Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Special Meeting Agenda: 12/04/2023
For links to individual agenda items for this meeting, please see below.
RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
special Meeting
monday, december 4, 2023 – 6:00 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/89093764549?pwd=YJ5MBrEiHbEES6TWFbG0Zzx2Shb3nw.80d2HZZ0p8BYbrh4. 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: 890 9376 4549 and Passcode: 459707. 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 3:30 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, December 4, 2023
6:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley
Video Archive (3:34)
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 – As permitted by California Government Code Section 54954.3(a), public comment shall be limited to only specifically agendized items for this Special Meeting. The Chair shall have discretion to adjust time limits for the public to speak for items on the agenda.
- SPECIAL PRESENTATION on the nexus between the Board’s work and the conflict in Gaza
- ACTION ITEMS
from Board Members, Committees, Executive Director or Staff- Recommendation to adopt Resolution 23-29 authorizing the Executive Director to initiate a contract with ACRO Services Corp. not to exceed $15,000 for a temporary staff person to assist with administrative tasks related to processing eviction notices (Executive Director) – 5 min.*
- Recommendation to adopt Resolution 23-30 calling for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine and Israel (Vice-Chair Alpert, Chair Simon-Weisberg, Commissioners Walker and Martinac) – 10 min.*
- Recommendation to adopt Resolution 23-31 invoking Regulation 1017 to allow landlords to provide temporary, below-market rental housing in Berkeley for Palestinian, Israeli, and Ukrainian refugees fleeing conflict (Chair Simon-Weisberg) – 3 min.*
- Recommendation to adopt Resolution 23-29 authorizing the Executive Director to initiate a contract with ACRO Services Corp. not to exceed $15,000 for a temporary staff person to assist with administrative tasks related to processing eviction notices (Executive Director) – 5 min.*
- ADJOURNMENT
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