From downtown to single-family blocks, Berkeley eyes big zoning changes
The city could remove limits on tall buildings downtown, and provide quick approval for small apartments in most neighborhoods.
The city could remove limits on tall buildings downtown, and provide quick approval for small apartments in most neighborhoods.
The map the commission chose essentially keeps intact the current City Council district borders, with a few tweaks.
Berkeley’s Independent Redistricting Commission is expected to make its choice for a new map over the coming weeks.
The plan would shift much of the city’s spending from major corridors to neighborhood streets, with a focus on West and South Berkeley.
Supporters say enforcing parking meters on Sundays could help shore up Berkeley’s parking fund, which has been battered by the pandemic.
Plastic bags in the produce aisle and thicker bags for groceries and takeout would be banned under a proposal in its early stages.
Data about where police use rifles, launchers and other “controlled” equipment will now be public. Officials said it’s a matter of racial justice.
Officers will focus on investigative stops and pulling over dangerous drivers rather than “random observations of minor equipment violations,” Police Chief Andrew Greenwood said.
Berkeley officials voted early Friday morning to adopt an updated use-of-force policy for police that will expand what types of force officers track and report, and how they make this information available to the public.
The Berkeley City Council shifted more than $9 million out of the police department budget Tuesday night to help pay for a range of reforms called for by community members and city officials alike in recent weeks.
Cal is buying 1921 Walnut St. and may tear it down to make way for a student housing complex that can hold 850 to 1,000 students.
Council was set to vote on whether to require developers to include affordable housing units in their projects downtown and in parts of South and West Berkeley. The item was postponed.
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