Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting Agenda: 12/21/2023

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
regular Meeting
Thursday, december 21, 2023 – 7:00 p.m.

School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley
Teleconference location:  1137 Regiment Drive NW, Acworth GA, 30101
Teleconference location:  1033 Earmark Lane, Castle Rock, CO, 80104

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 1-669-444-9171 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@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, December 21, 2023 
7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley
Teleconference location:  1137 Regiment Drive NW, Acworth GA, 30101
Teleconference location:  1033 Earmark Lane, Castle Rock, CO, 80104

Video Archive (2:44) 

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. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS – 10 min.* 
   
   a. Election of Rent Board Chair:
       The Executive Director conducts the election for the Board's Chair.
   
   b. Election of Rent Board Vice-Chair:
       The newly-elected Chair conducts the election for the Board’s Vice-Chair.
   
   c. Comments from the newly-elected Chair and Vice-Chair
    
6. CONSENT ITEMS – 1 min.*
   1. Approval of the November 16th regular meeting minutes
       
   2. Resolution 23-32 revising the Rent Board’s Records Retention Schedule (Executive Director)
       
   3. Proposal to approve staff recommendations on the following requests for waivers of late registration penalties (Executive Director/Registration Unit Manager)
      
      Ministerial Waivers
      Property Address
      
      2715 GRANT
      1417 PRINCE
      2119 DELAWARE ST #B
      1341 ASHBY
      1619 FAIRVIEW
      3042 - 3048 WHEELER
      1202 CURTIS
      1643 PRINCE
      2541 DANA
      2515 REGENT
      2414 DWIGHT
      1913 BERRYMAN
      1782 UNIVERSITY
      1480 10TH
      
      Discretionary Waivers
      Waiver No.     Property Address
      
      W5101           1865 EUCLID 
      W5102           3114-3120 MLK
      W5103           3111 HARPER
      W5104           1259 CARRISON
      W5105           1313 MLK
      W5106           1717 EUCLID
      W5107           940 BANCROFT
      W5108           2542 CHILTON 
                    
7. 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) – 5 min.* 
      
      (1) Status Report on the City of Berkeley Demolition Ordinance 
      
      (2) New Rent Stabilization Ballot Measures Across the State
       
   2. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 23-33 establishing the 2024 Regular Rent Board Meeting Schedule (Executive Director) – 10 min.* 
       
   3. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 23-34 authorizing the Executive Director or the Chair, in consultation with each other, to appeal decisions of the Zoning Adjustments Board or any Zoning Officer decision that allows for elimination of any residential rental units that are covered by rent stabilization or just cause for eviction (Chair Simon-Weisberg & Executive Director) – 10 min.*
       
   4. Discussion and possible action to request that the 4 x 4 Committee recommend that Council place various Rent Ordinance Amendments on the November 2024 general election (General Counsel and Ad Hoc Committee to Consider Rent Ordinance Amendments at the 2024 November General Election) – 10 min.*
       
8. 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. Eviction Moratorium update – Verbal (Public Information Unit Manager) – 5 min.*
       
   2. Date to submit agenda topics/items for January’s regular Rent Board meeting: Will be announced following adoption of the Board’s 2024 Regular Meeting Schedule (Board Secretary)
       
9. COMMITTEE/BOARD MEETING UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
   1. Budget & Personnel Committee (Commissioner Walker, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. 
      
      December 14th agenda
       
   2. Environmental Sustainability Committee (Commissioner Martinac, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting date: Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.
       
   3. Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Commissioner Elgstrand, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.
       
   4. Legislation, IRA/AGA & Registration Committee (LIRA Committee) (Commissioner Kelley, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  To Be Announced (TBA)
       
   5. Outreach Committee (Vice-Chair Alpert, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next regularly-scheduled meeting:  Monday, January 8, 2024 at 6:00 p.m.
       
   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:  Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. 
       
   7. 2 x 2 Committee on Housing: Rent Board/Berkeley Unified School District
      (Commissioner Marrero) – 5 min.*
      Next meeting date:  Monday, December 18th at 5:30 p.m.
      
      December 18th agenda
       
   8. Ad Hoc Committee to Consider Rent Ordinance Amendments at the 2024 November General Election (Commissioner Johnson, Chair) – 5 min.*
      Next meeting date: TBA
      
      December 12th agenda
       
   9. Updates and Announcements – 5 min.*
       
   10. Discussion of items for possible placement on future agenda – 5 min.*
        
10. CLOSED SESSION – Pursuant to California Government Code Section 54957(b)(1), the Board will also convene in closed session for a Public Employee Evaluation of Performance:
    
    Title: General Counsel
     
11. ADJOURNMENT