Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting Agenda: 12/16/2021

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
Regular Meeting
Thursday, December 16, 2021
7:00 p.m.

PUBLIC ADVISORY: THIS MEETING WILL BE CONDUCTED EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH VIDEOCONFERENCE AND TELECONFERENCE

Pursuant to Government Code Section 54953(e) and City Council Resolution 70,030-N.S., this meeting of the City of Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board (Rent Board) will be conducted exclusively through teleconference and Zoom videoconference. Please be advised that pursuant to the Resolution and the findings contained therein that the spread of COVID-19 continues to be a threat to the public health and that holding meetings of City legislative bodies in person would present imminent risks to the health and safety of the public and members of legislative bodies. Therefore, there will not be a physical meeting location available.

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/86048784326?pwd=WVdsOTRhVVhnYWtkWXZKS3FCUlpidz09. 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 Meeting ID: 860 4878 4326 and Passcode: 379605. 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 an e-mail comment, email amueller@cityofberkeley.info with the Subject Line in this format: “RENT BOARD MEETING PUBLIC COMMENT ITEM.” Please observe a 150-word limit. Written comments will be entered into the public record.  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 meeting will be recorded, and all other rules of procedure and decorum will apply for Rent Board meetings conducted by teleconference or videoconference.

This meeting will be conducted in accordance with Government Code Section 54953, 54956, and all current state and local requirements allowing public participation in meetings of legislative bodies. Any member of the public may attend this meeting. Questions regarding this matter may be addressed to DéSeana Williams, Executive Director, at (510) 981-7368. The Rent Board may take action related to any subject listed on the Agenda.

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
Regular Meeting
Thursday, December 16, 2021
7:00 p.m.

Zoom Video Archive (pending)

*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. Public Comment – 2 min. per speaker for items on the agenda*
4. Public Comment – 2 min. per speaker for non-agendized items*
5. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS
   1. Election of Rent Board Chairperson:
      The General Counsel conducts the election for the Board’s Chair.
   2. Election of Rent Board Vice-Chairperson:
      The newly-elected Chair conducts the election for the Board’s Vice-Chair.
   3. Comments from the newly-elected Chair, Vice-Chair and Commissioners
6. CONSENT ITEMS – 1 min.*
   1. November 18th regular meeting minutes
   2. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 21-31 authorizing modification of the contract with Kinnectics, LLC to increase the amount by $20,000 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 (Executive Director)
   3. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 21-32 authorizing modification of the contract with It’s Personnel to increase the amount by $10,980 for FY 2022 (General Counsel)
   4. Proposal to approve staff recommendations on the following requests for waivers of later registration penalties (Executive Director & Registration Unit staff)
      
      Discretionary Waivers
      Waiver No.     Property Address
      
      5012                1260 Burnett Street
      5014                2640 Dwight Way
      5015                1401 Prince Street
      5017                1913 Francisco Street

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. RWN-1649 (1905 Essex St.)
   
   The Board originally ruled on this matter last year. A review of the record established that the decision did not suffer from prejudicial procedural errors and was supported by substantial evidence.  For these reasons, the Board affirmed the decision of the hearing examiner on August 20, 2020.
   
   The landlord thereafter filed a writ of administrative mandamus challenging the Board’s decision on several grounds.  The Board set aside its Decision on Appeal at its April 15, 2021 meeting to grant Appellant further due process opportunity to be represented by counsel. According to the briefing schedule set forth by the Board’s legal unit, Appellant’s attorney timely submitted a new appeal brief on May 24, 2021.  The attorney listed the following as the reasons the hearing examiner’s decision should be reversed:
   
   1.  The Board exceeded its authority by ruling that units not a part of the Petition are subject to registration requirements;
   
   2.  Commercial units are not subject to the Board’s registration requirements;
   
   3.  An “unknown and unpermitted” squatter’s use of a different address does not affect these proceedings; and
   
   4.  New construction is exempt from registration requirements.
   
   Further review of the record establishes that the hearing examiner did not exceed his authority to rule on the issues before the Board and that the decision is based on sound legal reasoning and Board precedent.  For these reasons, legal staff recommend that the decision of the hearing examiner be affirmed.
    
8. Public Comment – 2 min. per speaker for Action Items*
9. ACTION ITEMS
   1. From Board Members, Committees, and Executive Director
      
      (1)  Recommendation to adopt proposed amendments to Regulation 801 [Proper Filing of Rent Registration Statement] – First reading (IRA/AGA/Registration Committee) – 5 min.*
      
      (2)  Recommendation to adopt proposed amendments to Regulation 1311 [Alleging Compliance in Complaint] – First reading (IRA/AGA/Registration Committee) – 5 min.*
      
      (3)  Discussion and recommendation to set the Regular Board Meeting Schedule for 2022 (Executive Director) – 15 min.*
      
      (4)  Recommendation to adopt Resolution 21-33 acknowledging State Attorney General Rob Bonta for his efforts to enforce tenant protections  (Chair Simon-Weisberg & Vice-Chair Alpert) – 5 min.*  TO BE DELIVERED
10. INFORMATION, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS ARTICLES
    Please Note:  The Board may move Information Items to the Action Calendar.
    1. Reports from Board Members/Staff
       
       (1)  Update on Commissioner access to their Rent Board email accounts – Verbal (Executive Director) – 5 min.*
       
       (2)  Update on the City’s Website Reinvention Project timeline and the Rent Board’s portal – Verbal  (Executive Director & Board Secretary) – 5 min.*
       
       (3)  Owner Move-in Eviction Tracking Report updated through June 2021 (Executive Director) – 2 min.*
       
       (4)  December 8, 2021 State of California Department of Justice press release titled, “Attorney General Bonta Announces Judgment Against Real Estate Investment Company for Unlawfully Evicting Tenants from Foreclosed Properties” (Chair Simon-Weisberg) – 3 min.*
       https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-announces-judgment-against-real-estate-investment-company
       
       (5)  Confirmation of the date to submit agenda topics/items for the January 2022 Rent Board meeting (Board Secretary) – 1 min.*
11. COMMITTEE/BOARD MEETING UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
    1. Budget and Personnel Committee (Commissioner Selawsky, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  TBA
    2. Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Commissioner Mendonca, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  TBA
       
       (1)  December 9th agenda
    3. IRA/AGA/Registration Committee (Commissioner Kelley, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.
       
       (1)  December 8th agenda
    4. Outreach Committee (Commissioner Laverde, Chair) – 5 min.*
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  TBA
       
       (1)  December 15th agenda
    5. 2 x 2 Committee on Housing: Rent Board/Berkeley Unified School District (Chair TBA) – 3 min.*
       Regularly-scheduled meeting date:  TBA
    6. 4 x 4 Joint Committee on Housing: City Council/Rent Board – 5 min.*
       Committee Co-Chairs:  Mayor Arreguín and Chair Simon-Weisberg
       Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 3:00 p.m.
    7. Ad Hoc Committee on RSB Technology Issues (Chair TBA) – 1 min.*
       Next meeting date:  TBA
    8. Updates and Announcements – 3 min.*
    9. Discussion of items for possible placement on future agenda – 3 min.*
        
12. ADJOURNMENT