[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6545199,"mediaKeyId","3802476-cd44b722c140b10b8f90000c40c50547","parentId",3802476,"title","Mountain View Rental Housing Committee approves contracts, regulatory updates and consent calendar items; votes at a glance","audioSeconds",630,"startMs",7376000,"endMs",8006000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3802476-cd44b722c140b10b8f90000c40c50547&start=7376&end=8006","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3802476-cd44b722c140b10b8f90000c40c50547/thumbnail_7376000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6545199/Mountain-View/Santa-Clara-County/California/Mountain-View-Rental-Housing-Committee-approves-contracts-regulatory-updates-and-consent-calendar-items-votes-at-a-glance","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6545199-ac66c13ae972c7e450d46110ffe15ec5/orig.mp4?Expires=1771161861&Signature=XGferGS1grW48CYCSiGQa6uP3MLTuoL6ADyQtvh8v5XxZLLxyXmFHIRFCdoxhbxK-oTy8YM69KiuAZk~qIvTpUk08TOv4pjmT4VEbUn6DQkEBA-g8UOyP0J5YBvA7zdslhtoMGINlqL1FMhWCNxkqtaH7orsfWBpNFToSAbIr7wDslum7Jeko23n0ObgIzFVIibFk35CkjeIFj0M7M4f8e0u7vF5nu6wMZrmd5FKbKx63JzLTtI0UQ79WzyhbQjni5BSXOgEEQBflyznbz2E1Nai3I7Uyy4qG3YuaejljBN5pepo8ihDGlEJNlXyFjMUQT6dxL4sQQi450XSKu4a1g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Coty of Mountain View","date","2025-06-13T04:21:38Z","article","The Mountain View Rental Housing Committee on June 12 approved several staff-recommended contracts and regulatory amendments and corrected a minutes error on the consent calendar. All items in this summary passed by unanimous votes, 4 to 0.

Votes at a glance
- Consent calendar (including correction to the May 22, 2025 minutes): Approved 4-0. Motion to accept all items, including amending the minutes to show Chair Ma as the adjournment authority, was made by Vice Chair Cox and seconded by Chair Ma.
- Contract renewal: Goldfarb Lippmann LLP (legal and litigation services for CSFRA and MHRSO): Authorized contract not to exceed $250,000 for CSFRA services and $35,000 for MHRSO services for FY 2025-26. Motion passed 4-0.
- Contract renewal: Project Sentinel (administrative and hearing-process services): Authorized contract not to exceed $180,000 for CSFRA and $13,000 for MHRSO for FY 2025-26 (budget breakdowns for administrative support, facilitators and hearing officers contained in staff report). Motion passed 4-0.
- Regulatory amendment: CSFRA regulations, Chapter 2 (definitions): Adopted new definitions for \"rent refund\" and \"rent rollback\" to clarify terminology used by hearing officers and parties. Motion passed 4-0.
- Regulatory amendment: CSFRA regulations, Chapter 13 (utility charges): Adopted amendments extending deadlines for compliance with the one-time utility adjustment petitions; committee approved the staff-recommended extension schedule (vote 4-0). Staff noted an erratum in the staff report and confirmed the operative deadlines in the regulation text.

Staff presentation and action details
Staff presented each item, explained that the contract renewal amounts were consistent with the budget adopted earlier this year and summarized Project Sentinel's role in deploying facilitators and hearing officers and providing administrative support. Committee members asked clarifying questions about amounts, outreach for the Chapter 13 utility petitions and the precise deadlines for small and medium properties; staff said staggered deadlines and targeted outreach had been used to achieve compliance for larger properties and requested additional time to contact smaller owners.

Formal motions and roll-call votes were recorded on the public record; each motion passed unanimously (4-0). The committee recorded no public comment on the contract renewals or the regulatory amendments.

Key figures and next steps
- Goldfarb Lippmann LLP: CSFRA legal services not to exceed $250,000; MHRSO services not to exceed $35,000 for FY 2025-26.
- Project Sentinel: CSFRA services not to exceed $180,000; MHRSO services not to exceed $13,000 for FY 2025-26.
- Chapter 13 utility petition deadlines: staff-directed extensions for 6-20-unit properties and 1-5-unit properties (operative dates in adopted regulatory text); staff will continue outreach and reported 100% compliance among the largest properties.

