October 23, 2007
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF
THE SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENTIAL RENT
STABILIZATION & ARBITRATION BOARD,
Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. at
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 70, Lower Level
I. Call to Order
President Gruber called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m.
II. Roll Call
Commissioners Present: Gruber; Henderson; Hurley; Mosbrucker.
Commissioners not Present: Becker; Justman; Marshall; Mosser.
Staff Present: Lee; Wolf.
Commissioner Murphy appeared on the record at 6:13 p.m.
III. Approval of the Minutes
MSC: To approve the Minutes of October 2, 2007.
(Hurley/Mosbrucker: 4-0)
IV. Consideration of Appeals
A. 14 Fuente AT070190
The tenant's appeal was filed four and one-half months late because he was under the impression that an appeal that had been filed was on behalf of all of the residents of his block.
MSC: To find good cause for the late filing of the appeal. (Mosbrucker/Henderson: 4-0)
The landlord's petition for rent increases based on increased operating expenses in this multi-unit complex was granted. The 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.
(Henderson/Mosbrucker: 4-0)
B. 7A Gonzalez Dr. AT070189
The tenant's appeal was filed almost five months late because the tenant misunderstood the filing deadline for hardship appeals, after the denial of her substantive appeal.
MSC: To find good cause for the late filing of the appeal. (Henderson/Mosbrucker: 4-0)
The landlord's petition for rent increases based on increased operating expenses in this multi-unit complex was granted. The tenant appeals the decision on the grounds of financial hardship, asking to pay retroactive amounts owed in three monthly installments.
MSC: To accept the appeal and remand the case for a hearing on the tenant's claim of financial hardship.
(Mosbrucker/Henderson: 4-0)
C. 776 Bush St. #103 AL070188
The subtenant filed a petition seeking a determination of the proper base rent and alleging a substantial decrease in housing services. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found that the subtenant was not paying a disproportional share of the rent under Rules ยง6.15C(3) because the Master Tenant, the resident manager of the building, did not pay rent. However, a rent reduction in the amount of $40.00 per month was granted due to the loss of weekly cleaning services. The Master Tenant appeals, claiming that the decision is in error as to the date the professional cleaning service terminated and he now cleans the unit himself.
MSC: To accept the appeal and remand the case to the Administrative Law Judge for a hearing on the issue of the loss of weekly cleaning services. (Murphy/Gruber: 4-0)
V. Public Hearing
SRO Hotel Visitor Policy
The Board convened a Public Hearing from 6:35 to 6:42 p.m. on proposed amendments to the SRO Hotel Visitor Policy. Although there were members of the public in attendance, no one wished to address the Commissioners. After a brief discussion, the Board passed the below motion:
MSC: To adopt the proposed amendments to the SRO Hotel Visitor Policy. (Henderson/Murphy: 4-0)
The amended sections of the Policy read as follows below (new language underlined):
4. Requests for overnight guests shall be made no later than 9:00 p.m. on the same day. The visitor does not have to be present at the time the request is made and the visitor's name need not be provided until the visitor arrives at the hotel, after which time the visitor shall have the same in and out privileges as the resident.
A. Owners or operators are entitled to request that visitors provide produce identification as follows:
VI. Communications
In addition to correspondence concerning cases on the calendar, the Commissioners received the following communications:
A. An interview with Executive Director Delene Wolf in the October 2007 S.F. Apartment Magazine.
B. Articles from the S.F. Examiner and BeyondChron.
C. An invitation to the Mayor's State of the City address.
D. The office workload statistics for the month of September 2007.
E. 2007 Combined Charities Campaign contribution forms.
VII. Director's Report
Senior Administrative Law Judge Tim Lee informed the Board that the Small Property Owners' Group has dropped its legal challenge to Proposition G. Executive Director Delene Wolf let the Commissioners know that Commissioner Mosser's father had died, and all expressed their condolences.
VIII. Calendar Items
October 30th & November 6th, 2007 - NO MEETINGS
November 13, 2007
4 appeal considerations
IX. Adjournment
President Gruber adjourned the meeting at 6:40 p.m.