Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Special Meeting Agenda: 10/23/2023
For links to individual agenda items for this meeting, please see below.
RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
SPECIAL Meeting
MONDAY, October 23, 2023 – 7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley
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/82871490734?pwd=pZRN0Cvr6XEWV8Xy2lmxUSYMXFa4Gb.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: 828 7149 0734 and Passcode: 208809. 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 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
Special Meeting
Monday, October 23, 2023
7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley
Video Archive (0:31)
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*
- CONSENT ITEMS – 1 min.*
- Approval of the September 21st regular meeting minutes
- Recommendation to authorize staff to restore Vice-Chair Alpert’s stipend deduction for a committee meeting absence on September 11, 2023 (Chair Simon-Weisberg)
- Proposal to approve staff recommendations on the following requests for waivers of late registration penalties (Executive Director/Registration Unit Manager)
Ministerial Waivers
Property Address
1109 THE ALAMEDA
2223 WARD
1522 HARMON
2231 SHATTUCK
2330 HASTE
1014 MARIPOSA
2228 MCKINLEY
1825 ASHBY
1818 SONOMA
2615 TELEGRAPH #301
2512 9TH ST
1422 OXFORD
1767 EUCLID #1
66 POPPY LANE
1561 EUCLID #3
2705 WALKER
856 THE ALAMEDA
Discretionary Waivers
Waiver No. Property Address
W5088 3053 DOHR
W5089 2122 DWIGHT
W5090 2043-2045 EMERSON
W5091 1237 RUSSELL
W5092 2315-2315A ASHBY
- Approval of the September 21st 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-6014 (2425 Fulton Street, Unit 4)
Appellant master tenant (“Master Tenant”) filed an appeal of a hearing decision granting in part and denying in part Petitioner subtenant’s (“Subtenant”) claim regarding illegally high rent for the rental unit located at 2425 Fulton Street Apt. 4, Berkeley, California 94704 (“premises”).
On appeal, Master Tenant requests a dismissal of Petition T-6014 on the grounds that Subtenant failed to: (1) give 30-day notice before vacating, (2) arrange a walk-through of the premises and properly surrender keys, and (3) pay final month’s rent. However, Master Tenant fails to identify a proper legal basis for appeal, and offers repeated testimony as well as new evidence that is not pertinent to the issues at hand. 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 23-25 confirming the 2024 Annual General Adjustment (AGA) of 1.9 percent and ordering that the 2024 AGA be published as Regulation 1146 (General Counsel) – 5 min.*
- Recommendation to adopt Resolution 23-26 confirming that the 2024 relocation assistance payments for Owner Move-in and Ellis Act evictions shall increase by 2.9 percent effective January 1, 2024, and publishing the 2024 relocation payment amounts (General Counsel) – 5 min.*
- Recommendation to adopt Resolution 23-27 authorizing the Executive Director to modify the contract with QuickCaption, Inc. for real-time remote closed captioning through June 30, 2024 (Executive Director/Board Secretary) – 5 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 update – Verbal (Public Information Unit Manager) – 5 min.*
- Date to submit agenda topics/items for November's regular Rent Board meeting: Friday, November 3rd by 5:00 p.m. (Board Secretary)
- Eviction Moratorium 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: Thursday, November 2nd at 5:30 p.m.
October 5th agenda
- Environmental Sustainability Committee (Commissioner Martinac, Chair) – 5 min.*
Next regularly-scheduled meeting date: To Be Announced (TBA)
- Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Commissioner Elgstrand, Chair) – 5 min.*
Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Tuesday, November 14th at 6:00 p.m.
September 26th agenda
- Legislation, IRA/AGA & Registration Committee (LIRA Committee) (Commissioner Kelley, Chair) – 5 min.*
Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Tuesday, November 7th at 5:45 p.m.
October 3rd agenda
- Outreach Committee (Vice-Chair Alpert, Chair) – 5 min.*
Next regularly-scheduled meeting: Monday, November 13th at 6:00 p.m.
October 16th 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: Tuesday, October 24th at 3:00 p.m.
October 24th agenda packet
September 27th agenda packet (Updated)
- 2 x 2 Committee on Housing: Rent Board/Berkeley Unified School District
(Chair TBA) – 5 min.*
Next meeting date: TBA
- Ad Hoc Committee to Consider Rent Ordinance Amendments at the 2024 November General Election (Commissioner Johnson, Chair) – 5 min.*
Next meeting date: Monday, October 30th at 5:30 p.m.
October 2nd 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.*
- 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
- ADJOURNMENT