Opinion ID: 1193965
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Rent Control Board:

Text: a) Composition: There shall be in the City of Berkeley a Rent Control Board. The Board shall consist of five elected Commissioners. The Board shall elect annually as chairwoman or chairman one of its members to serve in that capacity. b) Eligibility: Residents of the City of Berkeley who are duly qualified electors of the City of Berkeley are eligible to serve as Commissioners of the Rent Control Board. c) Full disclosure of holdings: Candidates for the position of Rent Control Board Commissioner, in addition to fulfilling the requirements of Article III, Section 6 1/2, when filing nomination papers, shall submit a verified statement listing all of their interests and dealings in real property, including but not limited to its ownership, sale or management, and investment in and association with partnerships, corporations, joint ventures and syndicates engaged in its ownership, sale or management, during the previous three (3) years. d) Method of election: Commissioners shall be elected at general municipal elections in the same manner as set forth in Article III, except that the first Commissioners shall be elected within 180 days after approval of this Article by the State Legislature in accordance with the provisions of Article III. e) Term of office: Commissioners shall be elected to serve terms of four years, except that of the first five Commissioners elected in accordance with Section 3(d), the two Commissioners receiving the most votes shall serve until the first general municipal election held more than three years after their election and the remaining three Commissioners shall serve until the first general municipal election held more than one year after their election. Commissioners shall serve a maximum of two full terms. f) Powers and duties: The Rent Control Board is empowered to set maximum rents for all residential rental units in the City of Berkeley with the exception of those classes of units exempted under Section 2(c). The Board is empowered to roll back rents to a base rent established under Section 4(a). The Board is empowered to adjust maximum rents either upward or downward after conducting appropriate investigations and hearings as provided under Section 6. The Board may make such studies and investigations, conduct such hearings, and obtain such information as is necessary to carry out its powers and duties. The Board may seek injunctive relief under the provisions of Section 11 in order to carry out its decisions and may settle civil claims in accordance with the provisions of Section 10. g) Rules and regulations: The Rent Control Board shall issue and follow such rules and regulations, including those which are contained in this Article, as will further the purposes of this Article. The Board shall publish its rules and regulations prior to promulgation in at least one newspaper with general circulation in the City of Berkeley. All rules and regulations, internal staff memoranda, and written correspondence explaining the decisions and policies of the Board shall be kept in the Board's office and shall be available to the public for inspection and copying. The Board shall publicize this Charter Amendment through the media of signs, advertisements, flyers, leaflets, announcements on radio and television, newspaper articles and other appropriate means, so that all residents of Berkeley will have the opportunity to become informed about their legal rights and duties under rent control in Berkeley. h) Meetings: The Board shall hold two regularly scheduled meetings per month. Special meetings may be called upon the request of at least two Commissioners. All meetings shall be open to the public. Maximum rent adjustment and eviction hearings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Sections 6 and 7. i) Quorum: Three Commissioners shall constitute a quorum. Three affirmative votes are required for a decision, including all motions, orders, and rulings of the Board. j) Dockets: The Board shall maintain and keep in its office rent adjustment and eviction certificate hearing dockets. Said dockets shall list the time, date, place of hearing, parties involved, the addresses of the buildings involved, and the final disposition of the petitions heard by the Board. k) Compensation: Each Commissioner shall receive for every meeting fifty dollars ($50.00), but in no event shall any Commissioner receive in any twelve month period more than twenty-four (24) hundred dollars for services rendered. l) Vacancies: If a vacancy shall occur on the Board, the Board shall appoint a qualified person to fill such a vacancy until the following general municipal election when a qualified person shall be elected to serve for the remainder of the term. m) Recall: Commissioners may be recalled in accordance with the provisions of Article IV of the Charter of the City of Berkeley. n) Staff: The Board shall employ, subject to the approval of the City Council, such staff as may be necessary to perform its functions. Board staff shall not be subject to the requirements of Article VII, Section 28 (b) and (c) and Article IX, Section 56 of the City Charter.