Tag: RHSP

By Posted on Posted in Issues
Durant-Project
Other apartment buildings will be at risk if the Durant demolition is permitted.

Mayor Bates would like to us to give up, and stay out of important City business. Berkeley City Council has two meetings on Tuesday December 1st, and both agendas are packed with issues concerning housing, renters, and poverty. The meetings will be held at Longfellow instead of old City Hall: 1500 Derby, at Sacramento Street.
The already burdensome agendas now also include items held-over and postponed from the last couple of meetings, including several issues which tenants have already waited hours to see discussed:

► Demolition Appeal (7 pm) Item 24
SUMMARY: Allowing the demolition presents dangerous precedents: This would be the first time Berkeley has allowed an owner to claim he can’t make a fair return on a rehabilitated building. The developer invited the Berkeley Fire Department to tear out walls and cut holes in the roof!! To grant this project as requested is to condone willful destruction of housing.
ACTION: Come to the hearing on December 1st and hold signs showing support.
More Info: https://www.berkeleytenants.org/?p=1477
Berkeley Citizens Action: BCA-letter-111715

► Rental Housing Safety (7 pm) Item 28
SUMMARY: Landlords are letting their housing fall apart. Besides proactive inspections and confidential complaints, this 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.
ACTION: Take a photo of unsafe conditions and send to Council by November 30.
More Info: https://www.berkeleytenants.org/?p=1456
Wellstone Democratic Club: Wellstone-letter-111715

► Affordable Housing (5:30 pm) Items 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e
SUMMARY: Common-sense measures to make city funding for affordable housing easier.
ACTION: You already signed the petition, but did you ask your friends?
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/fund-affordable-housing-2.fb48?source=c.fb&r_by=9240326
More Info:
Sierra Club Letter: Sierra Club 10-27 Berkeley City Council Items on Affordable Housing
Daily Cal: http://www.dailycal.org/2015/11/08/housing-advisory-commission-talks-assessment-of-affordable-housing-mitigation-fee-predevelopment-funding/
Cool Map: http://ww2.kqed.org/pop/map-where-can-you-find-an-affordable-one-bedroom-near-bart-san-francisco-bay-area-oakland

See You Tuesday December 1!
Longfellow Middle School, 1500 Derby

Also on the 5:30pm Agenda:
Below Market Rate Housing Report; Housing Trust Fund Status Update; Use of Predevelopment Funds by Nonprofit Housing Builders; Report from Berkeley Housing Authority.
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/2015/12_Dec/City_Council__12-01-2015_-_Special_Meeting_Agenda.aspx

Also on the 7:00pm Agenda:
Accessory Dwelling Units; Appointment to Human Welfare Commission; Police Crowd Management Policies; Lien for Noncompliance with Seismic Mitigations 1734 University; 2nd Reading of Anti-Homeless Laws.
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/2015/12_Dec/City_Council__12-01-2015_-_Regular_Meeting_Agenda.aspx

 

Update from the Windfall Profits Tax Special Workshop November 17:

FundAffordableHoudingThe City Council gave the new landlord PAC, the Berkeley Rental Housing Association, a seat at the table for their very own PowerPoint on how it must be somebody else’s job to fund affordable housing. However, the Council seemed receptive at the workshop since the measure has what passes for bipartisan support, Berkeley-style: both Arreguin and Capitelli want to fund affordable housing through a reasonable increase in the business license fee. Only Mayor Bates asked aggressive questions which betrayed his ignorance of the process of crafting Council ballot measures.

Contra Costa Times Covers Landlord Tax
“Satellite Affordable Housing Associates Executive Director Susan Friedland said $4 million annually would mean construction of 40-to-50 affordable units every year given that nonprofit housing developers must get about 25 percent of their funding from local sources to leverage other funds….Barton proposed a number of exemptions, including one- and two-unit and nonprofit-owned properties; rent-controlled properties with pre-1999 tenants (before vacancy decontrol allowed landlords to set rents of rent-controlled units as high as the market will bear when units are vacated); low-and-moderate income landlords; and units with federally subsidized tenants.”
http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_29134727/berkeley-tax-proposed-fund-low-income-housing

Affordable Housing Panel November 14
Amy Davidson, community project coordinator for the City of Berkeley, said it takes $500,000 to develop one unit of affordable housing and then discussed the city’s $28,000 fee for developers with a complete lack of irony.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/bay-area-news/ci_29124916/berkeley-few-prospects-affordable-housing-panel-says

By Posted on Posted in Issues
Why don’t City inspectors notice these problems?
Why don’t City inspectors notice problems like this balcony on San Pablo?

