Tag: Demolition Ordinance

By Posted on Posted in Actions

Berkeley Citizens Action will join BTU to discuss shared concerns at our Fall Potluck, Wednesday September 18.

Free Tenant Counseling by the Eviction Defense Center at 6 PM !!!

Food and Friends at 6:30 PM. Grassroots House, 2022 Blake @ Shattuck

SunsetUPCOMING DATES OF INTEREST TO TENANTS

Campaign Violations, Berkeley Democratic Club
Thursday September 19 – 7 PM
Fair Campaign Practices Commission
North Berkeley Senior Center, 1901 Hearst Ave @ MLK

Free Housing Counseling for Seniors
Friday, September 20 – 12 PM
Counseling by Berkeley Rent Board
South Berkeley Senior Center: 2939 Ellis Street @ Ashby

More after the jump…

Read more »

By Posted on Posted in Issues

Governor Jerry BrownGovernor Jerry Brown is not a fan of inclusionary zoning, the principle way cities like Berkeley have met state mandates to build affordable housing. As Mayor of Oakland, Brown’s 2010 vote insured that our neighbor was the only major municipality in California without affordable housing mandates for developers. Now the fate of affordable housing in California is on Brown’s desk!

Brown has until Oct 12th to sign AB 1229 but he’s not going to do that without a billion phone calls from voters. The Berkeley Tenants Union has not formally voted on a position, but we are a member of the state-wide tenant organization Tenants Together, so we wanted to share their message:

AB 1229 (Atkins) passed through the California Senate last week. The bill restores the power to cities to adopt and enforce local inclusionary zoning laws that provide essential affordable rental housing in over one hundred jurisdictions in California. The bill is necessary because of a disastrous Supreme court decision (Palmer/Sixth Street Properties v. City of Los Angeles) that called into question whether cities could require developers to include affordable rental units in new projects. AB 1229 will promote the development of affordable rental housing in communities across California

Call the governor today at (916) 445-2841 and urge him to sign this important bill into law.

For Berkeley, a lot could be at stake, especially if the bad changes to the Demolition Ordinance get passed by the City Council and we begin to lose our rent controlled housing stock.

AB1229
http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/Huge_Victory_for_Affordable_Rental_Housing_AB_1229_Clears_Senate_and_Heads_to_the_Governor_11794.html

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1229

News on Berkeley’s Affordable Housing Fee
http://www.dailycal.org/2013/09/08/berkeley-city-council-to-reassess-affordable-housing-fee/

San Jose Inclusionary Zoning Goes to CA Supreme Court
http://www.californialandusedevelopmentlaw.com/2013/09/16/california-supreme-court-to-hear-san-jose-affordable-housing-case/

Demolition Ordinance
http://theyodeler.org/?p=7882

Our petition:
https://www.change.org/petitions/berkeley-city-council-preserve-affordable-housing

By Posted on Posted in Actions

Demolition Ordinance to Housing Commission ThursdayBerkeley’s Housing Advisory Commission (HAC) will consider several hot issues at their meeting on Thursday September 12, including mandatory retrofits of seismically unsafe apartment buildings and alarming changes to the demolition ordinance which would threaten rent control and lead to evictions.

The HAC will also hear an update about the exciting new program that offers energy efficient upgrades to tenants and landlords, a proposed ordinance declaring mold unhealthy in rental units, and changes to the affordable housing fees developers of new buildings must pay to offset the impact of unaffordable units on the community.

TENANTS, Come Out and Have Your Say!

South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis Street, at 7 PM Thursday

Demolition Ordinance
The Berkeley NAACP joined with other organizations like BTU and the Sierra Club in opposing new drafts of the Demolition Ordinance which don’t require rent controlled apartments be replaced with units affordable to low-income residents.

The Berkeley NAACP top priority recommendation in the Housing category for the report from their summer Town Hall meeting was, “Demolition Ordinance will include the replacement of all affordable housing that is demolished.” Unfortunately, there is a new draft of the demo ordinance that came out on August 30 which would allow developers to tear down rent controlled units, even those which are occupied or in good condition, and not replace them. The new draft allows developers to pay an unspecified fee which could be changed by City Council at any time.

BTU is standing by our request that Council approve the June 4th compromise draft, and we are still collecting signatures for our petition, which we will also present to the HAC.

https://www.change.org/petitions/berkeley-city-council-preserve-affordable-housing

NAACP Town Hall report: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/uploadedFiles/Planning_and_Development/Level_3_-_LPC/Item%2012.A.2_NAACP%20Corrospondance.pdf

Seismic Retrofits
BTU is determined that tenants should not be forced to pay a rent increase just because their building will stand up for 3-5 more seconds in a major earthquake.

