Tag: Rent Control

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Berkeley has been expediting building permits and cutting fees for developers, saying our town desperately needs housing. One policy that some see as quite promising would make it easier to add a legal in-law unit on an existing property. But when it comes to low-cost housing for students, policymakers appear to be swayed by pressures from existing homeowners, because students are known to be noisy and make a mess, they say.

In fact, the initial legislation on mini-dorms approved by the Council in January seems to point to the sort of problems that cannot be anticipated by neighbors or Zoning Commissioners unless they make assumptions about the future behavior of possible tenants, perhaps unfairly: “Such buildings tend to impair the quiet enjoyment of the surrounding neighborhoods by creating trash and litter, creating excess parking demand, and being the location of numerous loud and unruly parties.”

“The council has various policies that are in contention with each other, and that’s just another one. ” – City Attorney Zach Cowan quoted in Berkeleyside.In July, the City Council began work on an ordinance that would curb proliferation of the so-called “mini-dorms” by requiring a public hearing for new construction with six or more bedrooms. The ordinance would only impact certain neighborhoods – the ones close to campus, according to the Daily Cal.

It seems to me that instead of regulating potential threats to civil society based on assumptions about young people, the Council might do better to look into why existing housing code is not enforced at existing properties. Several students said they would welcome more scrutiny of their housing, according to the Daily Cal: “We don’t feel safe, because we are in an attic that has no fire escape… We are a lot of people living on top of each other with no fire escape or anything — with no smoke detectors either — so in that sense, we feel really unsafe.”

I Urge Anyone In The Above Situation to Contact Code Enforcement! There are existing laws to protect you, and you may be entitled to a rent decrease too – ask at the Rent Board. Stand up for your own safety!

Students, please join BTU at our next Potluck, August 14.

As one commenter on Berkeleyside put it, “We have codes up the wazoo, often unenforced by the City and ignored by some property owner who make a living exploiting students.”

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2013/07/24/berkeley-officials-crack-down-on-mini-dorms/

http://www.dailycal.org/2013/07/28/city-ordinance-aims-to-limit-development-of-private-dorm-style-housing/

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This 81-unit building should have 13 low-income units.
This 81-unit building should have 13 low-income units.

July 16, the Berkeley City Council received a report about how city staff are monitoring “inclusionary units” – the Affordable units developers have created to date as part of the requirement to mitigate the impact of fancy new condos and apartments. And get this – only three of the 58 properties have been inspected to date, even though the monitoring program costs the city $226,248 each year!

This is important not only for the safety of the low-income tenants who live in Berkeley’s 306 inclusionary units, but also because many landlords with new buildings under development are opting to provide inclusionary housing instead of paying into the Housing Trust Fund. The program, operated by the Housing Department, is supposed to make sure inclusionary units go to verifiably low-income folks, and check repair and maintenance of the properties.

The report says that in 2011 the department checked 58 units at three properties, but will check the remaining 248 units by this time next year. We shall see!

Report on Monitoring Inclusionary Housing: Monitoring Inclusionary Housing 2013-07-16

On the same day, the City Council’s final meeting before summer break, Council also reviewed a joint proposal from Council members Arreguin and Capitelli requesting that staff explore how the Affordable Housing Mitigation Fee is implemented, particularly in relation to developers who claim paying the fee is not economically feasible.

Some of the requests would probably be supported by Berkeley housing activists, like the idea that the fee should increase with inflation each year. Activists may also support establishing a city-maintained wait list of eligible low income households, since right now developers choose their own tenants and the Housing Department doesn’t seem to be checking up on them like their staff are supposed to do.

Other aspects of the proposed changes may cause controversy, like the idea that developers should be encouraged to pay the $20,000 fee rather than providing units on-site, perhaps by allowing developers to pay the fee over time instead of all at once.

The most interesting part of the proposal is that the income levels of tenants allowed to live in affordable units could be changed, as could the number of units that must be provided in place of the mitigation fee. Currently, inclusionary units are rented to households that make less than 50% of the Area Median Income, which is about $31,000 for a one-person household and $44,000 for a family of four.

About two years ago, the City Council set the fee at $28,000 after a Nexus study showed the costs to mitigate a unit of expensive housing could be as much as $34,000. But last year, the Council voted to lower the fee to $20,000 for the next several years – at a time when Berkeley is seeing record development – with over 1,000 units expected to be built while the fee is lower.