Balcony Lawsuit Says Owners Knew About Problems
If we had the proactive inspections program the City Council will discuss on December 1, then this tragedy may have been prevented.
“The lawsuit claims that Segue used cheaper materials to construct the balcony, making it more susceptible to water damage, and left it exposed to rain during construction in 2005…. Previous tenants reported seeing mushrooms – a clear sign of rot.”
http://theindianrepublic.com/lawsuits-filed-in-deadly-berkeley-balcony-collapse-reveal-3892.html

Tenants Reported Signs of Rot Weeks Before Deadly Balcony Collapse
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_29110467/
“Library Gardens was only 8 years old when the balcony collapsed, leading many to wonder how such a new building could have such a catastrophic structural failure. The city of Berkeley released a report that identified dry rot as the only contributing factor to the structural failure of the balcony, but the city said determining the reason for that failure was beyond the scope of its analysis. The lawsuit claims to have identified the reason.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2015/11/13/berkeley-balcony-collapse-contractor-used-inferior-wood-and-owner-ignored-signs-of-rot-including-mushrooms-sprouting-from-the-surface-lawsuits-allege/

Berkeley Tenant Fights for Garden
Berkeleyside: “Gorell moved into the rent-controlled, one-bedroom apartment in 1979 and began to add plants to the front and side of the building soon after that. Gene Anderson, the son of the original owners, and his wife used to visit annually and would compliment Gorell on how he had turned the space into an alluring swath of green, according to Gorell. Gorell also wrote to the Andersons in 1992 to describe his plans for the garden. There were no complaints, he said.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2015/11/11/lush-berkeley-garden-at-center-of-tenant-landlord-dispute/
Daily Cal: http://www.dailycal.org/2015/11/11/berkeley-tenant-fights-to-preserve-garden-in-ongoing-dispute-with-landlords-property-managers/ 

Activists Say They Are Targeted for Eviction at Redwood Gardens
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/11/11/18779862.php

Berkeley’s Largest Landlord Leaving Town
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2015/11/16/equity-residential-to-sell-8-berkeley-apartment-buildings/

Rent Wars
Excellent overview of California’s housing crisis and current tenant’s movement.
“Activists in cities that have long had rent control laws are pushing for stronger measures. In Los Angeles, activists like Larry Gross, Director of the Coalition for Economic Survival, want the city to stop allowing tenants to be evicted so that speculators can demolish their rent-controlled buildings.”
http://www.beyondchron.org/the-new-rent-control-wars/

Alameda Tenants Get Moratorium
Something is better than nothing!
“The Alameda City Council on Wednesday approved a 65-day moratorium on rent increases above 8 percent and no-fault evictions. Tenant advocates were hoping for an outright moratorium as the city considers various permanent tenant protections, including banning evictions without cause.”
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_29078395/bloody-alameda-meeting-highlights-tenants-growing-ire

Berkeley Fair Election Initiative
“But when elections are determined by fundraising alone, communities pay the price. And when the perception is that only money matters in campaigns, it erodes public faith in government. With voter turnout at historic lows, we need to do everything we can to increase participation.
What if I told you there was a proposal to encourage local candidates to spend more time talking to voters and less time dialing for dollars? What if this proposal could diversify the local donor pool, encourage more voters to participate and make City Council more responsive to the citizens they are elected to serve?”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2015/11/06/lets-amplify-local-voices-in-berkeley-city-hall/

Evictions and Air BnB
“Data analysis of Airbnb usage in San Francisco tells a decidedly different story about who is benefiting. Although Airbnb refuses to share its numbers, a 2014 report commissioned by the San Francisco Chronicle found that of the (at the time) nearly 5,000 homes, apartments, and private or shared rooms for rent via Airbnb, two-thirds were entire houses or apartments with no owner present during the rental period, and almost a third of Airbnb rentals were controlled by people with two or more listings. Some of the “whole house” or “whole apartment” rentals are from hosts who happen to be away. But many others are being rented out by professional property managers who are handling multiple Airbnb rentals on behalf of absentee home- and condo owners. A separate study conducted by data analyst Tom Slee found similar results. He calculated that about 70 percent of Airbnb revenue comes from hosts who are renting out an entire home or apartment, and 40 percent comes from Airbnb hosts with multiple listings.”
http://prospect.org/article/evictions-and-conversions-dark-side-airbnb

Is Berkeley Like Disneyland?
“More than 40% of the homes that have permits to rent in Anaheim are owned by real estate companies, investment firms or the owners of multiple properties, according to city records.
“These are basically unsupervised mini hotels in our neighborhoods,” said Cornejo, who has called the police on his neighbors several times for late-night noise.
With so many strangers visiting their communities, some residents recently urged Anaheim council members to consider safety and security issues. Renter safety too has become a growing concern in the wake of some well-publicized reports of sexual assault, injuries and deaths at short-term lodgings in other towns.”
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-anaheim-short-term-rentals-20151111-story.html

Evictions and Rent Hikes Skyrocket In Oakland
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/eviction-and-rent-hike-complaints-skyrocket-in-oakland/Content?oid=4580708

NY Attorney General Disregards Airbnb Promises
“It is a transparent ploy by Airbnb to act like a good corporate citizen when it is anything but,” Schneiderman told Re/code in an emailed statement. “The company has all of the information and tools it needs to clean up its act. Until it does, no one should take this press release seriously.”
http://recode.net/2015/11/11/new-york-attorney-general-activists-call-bullshit-on-airbnbs-promises/

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