The annual fee for residential parking permits will go up 30% this year. Photo: Lance Knobel Berkeley City Council agreed on Tuesday night to raise the cost for the annual residential parking permit from $34.50 to $45, a 30% increase. The increase was a compromise following a recommendation from city staff that a 60% increase […]
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Posted inHousing & Development
Acheson Commons sent back to Berkeley zoning board
Acheson Commons is a mixed-use development planned at University and Shattuck. Image: Kirk Peterson Architects A 205-unit apartment complex planned for downtown Berkeley is going back to the city’s Zoning Adjustments Board after an appeal before the City Council on Tuesday night. Acheson Commons, at 2133 University Ave., was approved by the zoning board in […]
Posted inCity
Ambitious public works program falls short of need
Measure M will provide more funds for improving streets, but it still will fall short of the need. Photo: Tracey Taylor The public works capital improvement program was the focus of the budget worksession that preceded Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. Public Works Director Andrew Clough and his colleagues presented an ambitious roster of projects […]
Posted inSchools
Rodrigo thanks classmates for efforts to bring him home
Community members crammed into the Berkeley City Council chambers Tuesday night to speak out about the absence of 9-year-old Rodrigo Guzman, a Jefferson Elementary School student who was sent back to Mexico with his family in January when they were denied re-entry into the United States due to expired visas. Jefferson students read statements to the […]
Posted inCity
Wozniak’s email tax: Good sense or nonsense?
Gordon Wozniak: So-called bit tax could help fund “vital functions” of the post office. Photo: Lance Knobel Earlier this week, readers reacted with skepticism after Berkeley City Councilman Gordon Wozniak suggested that taxing email might be one way to raise money for the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service. Wozniak told the council: “There should be something […]
Posted inCity
Council asks for 1-year moratorium on post office sale
A protest to save the downtown Berkeley post office took place in late February. Photo: Daniel Parks The Berkeley City Council adopted a resolution Tuesday night to ask the U.S. Postal Service to press the pause button on its plans to relocate its downtown services and sell the Allston Way facility — for at least […]
Posted inHousing & Development
Berkeley aims to bolster housing fund with fee discount
Six housing projects planned for the broad downtown area would be subject to the city’s affordable housing requirements. Image: Google Maps Six housing projects planned for the broad downtown area would be subject to the city’s affordable housing requirements. Image: Google Maps Berkeley officials voted Tuesday night to reduce, temporarily, a fee required of developers in […]
Posted inCity
Pensions, infrastructure key Berkeley budget liabilities
One of the main areas Berkeley has liabilities is the maintenance of city facilities. The old City Hall has seismic issues and needs work, for example Berkeley’s City Council on Tuesday night received the first biennial report on the city’s long-term liabilities. The detailed breakdowns in the report from city budget manager Teresa Berkeley-Simmons make […]
Posted inCity
Budget: Spending cuts needed to avoid shortfall
Employer rates for CalPERS continue to increase Berkeley’s General Fund projections include a deficit of more than $5 million over the next two years, requiring city leaders to take a tough look at its more cash-strapped departments to reign in costs. To close the gap, the city’s budget manager has recommended recurring 2% General Fund […]
Posted inCommunity
Council supports Sunday Streets, looks to find funds
Berkeley’s first Sunday Streets, which was held on Oct. 14, was deemed a big success. Photo: Alan Tobey Last October, Berkeley held a Sunday Streets event for the first time, and an estimated 40,000 people flocked to Shattuck Avenue to stroll, bike and skate the length of 17 blocks enjoying the car-free environment, al fresco […]
Posted inHousing & Development
740 Heinz project moves forward, sans historic walls
The Copra Warehouse at night. Photo: Ira Serkes On Tuesday night, a Berkeley City Council majority upheld a 2012 zoning panel decision to allow the construction of a new 100,000-square-foot lab building in west Berkeley. Thirty neighbors had signed a petition to appeal the Zoning Adjustments Board’s decision in September, taking issue with the project’s environmental […]
Posted inCommunity
Berkeley documentary filmmaker Les Blank to be honored
Berkeley documentary filmmaker Les Blank who is to be honored with a proclamation at this week’s City Council meeting Berkeley documentary filmmaker Les Blank who is to be honored with a proclamation at this week’s City Council meeting Update, 9:10 p.m.: Les Blank was able to attend the City Council meeting and heard the proclamation […]