Affordable Housing Changes: Affordable Housing Fee waivers 2013-07-16

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On Thursday, July 25, the Zoning Adjustments Board will decide whether to issue a building permit for the New Sequoia Building. The original Sequoia Building at Haste and Telegraph was destroyed by fire in 2011, wiping out almost forty rent-controlled apartments.

Unfortunately, state law prohibits the construction of new rent-controlled units. But ZAB has the authority to put important conditions on the New Sequoia building permit. They can tell the owner, Kenneth Ent, to make the units permanently affordable, or at the very least, refuse to exempt the building from the usual mitigation fee. The fee of twenty thousand dollars per unit is for the Housing Trust Fund, but ZAB exempt the Lakireddy family from paying the fee for 2227 Dwight, also destroyed by fire. That permit is being appealed.

The Trust Fund uses mitigation fees to build new low-cost housing. However, since each unit of new housing costs about four hundred and ten thousand dollars to build, including permanently affordable housing in the building may be a better solution.

It seems some ZAB members may disagree that they can impose conditions on permits. Yet a paragraph of the ordinance that guides their actions states that the Board “may attach such conditions to any Use Permit as it deems reasonable or necessary to achieve the purposes of this Ordinance, and which otherwise promote the municipal health, safety and welfare.” (italics added).

The restitution of forty affordable housing units surely promotes municipal welfare. It can be argued that Mr. Ent is obligated to provide them, and that doing so is reasonable. Consider:

  • The fire started in the elevator control box. Many Sequoia tenants have said that the elevator was frequently out of order or working poorly. According to SF Gate, the last time the elevator was inspected was in August 2010 and the permit for the elevator had expired. Had these problems been addressed, the fire might have been avoided.
  • The building lacked a sprinkler system. Sprinklers might have limited the scope of fire (from whatever cause), and saved the building. Furthermore, Mr. Ent could have recouped the expense of this improvement through legally sanctioned rent increases.
  • Tenants also had complained about problems with fire escapes and smoke detectors, according to media reports.

Berkeley Tenants Union has not taken an official position, but if you think tenants need to persuade ZAB that affordable housing at the New Sequoia will promote the City’s welfare, and that ZAB Commissioners should exercise their power to mandate this, please:

  • Come to the ZAB meeting on Thursday, July 25th, 7:00 PM at Old City Hall, and tell them how you feel. Contact BTU members at 510-982-6696 for more information.

For various reasons, we have been losing rent-controlled units in Berkeley. Let’s make sure that these losses are compensated through permanently affordable housing.

ZAB application:
http://www.cityofberkeley.info/Planning_and_Development/Zoning_Adjustment_Board/2441_Haste.aspx

SFGate:
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Berkeley-building-was-site-of-earlier-fire-2344380.php

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RetrofitHEARING: Berkeley is moving forward with a law to require unsafe buildings to retrofit. A public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, July 25, at the North Berkeley Senior Center at 7 PM.

A few months ago, San Francisco passed a mandatory retrofit law which requires tenants to pay for the building safety improvements, but activists are asking for rules to ease the burden on low-income renters. Rent increases in SF are expected to be over $900 per year. Join the Berkeley Tenants Union to make sure you don’t have to pay to make your building safe!

Proposed Berkeley Law: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Planning_and_Development/Building_and_Safety/Soft_Story_Program.aspx

On San Francisco’s Law: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/8861-not-all-sf-renters-need-to-pay-for-earthquake-retrofits/

Sign Hidden Behind Door
Sign Hidden Behind Door

BERKELEY’S SEISMIC DAY OF ACTION: In March, BTU joined with students to visit 20 buildings on the “Soft Story” list – and we found HALF of the buildings had not posted warning signs as required by a 2006 law! Code Enforcement has refused to issue any fines.

Seismic Day of Action 2013 Report

Daily Cal on the Report: http://www.dailycal.org/2013/06/30/survey-finds-some-berkeley-buildings-do-not-meet-earthquake-safety-requirements/

NEW WEBSITE: In exciting news, a student leader from Cal has created a website where anyone can look up the status of their building in relation to Berkeley’s list of buildings that are expected to immediately collapse in an earthquake of the size that struck San Francisco in 1991. This list includes only buildings known as “soft-story” — it doesn’t list buildings that are seismically unsafe but of other construction types, unfortunately. BTU will be working to get our city leaders to address “podium” and “unreinforced masonry” buildings too! Join us!

Berkeley Safe Renting is here: http://senator.kleinlieu.com/saferenting/

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Dog in chairCome break bread with tenants, smart landlords, activists, and everyone who wants to keep rent control strong and working in Berkeley.

