Tag: inclusionary housing

By Posted on Posted in Actions
Measure U1 Allocations To Be Discussed Tuesday July 11

BTU Needs You to Push for Rental Assistance!
The City Council is beginning to discuss how to spend money from the 2016 landlord tax, Measure U1.

You may have seen emails from our allies asking you to comment on Measure U1 funding for particular affordable housing projects, but we want you to remind the Council that a portion of Measure U1 funding is also designated for homelessness prevention. It was always the intention of the authors of the 2016 ballot measure that some money go to reinstate Berkeley’s rental assistance program and boost the number of low-income renters that can defend themselves against Berkeley’s many bogus eviction attempts.

BTU is calling for you to contact the City Council to ask that renters get their fair share from the new tax on high rents generated by Measure U1 – because rent control is Berkeley’s most effective affordable housing program! With about 20% of Berkeley below the poverty level, keeping folks in their rent controlled units is certainly homelessness prevention! The market rent for a new tenant in an older, rent-controlled two bedroom is already $2,600 and “affordable housing units” in developments like The Avalon (by Aquatic Park) rent for $1,445 for a studio – how is that affordable?

Please Email the Council something like this right away!

TO: council@cityofberkeley.info
CC: clerk@cityofberkeley.info
Re: Items 37a and 37b; Items 38a and 38b (July 11)

Rent control is Berkeley’s most effective affordable housing program. BTU calls for more local anti-displacement funding, especially more funding for eviction defense and rental assistance (the “Housing Retention Program.”) Berkeley Tenants Union believes that the portion of funding raised by Measure U1 that should be designated, per the measure, for “homelessness prevention” should be spent on programs which stabilize the housing of low-income renters and thereby preserve economic and social diversity. BTU does not support a delay in committing this funding during a housing emergency. Please prioritize more help for low-income tenants struggling to stay in Berkeley!

 

 

Also on the Agenda: Soft Story Update Item 43
Soft story means buildings that will kill everyone by collapsing in an earthquake. They were required to retrofit and have been told since 2006 that this would be required. They get really cheap city loans, too! But 24 have not complied and – thanks to pressure from BTU and vocal advocates like Igor Tregub – they are now being fined by the Building Department.
“This report also provides an update on the status of mandatory seismic retrofits required by Berkeley Municipal Code Chapter 19.39 for buildings with a soft, weak or open front (“Soft Story”) condition and five or more dwelling units. Soft Story building owners had a December 31, 2016 deadline to apply for building permits for seismic retrofits. Of the 86 buildings remaining on the Soft Story inventory, 62 buildings containing 617 dwelling units have now applied for or been issued permits. The Building and Safety Division issued warning letters of administrative citation on March 28, 2017 to owners who had not applied for a building permit and the first citations were issued to ten building owners on May 30.”

 IN OTHER NEWS

Tenant Activist Elisa Cooper
Berkeley has lost another important voice for housing. Elisa Cooper, who took on a major role representing Friends of Adeline on the 2016 Tenant Convention Planning Committee, was also a strong advocate for people with disabilities and those who have the very least in our community. She strongly opposed BTU charging dues and her voice will be missed when that issue comes up again this fall.

Rent Board Election: Campaign Finance Complaint
At the July 20th Fair Campaign Practices Commission (FCPC) meeting, the Commission will hear a complaint registered against the Berkeley Rental Housing Coalition for failing to properly record campaign finances. This is not the first time this has occurred. Because of the blatant repeat offences committed by this organization, the Berkeley Tenants Union feels strongly that in order for the Berkeley Election Reform Act to have any teeth, the maximum penalty should be imposed.
Please support BTU’s letter by emailing: FCPC@CityofBerkeley.info
BTU letter for FCPC

Victory on Affordable Housing Fee
“Officials voted Tuesday night, with eight in favor and Councilwoman Lori Droste abstaining, to increase a fee linked to affordable units from $34,000 to $37,000. Council also changed the formula for how the fee is calculated so it’s based on the total project rather than just the market-rate units, as it was previously.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/06/30/despite-concerns-lack-data-berkeley-council-votes-increase-developer-fee/

Problems Continue at City Council
“The major problem, one which has been the major problem in the approximately forty years since I’ve been watching the Berkeley City Council on and off, is that the only reliable way to get the attention of even the best-intentioned city council is to have as many concerned citizens as possible show up in the flesh to make their case in what’s become one or two minute sound-bytes.”
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2017-06-16/article/45818?headline=Berkeley-councilmembers-need-to-become-better-listeners–Becky-O-Malley

