Rent Stabilization Board RENT STABILIZATION BOARD Regular Meeting Approved Minutes Maudelle Shirek Building 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers, Second Floor Broadcast Live on KPFB 89.3 and BTV Cable Channel 33 Live Webcasting at www.cityofberkeley.info/rent 1. Roll call Chair Townley called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Aimee Mueller called roll. Commissioners present: Chang, Hunt, Laverde, Selawsky, Soto-Vigil (arrived 7:05), Townley Commissioners absent: Dodsworth (arrived 7:40), Harr, Shelton Staff present: Brown, Kelekian, Mueller 2. Approval of Agenda M/S/C (Selawsky/Hunt) APPROVE AGENDA AS WRITTEN. Voice vote. Carried: 5-0-0-4. ABSENT: Dodsworth, Harr, Shelton, Soto-Vigil. 3. Public Forum There were two speakers: Paola Laverde spoke as a member of the public about a news article concerning rental housing in Southern California. Krista Gulbransen spoke about the tiny house program and asked if the Rent Board was looking into it. 4. CONSENT ITEMS a. Approval of the September 19 th Regular Meeting minutes This item was held over to the next meeting. b. Approval of 60-day Administrative Waivers: 184 eligible properties, waiving $168,500 in penalties assessed for the 2016/2017 fiscal year. M/S/C (Selawsky/Soto-Vigil) MOVE CONSENT ITEM 4.b. AS WRITTEN. Voice vote. Carried: 6-0-0-3. ABSENT: Dodsworth, Harr, Shelton. 5. ACTION ITEMS a. From Board Members, Executive Director and Committees 2125 Milvia Street, Berkeley, California 94704 TEL: (510) 981-7368 (981-RENT) TDD: (510) 981-6903 FAX: (510) 981-4940 E-MAIL: rent@cityofberkeley.info www.cityofberkeley.info/rent/
Page 2 (1) Recommendation to adopt Resolution 16-13 confirming that the 2017 Annual General Adjustment (AGA) increases rent ceilings by 1.8 percent and ordering that the 2017 AGA be published as Regulation 1139 (IRA/AGA/Registration Committee & Executive Director) M/S/C (Selawsky/Laverde) ADOPT RESOLUTION 16-13 CONFIRMING THAT THE 2017 ANNUAL GENERAL ADJUSTMENT (AGA) INCREASES RENT CEILINGS BY 1.8 PERCENT AND ORDERING THE 2017 AGA BE PUBLISHED AS REGULATION 1139. Roll call vote. YES: Chang, Hunt, Laverde, Selawsky, Soto-Vigil, Townley; NO: None; ABSTAIN: None; ABSENT: Dodsworth, Harr, Shelton. Carried: 6-0-0-3. (2) Proposal to approve staff recommendations on the following requests for waiver of late registration penalties (Executive Director) Ministerial Waivers Waiver No. Property Address 4590 2124 5th Street 4594 3024 Dana Street 4599 2623 Ashby Avenue Discretionary Waivers Waiver No. Property Address 4589 1530 Henry Street 4593 1726 Stuart Street Commissioner Hunt pulled Waiver Nos. 4589 and 4593 for discussion. M/S/C (Hunt/Selawsky) APPROVE ALL MINISTERIAL WAIVERS. Voice vote. Carried: 6-0-0-3. ABSENT: Dodsworth, Harr, Shelton. M/S/C (Harr/Selawsky) APPROVE STAFF RECOMMEDATIONS FOR DISCRETIONARY WAIVERS 4589 AND 4593. Friendly Amendment by Soto-Vigil: REGARDING DISCRETIONARY WAIVER 4589, SEND A LETTER TO PROPERTY OWNER ENCOURAGING HER TO CONSIDER RETAINING A PROPERTY MANAGER. Voice vote. Carried: 6-0-0-3. ABSENT: Dodsworth, Harr, Shelton. 6. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS ALL ITEMS BELOW WERE MENTIONED AND/OR BRIEFLY DISCUSSED. UNDERLINED ITEMS HAVE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS AND/OR INFORMATION. a. Reports from Board Members/Staff
Page 3 (1) Revised Measure Y Tracking Report (July 2013 June 2016) to the Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Executive Director) A revised version of this report was included in the packet. A second revised version containing the address data requested by the Board will be included in the November agenda packet. (2) October 18, 2016 second reading of Council Item titled, Adjust Ellis Act Eviction Relocation Assistance the same as proposed Owner Move-in Relocation Assistance; Amending BMC Chapter 13.77 (Executive Director) The Executive Director said that the full report was adopted unanimously by Council on first reading, and would be up for a second reading the following night. (3) Market Medians report for the 2 nd