There will be brief updates on current projects and issues — including the demolition ordinance and an upcoming hearing on seismic retrofit rules. If members have announcement to share, please email our “info” address before the meeting to be allocated time.

When:  Wednesday, 6:30-8:30 PM
Where: Grassroots House, 2022 Blake, Berkeley between Milvia and Shattuck
RSVP: info (at) berkeleytenants.org (Children are welcome. Please include in RSVP if you would like childcare arrangements.)

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Unsafe signOn July 2, the Berkeley City Council voted to postpone discussion of controversial changes to the Zoning law known as the Demolition Ordinance. We now have time to really influence the final form of this regulation.

Public outcry led the Council to make the wise decision not to move forward with the July 2 draft of the ordinance, which would be very bad for tenants. The Berkeley Tenants Union presented a petition with over 130 signatures. It is not too late to sign our petition:

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

The Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, Berkeley Neighborhoods Council, Sierra Club, East Bay Community Law Center and Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board also sent objections — their letters are linked under our July 2 post, below.

Council will now send the proposed changes to the law — which covers why and when residential buildings in Berkeley can be torn down — to the Housing Advisory Commission and the Planning Commission. The Council did not react to a request during public comment by Rent Board Chair Lisa Stephens that the Ordinance also be sent back to the 4×4 Committee. The 4×4 is where the changes have been discussed for the past three years – that committee is made up of four Rent Board Commissioners and four City Council members, including the Mayor.

The Housing Advisory Commission has already scheduled review of the Ordinance for their meeting on Thursday, July 11, at the North Berkeley Senior Center, MLK & Hearst, at 7 PM.

Councilmember Jesse Arreguin also requested that staff report back to the City Council on issues raised by the public regarding the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Berkeley’s Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance (NPO).

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Tenant attorney Bob Evans, a former Rent Board Commissioner, passed away recently. Marsha Feinland, a BTU member who was active in the Peace and Freedom Party with Bob, wrote this: 

Bob Evans was born on Oct 9, 1945 in San Francisco, where he grew up. He attended U.C. Berkeley and received his law degree at Boalt Hall. He was an attorney in private practice specializing in criminal defense and tenant protections. He was often appointed by the court to represent indigent clients.

Bob was active in the fight to defend rent control in Berkeley and was an elected commissioner on the Berkeley Rent Board from 2002-2006.

Bob was devoted to the struggle for socialism in this country and worldwide. He was a frequent candidate for office as a Peace and Freedom Party nominee for State Senate and for State Attorney General.

Bob served on the State Central Committee of the Peace and Freedom Party. He was also an editor of the Party newspaper, The PARTISAN. He was passionate about promoting the socialist perspective of the party, both in his writing and presentations. Here is an excerpt from his writing:

“… An understanding of the vital importance of ownership and control of the means of production and natural resources, and the resulting (when ownership and control is capitalist in nature) production for profit rather than production for use is key to building an understanding that socialism is not reformed capitalism, but a fundamentally different system and that socialism is not merely a nice idea but is essential to the progress of human society.

… Socialism will come about only when workers recognize their class interests and organize as a class and take possession of the means of production. We should not promote the illusion that class-consciousness is not essential to socialist revolution.”

Bob is survived by his wife, Suzi Sargent.

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Torn windowPlease join us tonight, when controversial rules about tearing down rent controlled buildings will be before Berkeley’s City Council.

The Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, Berkeley Neighborhoods Council, and Sierra Club joined with the East Bay Community Law Center, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board, and 136 members and friends of the Berkeley Tenants Union to inform the City Council that proposed changes to the part of the Zoning Code called the Demolition Ordinance will be bad for Berkeley.

Council will consider changes TUESDAY JULY 2 but are likely to continue the discussion in coming weeks. BTU will present a petition with over 135 signatures at the meeting.

One major reason everyone is objecting: the Council majority wants to ask for a fee of only $20k for each rent controlled unit destroyed – but it costs $400,000 to build a new unit of affordable housing! So under this July 2 draft of the Ordinance, for every 20 rent controlled units lost, one replacement unit might be built many years from now. And what will happen to the tenants?

Below are links to letters from the other organizations.

Please join us TONIGHT – JULY 2 – at 7 PM

  • 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.
  • Argue that this new draft will violate the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance.
  • Point out that a mitigation fee will not meet our housing needs soon enough.

Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board letter
Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA) letter
East Bay Community Law Center letter
Sierra Club letter
Berkeley Neighborhoods Council Shirley Dean letter

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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

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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