Solution? Comment Online to Council on Item 25, Berkeley Way Project
“Comments about the plan can be posted online by registered users of Berkeley Considers, with or without their name at www.cityofberkeley.info/considers. However, users are asked confidentially for their name and home address upon registration, to distinguish which statements are from local residents, according to a news release from the city.”
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/07/05/input-sought-on-3-million-berkeley-affordable-housing-project-allocation/

Is Berkeley Way Project Too Big?
“The two-building project, set to take the place of the public parking lot at Berkeley Way and Henry Street, is slated to include 89 affordable apartments in one building and, in the other, 53 studios of permanent supportive housing, 32 shelter beds, 12 transitional units for veterans, and a first-floor services center with a community kitchen. City leaders have long described the $90 million project, a collaboration with the Berkeley Food & Housing Project (BFHP) and Bridge Housing, as “visionary” in scope.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/06/15/with-council-all-in-on-berkeley-way-homeless-housing-trust-fund-at-zero/

Another Way to Reach the City Council
Our good friends at Berkeley Citizens Action are holding a town hall with (most of) the progressives we elected this fall! The meeting is Sunday July 16 at 3 PM at South Berkeley Senior Center – go tell them we need more funding for rental assistance and access to just cause eviction protections! Arreguin, Worthington and Davila are all renters!
“Confirmed: Mayor Jesse Arreguín. Councilmembers: Kate Harrison, Kriss Worthington, Ben Bartlett, Sophie Hahn, waiting confirmation from councilmember Cheryl Davila.” according to BCA

Housing Fee: Rent Control and the Housing Crisis
“ A very serious problem confronting the City Council is the limits of what a city can do since rent control was abolished by the California legislature in 1995. Unquestionably, decontrol mainly accounts for the incredibly high rents. Even if we accept the US Census underestimated count of the poor in Berkeley, which is over 24,000 –that’s too many individuals and families who can be accommodated by the relatively few available below market rate units. A Berkeley City Council member pointed out that the projects which have already been approved will meet only 3 percent of the goal for low income housing.”
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2017-06-30/article/45843?headline=The-affordable-housing-crisis-how-Berkeley-should-deal-with-it–Harry-Brill-

Housing Fee: Was It Really a Victory?
“On the same night of San Francisco’s OMI victory, Berkeley retreated to its failed anti-housing past. The Berkeley City Council ignored the pleas of housing experts such as Karen Chapple of the UC Berkeley Urban Displacement Project, environmental groups such as the Greenbelt Alliance along with ample public testimony and voted 8-0-1 to impose new housing development fees based on 2015 rather than 2017 cost data. Why would the City Council raise fees based on a 2015 feasibility study?  Anyone familiar with rising construction costs since 2015 knows that such data is outdated.”
http://www.beyondchron.org/sf-advances-berkeley-retreats/

Berkeley Rent Control History Rewrite
When the landlords took over the Rent Board, they hired this guy!
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/06/27/my-word-alamedas-just-cause-evictions-law-should-be-quashed/

More About Elisa Cooper
“What I will remember most about Elisa was her stating at numerous council meetings how the property transfer tax had been increased by 0.5% in 1990 for the purpose of providing a steady revenue stream for affordable housing – but then the revenue was diverted to the General Fund during the Great Recession – and never restored.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/07/05/opinion-elisa-cooper-taught-history-affordable-housing-shortage/

Demolition on Tenth Street Remanded
http://berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2017-06-23/article/45827?headline=SQUEAKY-WHEEL-The-Form-of-Infill–Toni-Mester

BTU History
The Berkeley Tenants Union was the subject of a recent research paper.
http://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Berkeley_Tenants_Union_in_the_1970s

By Posted on Posted in Issues

BTU Calls For Landlords to Be Fined for Campaign Violations, Again
On Thursday, May 18, 2017, Berkeley’s Fair Campaign Practices Commission (FCPC) would not decide to enforce the Berkeley Election Reform Act. Commissioner Dean Metzger asked that the staff report include past violations from the same offenders after BTU pointed out their history. In addition, Commissioner Greg Harper asked the city attorney for further information.
The next FCPC meeting will be Thursday, July 20, 2017
BTU LETTER: BTU letter for FCPC