Quarter of 2016 (January 1999 June 2016) (Executive Director) Chair Townley noted that rents are going up, and the Executive Director highlighted a 20% reduction in the number of rental units that turned over last year. (4) Update on the City of Berkeley s response to the Alameda Grand Jury s critique of the City s e-mail retention program (Executive Director) The Executive Director reported that the City Council voted on September 20, 2016 to direct the City Manager to prepare a response; Rent Board staff have not seen a response yet. (5) Update on the launch of Phase II of the Rent Board s new website (Executive Director) Verbal The Executive Director reported that staff hope to complete Phase III of the redesign by the end of the fiscal year. Aimee Mueller pointed out that there is a link to a survey in the News and Information section where the public can provide feedback about the website redesign. (6) Copy of the Rent Board s 2016 Fall Newsletter (Executive Director) (7) Copy of the September 4, 2016 Open Letter from the Berkeley Neighborhoods Council to the Berkeley City Attorney, City Manager, Mayor and Members of the City Council concerning Measures DD and AA (Vice-Chair Harr) (8) Copy of the October 6, 2016 Berkeley City Attorney s response to the Berkeley Neighborhoods Council s inquiry concerning Measures DD and AA (Vice-Chair Harr) (9) Communication from Vice-Chair Harr titled, Everyone Wants Rent Control! with a list of related articles with hyperlinks (Vice-Chair Harr) (10) Flyer for the September 23 rd Landlord in Berkeley 101 seminar (Executive Director) (11) Flyer for the October 12 th Rent Board Landlord Seminar: Evictions Rights and Responsibilities (Executive Director) (12) Flyer for the October 25 th Tenants Rights Workshop from 6:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library (Executive Director)
Page 4 (13) September 14, 2016 The Mercury News article by Richard Scheinin titled, California s new rules on tenant blacklists are unpopular with landlords (Commissioner (14) September 20, 2016 The Daily Californian article by Edward Booth titled, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board endorses November ballot measures (Vice- Chair Harr) (15) September 20, 2016 The San Diego Union-Tribune article by Phillip Molnar titled, Does San Diego need rent control? (Commissioner (16) September 23, 2016 editorial by The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board titled, Rent control no fix for housing crisis (Commissioner (17) September 23, 2016 CBSLocal.com article by Melissa Caen titled, Bay Area Rent Control Propositions Restricted By Existing California Law (Commissioner (18) September 23, 2016 Los Angeles Times article by Andrew Khouri titled, Tenant buyouts lead to protests and a crackdown plan by L.A. City Council (Commissioner (19) September 25, 2016 The Press Democrat article by Kevin McCallum titled, Fate of rent control could be decided in Santa Rosa City Council election (Commissioner (20) September 26, 2016 The Press Democrat article by Kevin McCallum titled, Landlords submit anti-rent control petition in Santa Rosa (Commissioner (21) September 28, 2016 Los Angeles Times article by Natalie Kitroeff titled, "California s housing shortage will hamper the economy, reports say (Commissioner (22) September 29, 2016 Los Angeles Times article by Andrew Khouri titled, Realtors: California home prices and sales expected to rise next year (Commissioner (23) September 30, 2016 The Orange County Register editorial titled, California s housing policies exacerbate high poverty rate (Commissioner (24) October 1, 2016 San Mateo Daily Journal.com article titled, The divide of Measure Q: San Mateo s rent control tenant protection initiative draws debate (Commissioner (25) October 5, 2016 The Daily Californian article by Gibson Chu titled, League of Women Voters holds forum for Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board candidates (Executive Director) Commissioner Hunt said this article incorrectly states that the FAIR Berkeley slate was emphasizing rent control.
