Rental Housing Committee

City of Mountain View Agenda Rental Housing Committee Monday, December 18, 2023 7:00 PM Council Chambers and Video Conference, 500 Castro St., Mountain View, CA 94041 This meeting is being conducted with a virtual component. Anyone wishing to address the Committee virtually may join the meeting online at: https://mountainview.zoom.us/j/93773068363 or by dialing (669) 900-9128 and entering Webinar ID: 937 7306 8363. When the Chair announces the item on which you wish to speak, click the “raise hand” feature in Zoom or dial *9 on your phone. When the Chair calls your name to provide public comment, if you are participating via phone, please press *6 to unmute yourself. 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. ROLL CALL Chair Edie Keating, Vice-Chair Guadalupe Rosas, Committee Members Robert Cox, Kevin Ma, and Alexander Brown. 3. CONSENT CALENDAR These items will be approved by one motion unless any member of the Rental Housing Committee wishes to remove an item for discussion. The reading of the full text of ordinances and resolutions will be waived unless a Committee Member requests otherwise. 3.1 Minutes for the November 13, 2023, RHC Meeting Recommendation: Approve the Rental Housing Committee meeting minutes. Copies of the minutes for the above noted meeting have been delivered to Committee Members and copies are available online. Attachments: Minutes RHC Meeting, November 13,2023 4. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the Committee on any matter not on the agenda. Speakers are allowed to speak on any topic for one three-minute period during this section. State law prohibits the Committee from acting on non-agenda items. 5. APPEAL HEARINGS City of Mountain View Page 1 Printed on 3/28/2024 Rental Housing Committee Agenda December 18, 2023 5.1 Appeal of Hearing Officer's Decision Re: Petition No. C22230052 Recommendation: To consider the Tentative Appeal Decision and either accept the Tentative Appeal Decision or modify the Tentative Appeal Decision with instructions to staff citing appropriate evidence in the record to support the changes. Attachments: Staff Report ATT 1 - Tentative Appeal Decision for Petition No.C22230052 (December 10, 2023) ATT 2 - Decision of Hearing Officer (October 10, 2023) ATT 3 - Appellant-Landlord Appeal of Decision (October 25, 2023) 6. NEW BUSINESS 6.1 Draft Regulations Chapter 13, Utility Charges Regulations, Clarifying Rent and the Treatment of Utilities in the CSFRA and Ratio Utilities Billing Systems Recommendation: To adopt CSFRA Regulations Chapter 13, Utility Charges, as provided in Attachment 1, to: 1. Clarify that all rental charges, directly or indirectly charged by landlords, including charges for shared or master-metered utilities including, but not limited to water, sewer or trash, are part of the definition of rent as stipulated in the Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act (CSFRA), and the cost of such services must be established as part of the initial rental rate and specified in the rental agreement at the commencement of the tenancy. 2. Provide a one-time Utility Adjustment Petition process that: a. Allows landlords, currently using RUBS or similarly calculated and billed utility charges, to transition from separately charged utilities to including utility costs in the rental amount, thereby bringing rental properties into compliance with the CSFRA. b. Establishes the process for submissions and review of Utility Adjustment Petitions. Attachments: Staff Report ATT 1 - Resolution to Adopt Chapter 13 of CSFRA Regulations Utility Charges Regulations ATT 2 - Rental Housing Committee Memo, January 31, 2023 ATT 3 - Rental Housing Committee Memo, August 21, 2023 ATT 4 - Rental Housing Committee Memo, October 16, 2023 ATT 5 - 2024 Santa Clara County Housing Authority Utility Allowances 7. COMMITTEE/STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS, UPDATES, REQUESTS, AND COMMITTEE REPORTS No action will be taken on any questions raised by the Committee at this time. 7.1 Upcoming Workshops and Housing and Eviction Help Center Dates City of Mountain View Page 2 Printed on 3/28/2024 Rental Housing Committee Agenda December 18, 2023 8. ADJOURNMENT - At 11:00 p.m., Chair Keating adjourned the meeting to the next RHC meeting to be held on Thursday, January 25, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers and Video Conference. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC The agenda, reports, and any writings or documents provided to a majority of the Rental Housing Committee regarding any item on this agenda are posted at https://mountainview.legistar.com under the meeting details for the date of this meeting. The agenda may also be viewed at City Hall, 500 Castro Street, the City Clerk's Office, 500 Castro Street, Third Floor and at the Mountain View Library, 585 Franklin Street, beginning Thursday, prior to Monday Rental Housing Committee meetings. Printed copies of the agenda, reports, and any writings or documents already provided to a majority of the Committee regarding any item on this agenda may be requested at the Rent Stabilization Program during normal business hours. The Committee may consider and act on items listed on the agenda in any order and thus those interested in an item listed on the agenda are advised to be present throughout the meeting. In the event it appears that the entire agenda cannot be completed by the time of adjournment, the Committee may take up and act upon the more pressing agenda items. All agenda items not considered at the meeting shall be on the agenda of the next regular, special, or adjourned regular meeting unless the Committee directs otherwise. Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), if you need special assistance in this meeting, please contact the Rent Stabilization Program at (650) 903-6136 or by email at mvrent@mountainview.gov 48 hours prior to the meeting so the City can make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting. (28 CFR 35.160 (b) (1)). If you have a hearing or speech disability, please use the California Relay System at 711, TDD 650-967-0158 or 800-735-2929. The City of Mountain View does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, age, source of income, gender, gender expression or identity, or any other State or Federal protected class in any of its policies, procedures or practices. This nondiscrimination policy covers admission and access to, or treatment or employment in, the City of Mountain View programs and activities. For inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policy, please contact the City's Section 504 Coordinator at laurel.james@mountainview.gov or 650-903-6397. Computer-generated captioning of the Rental Housing Committee meeting is unedited and should neither be relied upon for complete accuracy nor used as a verbatim transcript. ADDRESSING THE COMMITTEE: Email comments to RHC@mountainview.gov by 4:30 p.m. on the meeting date. Emails will be received directly by the Rental Housing Committee. Please identify the Agenda item number in the subject line of your email. Requests to show an audio or video presentation during a Committee meeting should be directed to mvrent@mountainview.gov by 4:30 p.m. on the meeting date. Anyone wishing to address the Committee in person must complete a speaker card indicating the name you would like to be called by when it is your turn to speak and the item number on which you wish to speak. Please complete one speaker card for each item on which you wish to speak. Virtual and in-person speakers will be called in order as determined by the Chair. Pursuant to Regulation Chapter 3, an individual speaker shall have up to 3 minutes to address the Committee. For any agenda item or for Oral Communications on nonagenda items, if there appears to be a large number of speakers, the Chair may reduce speaking time to no less than 2 minutes per speaker unless there is an objection from the Committee by majority vote. If requested in advance of the public input portion of the agenda item to the Committee, a speaker who represents five or more members of the public in attendance may have up to 10 minutes to address the Committee, if the Chair determines that such extension will reduce the total number of speakers who planned to speak. The presiding officer may remove or cause the removal of any individual(s) for disrupting a meeting in accordance with California Government Code section 54957.95, as may be amended from time to time. In accordance with California Government Code section 54957.9, as may be amended from time to time, the Committee may order a meeting room cleared and continue in session in the event a meeting is willfully interrupted by a group or groups of persons so as to render the orderly conduct of the meeting impossible, and order cannot be restored by the removal of individuals who are disrupting the meeting. Pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.3(b)(1), at least twice the allotted speaking time will be provided to a member of the public who utilizes a translator. City of Mountain View Page 3 Printed on 3/28/2024