June 13 City Council Votes on Developer Fees
On Tuesday, June 13 the City Council will hold a public hearing to increase the affordable housing mitigation fee from $34,000 ($30,000 if paid when the building permit is issued) to $37,000 ($34,000 if paid when the building permit issue is issued).  The affordable housing mitigation fee is one of the primary ways that the city funds affordable housing, making this increase extremely important.
You can let the city council know that you support the increase by emailing council@cityofberkeley.info and clerk@cityofberkeley.info

Santa Rosa Nears Rent Control Vote
“The largest contribution reported to date to the landlord committee, called “Citizens for Fair and Equitable Housing — No on C,” was $280,000 from the political action committee of the California Association of Realtors. A treasurer for the committee referred questions to the spokesman for the California Apartment Association…”
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/6793101-181/money-pouring-in-to-fight?artslide=0

The Democratic Party Supports Rent Control
“The California Democratic Party supports rent control and just cause for eviction. This is a big deal. Many California Democratic lawmakers are in the pocket of the real estate industry, just like Republicans. They regularly vote against tenants to make sure they continue getting landlord and realtor money. Just recently, only 24 of 80 legislators voted for Assemblymember Rob Bonta’s bill to stop Ellis Act evictions of SRO hotel units in Oakland. If you are scratching your head as to how a narrow bill to stop evictions of some of the most vulnerable tenants in Oakland could lose by a landslide in the California Assembly where Democrats have a two-thirds majority, you obviously haven’t been in the halls of the Capitol recently….”
http://48hills.org/2017/05/23/historic-vote-democratic-party-supports-rent-control/

Owner Move In Evictions in Local Spotlight
“It is known that some landlords pretend it’s an owner move-in situation simply to evict lower-rent tenants, and then re-rent units for higher rents. Investors buying duplexes, or other small properties with only a few units, with the intention either to hold on to them or flip them, may tell long-term tenants they plan to move in, just to try to get them to move without going through a legal eviction process.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/05/25/berkeley-sees-increase-owner-move-evictions-landlords/

Congratulations Maria!
I am thrilled that Maria is taking over my seat on the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board!
“Poblet served many years as executive director at St. Peter’s Housing Committee in San Francisco and then spearheaded a merger with Just Cause Oakland in 2010 to form Causa Justa. The new group brought together one organization that had spent 25 years organizing Latinos with one that had spent 10 years organizing Blacks to push for economic and racial justice. Causa Justa is now the largest tenants’ rights group in the Bay Area. Poblet served as the organization’s executive director from 2010 until early 2017.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/05/16/prominent-tenants-rights-activist-appointed-berkeley-rent-board/

Councilperson Hahn Calls For Modifications to New Tenant Protections
http://www.dailycal.org/2017/05/31/owner-move-evictions-berkeley-rise-raising-concerns/

New Study Uses Small Sample, Ignores Rent Board Data
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/06/01/study-berkeley-8th-highest-rent-bay-area/

Inaccurate Report on High Rents Still Cause For Alarm
http://www.dailycal.org/2017/06/04/berkeley-rated-8th-highest-rent-bay-area/

These Were Sent By Members and Friends:

State Bill on Inclusionary Housing
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/2017/05_May/Documents/2017-05-30_Item_30_Support_AB_1505.aspx

Awesome Overview of Berkeley Protections
https://www.mynd.co/landlord-journal/property-owners-cheat-sheet-berkeley

Rent Control is Neighborhood Stabilization
http://haasinstitute.berkeley.edu/rent-control-key-neighborhood-stabilization

San Jose Wants Rent Control
https://caanet.org/app/uploads/2016/08/San-Jose-Rent-Control-Guide_Interim-Ordinance.pdf

By Posted on Posted in Issues

At a meeting in January, BTU selected fellow Tenants Union member Kate Harrison as the best candidate for renters in the District 4 Special Election for City Council.

Kate Harrison won overwhelming support at the endorsements meeting since she is already well-known for her leadership in getting the landlord tax passed last fall (Measure U1) as well as for her community work making sure big developers are forced to fund affordable units in Berkeley. Her platform also includes using a portion of the transfer tax on homes sold in Berkeley to fund even more low-income housing. Kate also wants to allow limited equity coops to use Housing Trust Fund money to purchase existing rental housing in order to keep it affordable.

Learn More About Kate’s Housing Proposals
http://electkateharrison.com/issues/

Video from League of Women Voters Forum
https://www.lwvbae.org/elections/

The election is being held by mail to save costs. Ballots must be in by March 7th. The special election is needed because BTU member Jesse Arreguin, who was the District 4 Councilmember, was elected mayor last November.

