July 18th agenda
- 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
- 2 x 2 Committee on Housing: Rent Board/Berkeley Unified School District
(Chair TBA) – 5 min.*
Next meeting date: TBA
- Ad Hoc Committee on Environmental Sustainability (Commissioner Martinac, Chair) – 5 min.*
Next meeting date: TBA
June 28th agenda
- Updates and Announcements – 5 min.*
- Discussion of items for possible placement on future agenda – 5 min.*
- Budget & Personnel Committee (Commissioner Walker, Chair) – 5 min.*
- ADJOURNMENT