Page 5 (26) October 6, 2016 New York Times article by Mike McPhate titled, California Today: Silicon Valley, Housing Villain, Tries to Make Amends (Commissioner Laverde- Levine) (27) October 6, 2016 KQED.org article by Devin Katayama titled, Is Rent Control Fair? The Question at the Heart of the Debate (Commissioner (28) October 6, 2016 PublicCEO.com article by Timothy L. Coyle titled, Commentary: Rent Control, The Failed Concept is Rearing its Ugly Head, Again (Commissioner (29) October 6, 2016 Pasadena Star-News article by Jason Henry titled, These South Pasadena tenants want rent control after their rents jump $600 (Commissioner (30) October 8, 2016 SBSun.org article by Jeff Collins titled, There aren t enough section 8 vouchers to match the need in Southern California s rental market (Commissioner (31) October 9, 2016 Los Angeles Times article by Doug Smith titled, Protesting tenants of a Highland Park apartment complex face a mass eviction (Commissioner (32) October 10, 2016 Caeconomy.org article by Fred Silva titled, Growing affordability crisis is focus of Southern California Housing Summit (Commissioner Laverde- Levine) The Executive Director mentioned that, although Rent Board staff did not attend, the summit organizers requested one of the Rent Board s research reports for use in creating case studies. (33) October 10, 2016 The Orange County Register article by Jeff Collins titled, Housing summit seeks more YIMBY, less NIMBY (Commissioner Laverde- Levine) (34) October 10, 2016 OCHousingNews.com article by Larry Roberts titled, A possible solution to California s housing crisis (Commissioner _ min.* (35) October 10, 2016 Insurance Journal article by Dan Levine titled, Judge Skeptical over Airbnb Posture in San Francisco Rental Law Suit (Commissioner Laverde- Levine) b. Updates and Announcements regarding Committee/Board Meetings (1) Budget and Personnel Committee Chair Selawsky said the Committee will meet this Friday, October 21, 2016, at 11:00 a.m. (2) Outreach Commissioner Hunt said the Committee will meet this Friday, October 21, 2016 at 4:30 p.m. (3) IRA, AGA and Registration Committee Chair Townley said that the main issue the Committee was working on the AGA was passed tonight, and the
Page 6 Committee will be talking about the new Short-Term Rental Ordinance going forward. a. September 23 rd agenda (4) Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee Chair Hunt said the Committee met last week and prepared a report that was presented at tonight s meeting. She added that the Committee will not be meeting in November or December since elections will be taking place and new Commissioners would be joining the Board and Committees. a. October 12 th agenda (5) Resilience and Sustainability Committee Chair Townley stated that the Committee had developed a model green lease with feedback from legal staff. The Committee is planning outreach to the Berkeley Property Owners Association, and the resiliency officer for the City of Berkeley. The Committee also talked about working on exceptions to Costa-Hawkins for natural disasters involving certificates of occupancy. a. July 14 th minutes b. October 13 th agenda (6) Habitability Committee Chair Laverde stated that the Committee has sent a report to the City Council about updating Berkeley Municipal Code 19.50.40 (c) concerning the amount of compensation paid to tenants who cannot enter or leave their units when a building elevator is broken. The report will be put on Council s Consent Calendar. a. October 4 th agenda (7) 4 x 4 City Council/RSB Housing Committee Committee Chair Townley reported that the Committee had not met and will have its next meeting in December. (8) Ad Hoc Committee on the Effects of Costa-Hawkins (9) Ad Hoc Committee on Paperless Agendas (10) Ad Hoc Committee on Short-Term Rentals (11) Future Special Meetings c. Discussion of items for possible placement on future agenda Commissioner Soto-Vigil said that he and Commissioner Hunt are working on an item, as is Commissioner Chang. 7. ADJOURNMENT M/S/C (Hunt/Selawsky) Voice vote. Carried 7-0-0-2. ABSENT: Harr, Shelton. The meeting was adjourned at 7:43 p.m.