City of Berkeley
Berkeley Rent Board
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Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting Agenda: 10/17/2024

For links to individual agenda items for this meeting, please see below.

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
Regular Meeting
Thursday, October 17, 2024 – 7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA
Teleconference location(s): 1418A 67TH 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/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, October 17, 2024
7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA
Teleconference location(s): 1418A 67th Street, Berkeley, CA

Video Archive (1:07)

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 September 19th 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

      1919 Curtis
      2923 MLK Jr
      1335 Oxford St
      1711 Stuart St
      1055 Sterling Ave
      2802 San Pablo Ave
      1919 Parker St
      15 Tamalpais Rd
      505 Cragmont Ave
      847 Dwight Crescent
      924 Hilldale Ave
      1050 Creston Rd
      1818 Franklin St
      1242 Evelyn Ave
      2430 8th Street
      2600 Etna St #3
      2525 College Ave #1
      1227 Delaware St
      1919 Curtis
      2923 MLK Jr Way
      1335 Oxford St
      1711 Stuart St
      1055 Sterling Ave

      Discretionary Waivers
      Waiver No.     Property Address

      5125                1813 Derby St
      5126                1406 Henry St
      5127                2070 University Ave
       
  6. Special Presentation: Registration 365 – 15 min.*
    Presenter: Amanda Eberhart, Registration Unit Manager 
     
  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-6064 (1724 La Vereda Rd.)

    Landlord Appellant filed an appeal of a hearing decision granting in part and denying in part Tenant Respondents’ Petition for Individual Rent Adjustment (“petition”), claiming an improper security deposit withholding and seeking a rent reduction due to an inoperable heater at the rental unit located at 1724 La Vereda Rd., Berkeley, CA (“premises”).

    Landlord Appellant’s appeal statement fails to contain a statement of the specific grounds on which the appeal is based. Rather, Landlord Appellant merely restates previously presented testimony regarding the: (1) alleged necessity of re-painting two floors at the premises, (2) sump pump damage, and (3) unsupported claims that Tenant Respondents’ cats were responsible for the inoperable heater. Landlord Appellant fails to provide any legal or factual basis to overturn the Hearing Examiner’s decision regarding the above issues. The decision of the hearing examiner should be upheld, barring any compelling reasons to the contrary.
     
  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)  Demolition Ordinance and Demolition projects status report (Senior Planner Lief Bursell) – 10 min.*


      (2)  Update regarding tenants’ rights when landlord secures permit for non-code compliance work – Verbal – 5 min.*
       
    2. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 24-18 confirming the Annual General Adjustment (AGA) of 2.1 percent and ordering that the 2025 AGA be published as Regulation 1147 (General Counsel) – 5 min.*
       
    3. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 24-19 confirming that relocation assistance payments for Owner Move-in and Ellis Act evictions shall increase by 3.2 percent effective January 1, 2025 (General Counsel) – 5 min.*
       
    4. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 24-20 approving adjustment to compensation package for Executive Director DéSeana Williams (Chair Simon-Weisberg and Budget & Personnel Committee Chair Walker) – 5 min.*
       
    5. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 24-21 approving adjustment to compensation package for General Counsel Matt Brown (Chair Simon-Weisberg and Budget & Personnel Committee Chair Walker) – 5 min.*
       
    6. Recommendation to change the name of the Environmental Sustainability Committee to the Climate Resilience Committee (Chair Simon-Weisberg) – Verbal – 3 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. January 23, 2024 California Housing Partnership article by Mark Stivers, Director of Advocacy, titled, “Affordable Housing Compares Favorably to Market-Rate Housing From a Cost Perspective” (Commissioner Kelley) – 1 min.*
      https://chpc.net/affordable-housing-compares-favorably-to-market-rate-housing-from-a-cost-perspective/
       
    2. Deadline to submit agenda items/topics for the November regular Rent Board meeting: Friday, November 8th 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: Tuesday, October 22nd at 3:30 p.m.

      October 3rd agenda
       
    2. Environmental Sustainability Committee (Commissioner Martinac, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting date: Wednesday, November 13th at 6:00 p.m.

      October 7th agenda 
       
    3. Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Commissioner Elgstrand, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Tuesday, November 12th at 5:30 p.m.
       
    4. Legislation, IRA/AGA & Registration Committee (LIRA Committee) (Commissioner Kelley, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Thursday, November 7th at 6:00 p.m.

      October 10th agenda 
       
    5. Outreach Committee (Vice-Chair Alpert, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Wednesday, October 16th at 6:00 p.m.

      October 16th 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: To Be Announced (TBA)

      October 7th 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.*
       
  11. ADJOURNMENT
     

News

Aimee Mueller, Board Secretary
Email: AMueller@berkeleyca.gov
Phone: (510) 981-4932