January 30, 2001
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR
MEETING OF
THE SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENTIAL RENT
STABILIZATION & ARBITRATION BOARD,
Tuesday, January 30,
2001 at 6:00 p.m. at
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 70, Lower Level I. Call to Order
Vice-President Marshall called the
meeting to order at 6:10 p.m.
II. Roll Call
Commissioners Present: Becker; Gruber;
Hobson; Lightner; Marshall; Mosser.
Commissioners not Present: Justman; Murphy; Wasserman.
Staff Present: Grubb; Wolf.
III. Approval of the Minutes
MSC: To approve the Minutes of January
16, 2001.
(Becker/Gruber: 4-0)
IV. Remarks from the Public
1. Robert Pender informed the Board
that the Parkmerced Residents’ Organization (PRO) has been revived, and provided
the Commissioners with a copy of their newsletter.
2. Peter Plonsky, the tenant in the
case at 501 Taylor #201 (AT010004), told the Board that he has endured "sub-human
conditions", and that it would have been better if he had moved to another
unit in the building in 1998. Mr. Plonsky believes that there may be collusion
between his landlord and the owners of the building next door.
V. Consideration of Appeals
A. 4220 Cesar Chavez, Apt. 101 AT2K0233
The landlord’s petition for certification
of capital improvement costs was granted. The tenant appealed; the appeal was
accepted and remanded for a hearing on the tenant’s claim of financial hardship.
The Administrative Law Judge found that the tenant had demonstrated sufficient
financial hardship to waive the retroactive amounts owed, but imposed the $28.70
monthly passthrough effective January 1, 2001. The tenant appeals the remand
decision, asserting that her net, rather than gross, income should be used in
determining whether she qualifies for a hardship deferral; and that there are
several factual errors in the remand decision.
MSC: To recuse Commissioner Becker
from consideration of this appeal. (Becker/Gruber: 4-0)
MSC: To accept the appeal and defer
imposition of the approved capital improvement passthrough until July 1, 2001,
at which time it shall go into effect. (Marshall/Gruber: 3-1; Hobson dissenting)
B. 1135 Masonic #7 AT2K0244
The tenant’s petition alleging an
unlawful increase in rent from $$1,017.00 to $2,100.00 was denied because the
Administrative Law Judge found that the increase was justified pursuant to Costa-Hawkins.
The tenant appealed on the grounds of financial hardship.
The day before the Board meeting,
the tenant submitted additional arguments in support of his appeal, including
allegations that he resided at the rental unit pursuant to an agreement with
an agent of the landlord, and therefore was not a subtenant subject to a Costa-Hawkins
rent increase. Since there was no evidence that this submission had been served
on the landlord, the Commissioners continued consideration of this appeal in
order for staff to serve the landlord and provide an opportunity to him to respond,
should he desire to do so.
C. 542 Mason St. AT2K0234 thru -43
The landlords’ petition for certification
of capital improvement costs to 19 of 34 units was granted, resulting in a monthly
passthrough in the amount of $15.43. The tenants in ten units appeal the Decision
on the grounds of financial hardship.
MSC: To accept the appeals of the
tenants in unit numbers 1, 20, 23, 50 and 55 and remand those cases for a hearing
on the tenants’ claims of financial hardship; to deny the appeals of the tenants
in unit numbers 52, 53 and 54. (Lightner/Gruber: 4-0)
The appeals of the tenants in unit
numbers 30 and 60 were continued in order for staff to obtain additional information.
D. 4220 Cesar Chavez #429 AT2K0232
The tenant’s petition alleging substantially
decreased housing services was dismissed due to her failure to appear at the
properly noticed hearing. On appeal, the tenant claims not to have received
the Notice of Hearing, and attaches the requisite Declaration of Non-Receipt
of Notice of Hearing.
Consideration of this appeal was
continued in order for staff to contact the tenant and obtain additional information.
E. 701 Pine #37 AT2K0245
The tenant’s petition alleging decreased
housing services due to noise coming from the upstairs neighbors was denied
because the Administrative Law Judge found that the tenant had failed to meet
his burden of proof and that the landlord had acted reasonably in attempting
to address the tenant’s concerns. On appeal, the tenant claims that: the Decision
is biased in favor of the landlord; a report obtained from a private investigator
was completely ignored; there are mis-statements of fact in the Decision; and
the landlord has not acted to mitigate the noise, since he does not believe
that there is a problem.
MSC: To recuse Commissioner Lightner
from consideration of this appeal. (Lightner/Gruber: 4-0)
MSC: To deny the appeal. (Gruber/Marshall:
3-0)
F. 801 Jones St. #308 AT010002
The landlord’s petition for certification
of capital improvement costs and rent increases based on increased operating
expenses to 31 of 60 units was granted. One tenant appeals the decision on the
grounds of financial hardship.
MSC: To accept the appeal and remand
the case for a hearing on the tenant’s claim of financial hardship. (Becker/Marshall:
4-0)
G. 501 Taylor St. #201 AT010004
The tenant’s petition alleging decreased
housing services due to construction noise from neighboring buildings, a noisy
upstairs neighbor, harassment and poor ventilation was denied because the Administrative
Law Judge found that the conditions were not the landlord’s responsibility or
were within what is reasonably to be expected for apartment living. The tenant
appeals, claiming that there are factual errors in the Decision; that the landlord
does not care about the image of the building; and that he should have been
granted a 50% reduction in rent for several months in the years 1999 and 2000.
MSC: To deny the appeal. (Lightner/Gruber:
4-0)
VI. Communications
The Commissioners received correspondence
concerning cases on the calendar.
VII. Director’s Report
Executive Director Grubb informed
the Board that Khin Mai Aung will be sworn in as an Alternate to Commissioner
Marshall on Friday, February 2nd, at 10"15 a.m. in the Mayor’s Office at
City Hall.
VIII. Old Business
Fair Return/Implementation of Prop.
H
This issue will be discussed at
the February 6th meeting in conjunction with an Executive Session with Deputy
City Attorneys Andrew Schwartz and Marie Blits concerning the case of Quigg
v. Rent Board (Superior Court Case No. 316928).
IV. Remarks from the Public (cont.)
3. The tenant involved in the case
at 701 Pine #37 (AT2K0245) informed the Board that he did not think his evidence
had been considered and said that the Board’s decision to deny his appeal was
unfair.
4. Robert Pender introduced two other
members of the Board of Directors of PRO.
IX. Calendar Items
February 6, 2001
4 appeal considerations (1 cont. from 7/1/00; 1 cont. from 1/16/01)
Closed Session re Quigg v. Rent Board (Superior Court Case No. 316928)
Old Business: Consideration of Draft Regulations Providing for Implementation
of Prop. H
February 13, 2001 - NO MEETING
X. Adjournment
President Wasserman adjourned the
meeting at 7:30 p.m.