The hotel only went forward after the Council twice agreed to defer fees owed by the developer. That lowered the developers’ upfront costs and increased profit margins.
Measure R
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: A tale of two Measure Rs
This is a tale of why and how the citizens of Berkeley got scammed by voting for the 2010 Measure R, and then scammed again when they voted against the 2014 Measure R. Let’s start with “why”. Why is the 2010 Measure R really a high-rise, luxury condo development plan that won’t help Berkeley’s housing […]
Posted inCity
Around $3.4M spent on Berkeley soda tax campaign
Despite an ad blitz, in which the No on Measure D campaign covered the Ashby BART station with signs – on the floor, on the walls, and next to the ticket machines, the measure to tax sugary drinks passed. Photo: Marian Mabel Despite an ad blitz, in which the No on Measure D campaign covered […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: No on Measure R isn’t nearly enough
I am thrilled that we voted 3 to 1 to defeat Measure R, and that the building of new housing in downtown Berkeley will continue. Let’s build on this momentum, and get serious about addressing the massive housing shortage in our community that is hitting working families hard. Downtown is great, but we have to […]
Posted inHousing & Development
New hotel project is a go again after defeat of Measure R
With the defeat of Measure R, the plan for a downtown Berkeley hotel at Shattuck and Center is back on track. Image: JRDV Urban International Now that Measure R, the initiative that aimed to impose stricter standards on tall buildings, has been defeated, the project to build a hotel downtown is back on track. Developer […]
Posted inCity
A record $3.6 million spent in Berkeley campaigns
During Sunday Streets, the Yes on Measure R and the No on Measure R campaigns crossed paths. The race over the future of Berkeley’s downtown has drawn record donations from developers. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel During Sunday Streets, the Yes on Measure R and the No on Measure R campaigns crossed paths. The race over the […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Democracy, transparency and Measure R
Last March after Berkeley’s Downtown Area Plan received a prestigious national American Planning Association award, I wrote the following for the “Cal Planner” newsletter: “In the end, support was overwhelming as eight of nine Council members adopted a new Downtown Area Plan … but what a long, strange trip it has been. The 2012 ‘DAP’ […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Measure R delivers on the green promise for downtown
The Green Downtown Initiative is the latest chapter in the land use battle between big developers and the rest of us. In 2010, Berkeley voters approved a different Measure R, which asked voters to adopt a “Green Vision” for the downtown, ostensibly to meet the City’s climate action goals. The measure promised voters that in […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley city attorney: Main post office may have sold
The main Post Office on Allston Way. Photo by Darius Wekwerth The Berkeley city attorney has informed the City Council he believes someone has purchased the downtown U.S. post office at 2000 Allston Way, and that it is time for Berkeley to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service to stop the sale. A letter to that […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Measure R will kill emerging downtown renaissance
Berkeley has an international reputation as a free-thinking, expressive, welcoming and experimental city. The current battle over the city’s downtown and November’s Measure R contradicts this image of ourselves, and in the worst possible way. While promoted as a “soak-the-evil-developers” proposal, in reality Measure R is a thinly disguised attempt to freeze Berkeley in the […]
Posted inCity
Berkeley ballot snafu, more money in for 2014 election
Alameda County officials are mailing out postcards to alert voters that the date of the election printed on many mail-in ballots is wrong. It reads Nov. 5, 2014, when it should read Nov. 4, 2014. Photo: KQED The Alameda County Registrar of Voters has sent out 27,000 postcards to Berkeley voters informing them that the […]
Posted inOpinion
Op-ed: Vote no on Measure R — it’s a misleading initiative
Most of us want a new downtown; why are we asked over and over to keep the old one? Why do we have to fight another misleading initiative — Measure R? After years of debate on a plan to revitalize our downtown, we had the first initiative campaign to stop it, and a subsequent election, […]