Ben Gould Corrects Campaign Violations
“…violations of the Berkeley Election Reform Act had been committed, but determined that the violations had been corrected promptly.”
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/02/17/berkeley-watchdog-panel-declines-further-probe-into-gould-campaign/

How the Candidates Differ
“Harrison emphasized protecting existing tenants against displacement by limiting short-term housing, protecting rent control, and enforcing rules on owner move-in evictions.”
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/01/25/berkeley-candidates-for-vacant-council-seat-differ-on-approaches/

Harrison Q&A
“I would like to expand the current program helping building owners pay for energy improvements through their property taxes to include safety improvements for artists’ live/work spaces to avoid repeating the tragedy at the Oakland Ghost Ship. We cannot afford to lose our creative community either through disaster or displacement.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/02/07/district-4-candidate-kate-harrison/

 

By Posted on Posted in Issues

Students Can’t Afford Housing at $1,500 per Room
“A graduate of Hunter College in New York City, Sliwowski said that the two-bedroom apartment he had rented in the notoriously competitive Manhattan housing market as an undergraduate cost him and his roommates a total of $1600 a month. In Berkeley, after subletting a room in a house for two months that had been rented out on AirBnB, he finally beat out 59 other applicants to pay $1500 a month for a room in a house. “The university is failing to do anything to control rents in Berkeley, and failing to adequately inform students about the cost of housing,” he said.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2016/03/04/priced-out-of-house-and-home/

UC Berkeley’s Role in the Housing Emergency
“While the student housing crisis is a symptom of a regional problem, the fault also rests with campus administrators, who have failed to create enough housing opportunities for students. UC Berkeley houses fewer students than most other UC campuses, providing only 24.7 percent of undergraduates and 2.6 percent of graduate students with campus housing. Even when the campus creates new student housing, it is often unaffordable for many students. In fact U.S. News and World report ranked UC Berkeley as the fifth most expensive school in the country in terms of campus housing costs.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2016/03/08/347468/

What is Affordable Housing?
“Affordable housing is housing that only costs 30 percent of the renter’s income. In Berkeley, however, housing can be considered “affordable” when it costs up to 50 percent — and even 80 percent — of the household’s income. And in the eyes of Sophie Hahn, a member of the city’s Zoning Adjustment Board, this expectation is not at all affordable and reveals the heart of the affordable housing issue in Berkeley.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2016/03/04/quick-dirty-guide-affordable-housing/

About the Co-ops
“Central to its design is the understanding that in order to receive a quality education, students must have access to affordable housing. This is especially relevant at UC Berkeley, which measures its value by accessibility. UC Berkeley’s former chancellor Robert Birgeneau once said the UC’s “educational excellence is accessible and affordable,” a quality that makes Berkeley a uniquely “vital and diverse intellectual community.” But this is not the reality. Students at UC Berkeley face a brutally expensive housing market, which presents an obvious contradiction: UC Berkeley cannot claim to provide access to excellent education as long as it considers quality of life and quality of education separately.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2016/03/10/sharing-berkeleys-housing-burden/

Find the Rest of the Daily Californian’s Housing Issue Here:
http://www.dailycal.org/section/special/housing-issue-2016/

By Posted on Posted in Actions
Changes to Berkeley’s Rental Housing Safety Program will be discussed November 17
Changes to Berkeley’s Rental Housing Safety Program will be discussed November 17

Lots of Berkeley folks came out to the City Council meeting on October 27 to support a large list of measures designed to address the housing affordability crisis. Unfortunately, most of the items were postponed to December 1 or November 17.

BTU’s Letter to Council:
2015.10.27 Council Letter

Important Item Returns November 17

November 17 is shaping up to be a big day for Berkeley Tenants. BTU’s appeal of the demolition of 18 rent controlled units on Durant will be at the City Council, as well as a 5:30 PM special workshop about funding affordable housing by increasing the business license tax on rental property.

Last night, the Council also voted to postpone review of Jesse Arreguin’s important proposal to re-examine the City’s Rental Housing Safety Program to November 17.

Fixing this City program, which enforces safe and habitable rental housing, has been in the spotlight ever since the balcony collapse at Library Gardens, a building less than 10 years old. Activists and candidates have been talking for years about the need for the common-sense measures in Arreguin’s proposal – measures which most other cities already have!

