The Berkeley City Council last night approved on an 8-1 vote Mayor Tom Bates’ revised plan for downtown. Prior to that vote, the council had unanimously voted to rescind the Downtown Area Plan which was approved last July in a 7-2 vote. The only objection to the new plan was from Councilmember Jesse Arreguin, whose 4th district includes downtown.
Councilmember Kriss Worthington, who opposed last year’s plan together with Arreguin, voted in favor of the new plan, saying the Green Pathways program, which provides a fast-track planning process, was a “positive step forward”.