Item #37 on the Berkeley Council meeting tomorrow, April 7th, is about “Significant Community Benefits” for proposed buildings over 75 ft. high:
City Council Agenda
This sounds arcane, but it’s not. If you love your downtown, come to the meeting and speak up!
The Downtown Area Plan requires that buildings over 75 feet provide “significant community benefits”. These can be provided directly or by giving $ in lieu. The benefits have never been fully defined, but include: affordable housing, supportive social services, green features, open space, transportation demand management features, job training, and/or employment opportunities.
Affordable housing is a hot-button issue. The planned development in the City falls woefully short of the goals that the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) set. We’re building plenty of new apartments and condos, but they’re all for high-income people.