Under the proposed revamp of the Rental Housing Safety Program, Berkeley inspectors would do proactive, cyclical inspections which would detect problems like the one at Library Gardens. Right now, inspectors only visit rental housing if there is a complaint. Right now, owners also know exactly which tenant made that complaint! This proposal would allow the name to remain confidential, so tenants would have less fear of retaliation.

Besides proactive inspections and confidential complaints, tweaks to the RHSP in Arreguin’s proposal would also make mold and mildew a public nuisance, and require landlords to actually turn in the self-inspection they are supposed to do each year.

These enhancements would be paid for mostly through increased fees and fines for those who do not correct violations within 30 days of being cited by code enforcement. The proposal also opens up the possibility of increasing the RHSP program fee from $26 to about $32 – that could pay for two new employees for the program.
see: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/2015/10_Oct/Documents/2015-10-27_Item_30_Revising_the_Rental_Housing.aspx

Steps to Safe and Secure Housing In Berkeley Will Be Discussed at the
BTU MEMBERS MEETING
Thursday October 29

Council Voted to Send Letter About Costa-Hawkins

The good news is that the Council voted to send a letter to our State representatives calling for repeal of Costa-Hawkins. Berkeley joined several other rent-controlled California cities in asking for the return of a local city’s right to restrict rents. This would mean recent construction could be under rent control.
If the 1996 state law was repealed, Berkeley could also return to the form of rent control that voters selected and tenants enjoyed – the rent would always be regulated, and not be re-set when a new renter moves in. Repeal would also allow Berkeley to demand that when developers tear down rent controlled units, their new units would also be rent controlled. However, Governor Brown is not likely to sign any such repeal, so this might be a long-term effort and the letter a token gesture.

Worthington’s Measures Postponed to December 1

City Manager Referral: Streamline the Permit Process for Housing Projects with a Majority or More Affordable Units
Recommendation: Refer to City Manager to create an ordinance that will streamline the permit process for housing projects with a majority or more affordable units if it includes at least 20 percent of units at 50% AMI.
Housing Trust Fund Loan for $1,000,000
Recommendation: Loan $1,000,000 to the Housing Trust Fund.
Match All National Housing Trust Fund Grants Awarded to Recipient Projects in Berkeley
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution to match all National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) grants awarded to recipient projects in Berkeley.

Sierra Club Letter: Sierra Club 10-27 Berkeley City Council Items on Affordable Housing

East Bay Express Coverage Before the Meeting: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2015/10/16/facing-the-housing-crisis-berkeley-and-emeryville-lawmakers-are-advancing-numerous-solutions-but-not-oakland

Droste Parking Spaces Measure Passes

Newbie Councilwoman Lori Droste had her first major victory when the City Council approved her suggestions that Berkeley cut down on parking requirements for new developers but dedicate the cost savings to more units for lower-incomes. The items didn’t have enough detail for Berkley Tenants Union to take a position regarding them before the October 27 meeting.
“Droste emphasized that her package was deliberately broad-brush, so that city staff could exercise freedom and creativity in working out the details.” http://www.berkeleyside.com/2015/10/28/green-housing-package-sails-through-berkeley-council/
“Some council members, however, were worried that the money saved through the provisions would not find its way to affordable housing in the city.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2015/10/28/berkeley-city-council-approves-item-to-convert-parking-spaces-into-housing/
Not everyone was happy with the proposal:
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2015-10-23/article/43833?headline=The-Berkeley-City-Council-Hopes-for-Housing-Opinion—Steve-Martinot
Includes a List of Postponed Items:
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_29035896/berkeley-council-endorses-green-affordable-housing-package

By Posted on Posted in Issues

Berkeley’s Below Market Rate rentals program needs a lot of tweaks, but BTU is excited to share the city’s announcement that 20 newly-constructed units are opening for applications. A building on San Pablo in South Berkeley is accepting applications for 15 units this week, with three more units opening in September on MLK and Dwight and another four offered on University Avenue near 4th Street.

Apartment owners handle applications themselves, although BTU and Councilman Arreguin have called for a city-wide waitlist for the future. A studio at the Higby on San Pablo will rent for $2200 at market – but a one bedroom will rent for $1,345 to renters who make less than $59,520 a year. Tenants who meet the income limits are encouraged to apply to all three projects, and share info with BTU about how the process really works.

Here is a sample chart with rents and income limits, although some units also are being offered to renters at lower income levels than these.

Screen Shot 2015-08-06 at 2.51.38 PM

The first deadline is Monday, August 10!

Follow this link for details: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=110963