The committee moved on to announcements and scheduled its next regular meeting for July 24, 2025.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","June 12, 2025 City of Mountain View Rental Housing Committee Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","At its June 12 meeting the committee approved a set of contract renewals and regulatory amendments and approved the consent calendar including a minutes correction. All non-appeal motions passed unanimously (4-0).","taxTitle","Mountain View, Santa Clara County, California","taxId",2861,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6545204,"Rental Housing Committee affirms hearing officer's rent-reduction awards in Colony Apartments appeal",6260,541000,6801000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3802476-cd44b722c140b10b8f90000c40c50547&start=541&end=6801","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3802476-cd44b722c140b10b8f90000c40c50547/thumbnail_541000.jpg","/articles/6545204/Mountain-View/Santa-Clara-County/California/Rental-Housing-Committee-affirms-hearing-officers-rent-reduction-awards-in-Colony-Apartments-appeal","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6545204-190358fdf626f0715fc2878f2386fb73/orig.mp4?Expires=1771161861&Signature=DiqwO8mXBc6WMlKJVOb-~Rf5JpntBbtji9o-2vXYsqL42c8qf1dGQUmsO~-EbseuV2HQYgYMqPOYk0xH4XCxfAy2krD5O9vwoZiMayiMQvR7Yvb~Wm2-DuQV4WjWkf-i2Y8bApsj88zVxowjeSj-gZahB-sHq2-VjC787XgKFc3R7UsbUzAthupHx-BvsBOTw9muvounJXJD9FKdoUS1jbb3fPFp79VEBsNSFfuEYHYCkyijooGYO1hsw7rroHPcrk5linuVOJQPfnOhvwF0DUKVZHCd~2GucdvgKi7bXwWYoNA-qNt-T6Yz4O3AELBSoV2Aj12uJ3tjdKNNr6HlxA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Mountain View Rental Housing Committee on June 12 affirmed a hearing officer's decision awarding downward rent adjustments to former tenants of 1984 Colony Apartments, rejecting the landlord's appeal and accepting the tentative appeal decision by vote of 3 to 1.

Staff recommended the committee avoid a new de novo hearing and decide based on the hearing officer's record; the committee accepted that recommendation and affirmed the hearing officer's findings and awards.

The hearing officer had found multiple habitability failures and reductions in housing services: mold and moisture in bedrooms tied to weatherproofing and windows; defective bathroom caulking and recurring sewer backups that impeded bathtub and toilet drainage; insufficient and potentially hazardous electrical circuitry; and excessive noise from a water heater. The hearing officer combined related conditions where appropriate and calculated room-based rent reductions for defined periods.

In the hearing officer's decision, petitioners were awarded (as summarized in the record): a 2.5% rent reduction for mold and caulking-related conditions (late August 2023 through Jan. 4, 2025); a 7% reduction for sewer/plumbing problems (May 13, 2023 through Nov. 5, 2023); an 8.5% reduction for insufficient electrical circuitry (Aug. 3, 2023 through Jan. 4, 2025); and a 17% reduction for a three-week period related to water-heater noise (April 26, 2023 through May 16, 2023). The hearing officer declined to award a reduction for a broken wall heater, finding the petitioners had not proved notice/opportunity to correct that condition.

Landlord counsel Rachel, representing Speicher Companies, asked the committee to reverse or substantially reduce the award, arguing the petitions lacked adequate notice of several issues and that the record did not support the scale or duration of the awards. Rachel argued for procedural protections requiring specific notice of each alleged condition and said the landlord had taken prompt steps to remediate when notified.

Tenant representative Shandy Brooks Fox testified that maintenance responses were inadequate, that professionals were not sent until after the petition was filed, and that photographs, medical records and email exchanges submitted to the city documented repeated problems. \"Everything that missus Chube is saying is incorrect,\" Fox said in rebuttal to the landlord's claims, and she described health impacts on her family tied to the unit's conditions.

Staff and the tentative decision concluded the record showed petitioners provided notice of the issues and that respondents had opportunities to respond at the prehearing conference and hearing; staff also noted the city's inspection report documented mold and electrical concerns. The tentative decision found the hearing officer did not err in combining related conditions, in applying a consistent methodology to compute reductions, or in limiting awards to the periods when conditions existed.

Committee members debated several issues in deliberations, including whether some electrical deficiencies reflected a nonconforming but legal (\"conforming\") wiring installation versus a current hazard. Member Balch urged remand on the electrical question to clarify whether the unit's wiring was merely outdated but code-conforming or whether it was currently unsafe; that secondary motion did not carry and the committee ultimately voted to affirm the tentative decision. Vice Chair Cox moved to accept the tentative appeal decision in full; the motion passed 3 to 1 (Balch voted no).

The committee noted a potential fiscal impact from further litigation and observed that one purpose of the appeal review is to render decisions that are legally defensible.

The committee's action concludes the local administrative appeal; parties retain whatever judicial remedies the law allows.

A roll-call vote on the appeal recorded Balch (no), Keating (yes), Vice Chair Cox (yes) and Chair Ma (yes).","On June 12 the Mountain View Rental Housing Committee upheld a hearing officer's decision awarding downward rent adjustments to former tenants of Colony Apartments for mold, plumbing, electrical and water-heater problems, voting 3-1 to accept the tentative appeal decision.","actionData","errors"]

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Mountain View Rental Housing Committee approves contracts, regulatory updates and consent calendar items; votes at a glance

Rental Housing Committee affirms hearing officer's rent-reduction awards in Colony Apartments appeal