Mold
Right now, Berkeley Housing Code Enforcement can’t cite for mold in apartment buildings because even severe mold, which causes asthma and other health problems, is not defined in our city codes as a hazard. This new law is based on one that has protected San Francisco tenants for years.

If you can’t come to the Housing Commission meeting Thursday, write to them care of kslee@cityofberkeley.info

By Posted on Posted in Actions
Your home could be next!
Your home could be next!

The Berkeley City Council is considering revisions to the Demolition Ordinance which would make it easy to tear down rent controlled apartments – if they are empty! This will lead to evictions and tenant harassment.

Suddenly on June 11, the Council voted to consider last-minute amendments to revisions of the Ordinance which are so substantial, they amount to a re-write of the draft.  If these changes are approved on July 2, the resulting ordinance will undermine rent control.

The proposed changes come directly from requests by developer Equity Residential – Berkeley’s largest landlord – and other speculators. Council will consider them despite the strong support from tenants, the Rent Board and the Planning Commission for the June 4 draft, which provided permanently affordable housing to replace empty units.

The most important thing you can do right now is get friends to

SIGN OUR ONLINE PETITION!

https://www.change.org/petitions/berkeley-city-council-preserve-affordable-housing

We also advise tenants to write to Council, and attend the meeting July 2. There is much at stake.

  • Say you support the Berkeley Tenants Union position on Item 17, the Demolition Ordinance.
  • State that no occupied units should be eliminated for any reason.
  • Emphasize that units emptied via the Ellis Act cannot be eliminated.
  • Ask that demolished empty units be replaced with permanently affordable housing.
  • Point out that a mitigation fee will not meet our housing needs soon enough.
  • Argue that this new draft will violate the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance.

Contact Berkeley City Council – please cc info@berkeleytenants.org
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/City_Council__Roster.aspx

Item 17 July 2, 2013 (bad amendments):
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/2013/07Jul/Documents/2013-07-02_Item_17_Zoning_Amendments.aspx

June 4 draft changes (good compromise):
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/2013/06Jun/Documents/2013-06-04_Item_24_Zoning_Amendments_to_BMC.aspx

1973 Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance (still the law of the land)
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/uploadedFiles/Rent_Stabilization_Board/Level_3_-_General/7.a.6_Very%20old%20copy%20of%20Neighborhood%20Pres.%20Ordinance.pdf

By Posted on Posted in Actions, Issues

We won!

Thanks to a couple dozen folks who wrote the Zoning Board, a sound position from the Rent Board, a good letter from the East Bay Community Law Center, and some very strong leadership by Zoning Commissioner Sophie Hahn, the 8 rent-controlled units on Walnut Street will be replaced with permanently affordable housing at the fancy new Acheson Commons development on University Avenue.

I hope the strong support for the message “empty units are still rent controlled units” from the public and the Zoning Commissioners will send a message to the City Council majority, who appear to be gutting the Demolition Ordinance for the benefit of developers and in complete disregard for the voter-approved Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance. Amendments being considered on July 2 could change Berkeley forever.

PLEASE SIGN OUR ONLINE PETITION

https://www.change.org/petitions/berkeley-city-council-preserve-affordable-housing

By Posted on Posted in Issues

► This week’s fire at the Nash Hotel should remind us that the tenants from the buildings that burned on Telegraph Avenue and Dwight Way in late 2011 are still fighting to get their due. Replacements for both buildings are winding their way through Berkeley’s permit maze, but the City’s rules exempt these buildings from any affordable housing fees UNLESS the landlord was at fault for the damage. Since it was reported that the fire alarms were disconnected at the Lakireddy-owned building on Dwight, and tenants at the Haste-Telegraph Sequoia building have a lawsuit against the owner, fault is still being investigated. The 2227 Dwight property was at the Zoning Board on Thursday June 13, but there has been no press coverage. The Zoning Board granted the owner’s permit.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=8575386

http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_23446113/tuesday-fire-at-downtown-berkeley-hotel-causes-at

► The Berkeley Housing Authority took back 14 rental assistance vouchers they had already given to low-income families, and suspended the list of those who can get Section 8 assistance in the future, due to funding cuts from the federal government:

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/06/09/18738201.php

►As reported earlier, Berkeley Property Owners Association President Sid Lakireddy has filed a lawsuit against the four candidates for Rent Board chosen at the Tenant Convention in 2012. Another article on this lawsuit was published recently:

http://www.dailycal.org/2013/06/02/berkeley-city-officials-file-an-appeal-in-response-to-decision-in-defamation-lawsuit/

Everest Properties Vandalizes Its Own City Landmark
Everest Properties Vandalizes Its Own City Landmark

►A Lakireddy family property on Haste was also in the news:

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2013-05-31/article/41107?headline=Everest-Properties-Vandalizes-Its-Own-City-Landmark–By-Daniella-Thompson

