CITY OF MOUNTAIN VIEW  
MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2023 - 7:00 PM  
COUNCIL CHAMBERS AND VIDEO CONFERENCE, 500 CASTRO  
ST., MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA 94041  
RENTAL HOUSING COMMITTEE ACTION SUMMARY  
RHC  
Council Chambers and Video Conference, 500 Castro St., Mountain  
View, CA 94041  
December 18, 2023  
1.  
CALL TO ORDER  
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m.  
2.  
3.  
ROLL CALL  
Present 6 -  
Member Alex Brown, Member Robert Cox, Member Kevin Ma, Vice Chair Guadalupe  
Rosas, Chair Edie Keating, and Alternate Mark Balch  
CONSENT CALENDAR  
SPEAKING FROM THE FLOOR WITH COMMENTS:  
No public comments received.  
MOTION: M/S - Rosas/Cox - To approve the Consent Calendar  
Yes: 5 -  
Member Brown, Member Cox, Member Ma, Vice Chair Rosas, and Chair Keating  
Minutes for the November 13, 2023, RHC Meeting  
3.1  
4.  
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC  
No public comments received.  
5.  
APPEAL HEARINGS  
Appeal of Hearing Officer's Decision Re: Petition No. C22230052  
5.1  
Nazanin Salehi, Special Counsel, Goldfarb and Lipman, presented an oral report and responded to questions.  
SPEAKING FROM THE FLOOR WITH COMMENTS:  
No public comments received.  
PRESENTATION AND ARGUMENTS BY APPELLANT-LANDLORD - Eva Sharp  
PRESENTATION AND ARGUMENTS BY RESPONDENT-TENANT - Judith Hernandez  
REBUTTAL BY APPELLANT-LANDLORD - Eva Sharp  
REBUTTAL BY RESPONDENT-TENANT - Judith Hernandez  
MOTION: M/S - Brown/Cox - To accept the Tentative Appeal Decision regarding Petition No. 22230052 in its  
entirety.  
Yes: 5 -  
NEW BUSINESS  
Member Brown, Member Cox, Member Ma, Vice Chair Rosas, and Chair Keating  
6.  
Draft Regulations Chapter 13, Utility Charges Regulations, Clarifying Rent and the Treatment of Utilities in the  
CSFRA and Ratio Utilities Billing Systems  
6.1  
Nazanin Salehi, Special Counsel, Goldfarb and Lipman, presented an oral report and responded to questions.  
SPEAKING FROM THE FLOOR WITH COMMENTS:  
Anil Babbar  
Philip Cosby  
Reyna Dominguez  
Sandrita Esparza  
Steve Welter  
Amber  
Jeff Zell  
Malia  
The RHC conducted a straw poll on the following items:  
1. Carries 6 - 0 in favor of using the Common Area Deduction percentage as recommended with the option  
for the landlord to submit evidence for a lesser Common Area Deduction percentage.  
2. Carries 5 - 1 in favor of using a Common Area Deduction of 20% flat rate with the option for the landlord  
to rebut.  
3. Carried 6 - 0 in favor of having a rebuttable presumption of 20% for the Common Area Deduction.  
Landlords can rebut the 20% presumption by providing evidence that they should receive up to a 5%  
reduction in each of the following categories: pool, landscaping, and laundry facilities.  
MOTION: M/S - Ma/Brown - To adopt CSFRA Regulations Chapter 13 Utility Charges, as provided, with the  
following modifications:  
- Section A(2) should be modified to read, "Upon adoption of these Regulations by the Committee, and in  
accordance with the schedule below, Landlords of Covered Rental Units are prohibited from using a Ratio  
Utility Billing System (RUBS) (or any similar system or methodology that is not based on a Tenant’s actual  
usage) to allocate Utility Charges to their Tenants."  
- Section A(2)(b) should be modified to read, "At the commencement of such Tenancy, the Landlord, in the  
Rental Housing Agreement, shall indicate the fixed dollar amount of the initial Rent and specify which Utility  
Charges and any Housing Services that have a discernible fee associated with them, are included in the  
initial Rent (such as water, garbage, sewer, parking or pet rent)."  
- The straw poll outcome shall be incorporated in Section B(2)(ii) and B(2)(iii), as follows:  
ii. Common Area Utility Charge Deductions The common area deduction for all properties shall be  
presumed to be twenty percent (20%). However, a Landlord may rebut the presumption of a twenty percent  
(20%) common area deduction by demonstrating that the common area deduction should be reduced for  
good cause (e.g., there is no pool or laundry facilities on the property) or special circumstances.  
iii. The Landlord shall claim any reduction to the common area deduction on their Utility Adjustment  
Petition form and provide documentation to support the reduction with their Petition packet. Staff shall  
determine whether the Landlord is entitled to a reduction of the common area deduction.. However, in no  
case may Staff approve a total reduction greater than fifteen percent (15%) and in no case may Staff award  
a reduction greater in any category that exceeds the following percentages:  
•
•
•
Pool facilities: 5%  
Landscaping: 5%  
Laundry facilities: 5%  
Yes: 5 -  
Member Brown, Member Cox, Member Ma, Vice Chair Rosas, and Chair Keating  
7.  
COMMITTEE/STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS, UPDATES, REQUESTS, AND COMMITTEE REPORTS  
Upcoming Workshops and Housing and Eviction Help Center Dates  
7.1  
Analyst Kennedy presented a report and responded to questions.  
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.