In an op-ed published Monday on Berkeleyside, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and Laurie Capitelli, a member of the Berkeley City Council representing District 5, offer a solution to what they say is currently an imperfect approach to securing affordable housing in the city.
Their proposal — which is on tonight’s City Council agenda – is to create a “city density bonus” which would see developers who want to build housing pay a fee into the Housing Trust Fund.
“The developers would gain more units and the community would gain more affordable housing,” they say.
Read more about their reasoning in the op-ed piece in the Opinionator section, and share your reactions in the Comments section there.
Berkeleyside welcomes submissions of op-ed articles. We ask that we are given first refusal to publish. Topics should be Berkeley-related, local authors are preferred, and we don’t publish anonymous pieces. Email submissions to editors@berkeleyside.com. The recommended length is 500-800 words. Please include your name and a one-line bio that includes full, relevant disclosures. Berkeleyside will publish op-ed pieces at its discretion.