► Although the City Council considered revision to the Demolition Ordinance again on June 11, and the suggestions just keep getting worse for tenants and advocates of affordable housing, there were no news stories on the latest developments. BTU will post again when the Council calendars the next round of debate – it is expected for July 2nd. Several leaders are calling for Council to send the new draft back to the Planning Comission – since the proposal they approved wasn’t so much amended as replaced!! Video of the latest changes can be viewed on the City website – discussion started just after 9:45 PM on June 11.

www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/City_Council__Agenda_Index.aspx

► There has also been no news on the State of California investigation of fair election law violations by the faux-tenant slate, Tenants United for Fairness. When Berkeley’s Fair Campaign Practices Commission issued the landlord-backed candidates the second-largest election fine in Berkeley history last month, FCPC stated that there is an ongoing investigation at the state level.

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2013/05/20/landlord-backed-group-fined-for-campaign-violations/

By Posted on Posted in Actions

As discussed at the potluck, Acheson Commons is before the Zoning Board Thursday. BTU is asking members to write, and members who wrote before to ask a friend to write!

We have sent a detailed letter about our position.
See the May 7 and 21 posts here for details: https://www.berkeleytenants.org/?tag=acheson-commons

In brief, we hope members will write something like this:

We, the members of the Berkeley Tenants Union, request that you rule in the public interest and require the 8 units on Walnut Street be replaced with affordable housing.

And send it to:
TBlount@CityofBerkeley.info
and
info@berkeleytenants.org (we will bring them to the ZAB meeting)

Thank you for helping!

By Posted on Posted in Actions

DemolitionThe Berkeley City Council is moving forward with changes to the demolition ordinance. The good news is that the Planning Department and the Rent Board have agreed on changes that almost make tenant activists happy. The bad news? Judging by comments made by Maio and Wengraf at the May 21 hearing on 2517 Regent Street, the pro-development Council majority plans to reject or water down the tenant protections the Rent Board and Planning negotiated.

BTU NEEDS YOU TO WRITE to the whole Council immediately!

We also hope you will come and speak on Tuesday June 4. Sometimes it seems it is harder for the Council to vote against the public when we are looking them in the eye.

  • Say you support the Berkeley Tenants Union position on Item 24, the Demo Ord.
  • State that no occupied units should be eliminated for any reason.
  • Emphasize that units emptied via the Ellis Act cannot be eliminated.
  • Ask that demolished units be replaced with permanently affordable housing.
  • Remind them that converting a duplex to a single family is still an elimination of a unit of affordable housing because of rent control. Ask that this type of demolition also be regulated and their impact on affordable housing stock mitigated.

If the Clerk gets letters or emails on Thursday the 30th, the correspondence will actually get delivered to Council before the meeting. If he gets them later than that, they get handed to our elected leaders at 7 PM, just before the meeting begins. If you write on Friday or Monday, please send them directly to each Council member as well as the address for the Clerk (see link below).

Contact Berkeley City Council:
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/City_Council__Roster.aspx

Council Item 24:
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/2013/06Jun/Documents/2013-06-04_Item_24_Zoning_Amendments_to_BMC.aspx

By Posted on Posted in Actions

April-28-BTU---02

In general, activists’ response led to deeper discussion of the issues but we need ALL members to respond to these action requests if we are to impact policy and decisions!

The Planning Department and the Rent Board have agreed on language for the Demolition Ordinance, thanks in part to public pressure from BTU members at the Planning Commission hearing last month!

However, our City Council is known for laying a brand new draft on the table at the last minute, so everyone should be prepared to both Write and Attend the Council Meeting on Tuesday June 4. BTU also has some concerns regarding legalization of duplexes that have been turned into single family homes without permits in the past decade. Watch this space for more info – it would be great if we can get letters to Council in advance since, for a change, we know this item is coming up.

By Posted on Posted in Actions

1930 and 1922–24 Walnut Street (photo: Daniella Thompson, 2009)
1930 and 1922–24 Walnut Street (photo: Daniella Thompson, 2009)

In general, activists’ response led to deeper discussion of the issues but we need ALL members to respond to these action requests if we are to impact policy and decisions!

The Zoning Adjustments Board continued the appeal of Equity Residential’s mega-development. ZAB got about a dozen letters from BTU members objecting to a new interpretation of the Demolition Ordinance that would allow destruction of any empty rental unit without replacing it with affordable housing. This issue dominated the ZAB discussion but was continued to Thursday JUNE 13. BTU needs you to SHOW UP and STAND AGAINST UNMITIGATED DESTRUCTION OF RENT-CONTROLLED UNITS! This decision will certainly impact how the City Council decides on the new version of the Demo Ordinance. Don’t allow them to say empty units can be torn down – or you will be evicted soon!