Hi Neighbor,
I want to wish you a joyful holiday season!
On the City Council, I’m pleased to welcome Mayor Adena Ishii, new Councilmembers Shoshana O’Keefe (District 5) and Brent Blackaby (District 6), and newly re-elected Councilmembers Terry Taplin (District 2) and Ben Bartlett (District 3). I look forward to working productively and collaboratively with all of my Council colleagues to address District 1 priority issues, particularly homeless encampments, public safety, and street paving.
From left, Councilmember Ben Bartlett, Mayor Adena Ishii, Councilmembers Terry Taplin, Shoshana O’Keefe, and Brent Blackaby taking the oath of office. Photo: Eric Panzer
In this newsletter:
- Homeless Encampment Policy Update #2
- N. Berkeley BART: Land Use Entitlement Issued!
- A Call for Civility at Public Meetings
- Sign Up for Emergency Alerts
Homeless Encampment Policy Update #2
Last month, The New York Times reported on our City’s new homeless encampment policy.I authored this policy to address the persistent and dangerous encampments on (1) Second Street between Cedar and Page Streets and (2) Harrison Street in the Gilman District, where conditions continue to deteriorate and one lane of traffic is completely blocked.
The homeless encampment policy commits the City to making shelter offers whenever an encampment is closed, except in narrow circumstances of a life safety risk, as defined in the Berkeley Municipal Code.
“Across the street from Mr. Spencer, a fellow camper groused that the city also prohibited smoking in its motel rooms. Nearby, a bearded compatriot said that he did not need shelter because he could make a living selling firewood. As he spoke, he poured gasoline from a can into a whiskey bottle, and from the whiskey bottle into a tank of a battered chain saw that he was tinkering with on the curb.
City records over the past year showed that police officers have been called to the West Berkeley sites every day and a half, on average, and that the Fire Department has been summoned about every four and a half days. Complaints from surrounding businesses — automotive shops, artisan bagel bakeries, makers of A.I.-powered robotics — included reports of dumpster fires, bottles of urine tossed at delivery drivers and rodents chewing through the wiring of parked cars.”— Excerpted from The New York Times, “Liberal Berkeley’s Toughened Stance on Homeless Camps Is a Bellwether“
Conditions on Harrison between Seventh and Eighth Streets, as documented by Fire Department (Aug. 2023)
Both the Harrison Street and Second Street encampments will be addressed early in the new year. As I noted in my last newsletter, the City has been fortunate to receive state funding to enable a master lease of the Howard Johnson Motel (1512 University Avenue) to offer 27 motel rooms when closing the Second Street encampment early next year. The motel will be operated by the non-profit homeless services provider Dorothy Day House. Last year, the City received state funding to offer rooms at the Super 8 Motel to people residing on Harrison Street. However, the Harrison encampment persists because not everyone accepts the City’s shelter offer and new people move into the area.
The hazards at the Second and Harrison Street encampments pose a life safety risk, and in accordance with our homeless encampment policy, our City staff are continuing to plan for closure of these two encampments. This is a multi-departmental undertaking involving our Homeless Response Team; Health, Housing, and Community Services Department staff; Public Works staff; Police; and Fire personnel to ensure that we follow the law as well as the City’s policies and procedures.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me (rkesarwani[@]berkeleyca[.]gov or 510-981-7110).
N. Berkeley BART Update: Land Use Entitlement Issued!
I’m pleased to share the exciting news that the North Berkeley Housing Partners development team has received their land use entitlement from the City’s Planning Department to create 739 homes at the North Berkeley BART parking lot—with 381 (52 percent) affordable to low-income households per federal Housing and Urban Development guidelines.
Photo: Jill Martinucci
I want to thank everyone who has supported our vision for a transit village—homes, a ground floor childcare center and small retail space (6,500 square feet in total), a new bike station to serve BART riders, an Ohlone Greenway connection through the site, and enhanced public open space that will benefit everyone in our neighborhood. In addition to station access improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists, the site will include a parking garage with 176 spaces for residents and 120 spots for commuters (an additional 80 commuter spaces will remain in auxiliary lots).
So many people had a hand in this gargantuan undertaking, and I am indebted to all of you. I especially want to thank the elected leaders who stood by me, and our hard-working City and BART staff who never let us fail.
In recent months, the development has secured more than $100 million of investment:
✅ $49 million from the state’s Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities program
✅ $26.5 million in local funding from Berkeley’s Measure O Affordable Housing Bond and Housing Trust Fund
✅ $25 million from the state’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program
Based on the latest update I have received from the development team, they plan to break ground on the first building in early 2026, contingent upon receiving tax credits and a tax-exempt bond allocation in 2025-26.
From left, Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani, State Senator Jesse Arreguín, and former BART Board Director Rebecca Saltzman accept $25 million from the California State Transportation Agency Secretary Toks Omishakin (far right) for mobility enhancements at the North Berkeley BART Station.
A Call for Civility at Public Meetings
I want to address the Middle Housing Community Meeting that I held in October. As some of you may have heard or read, an attendee of the meeting shoved me and attempted to forcefully grab the microphone from my hands as I shouted at him to stop and step away from me. After this physical altercation, a group of people continued to chant and scream at me because they were unhappy with the format of the meeting. The planned format gave members of the public the opportunity to gather in small groups to have one-on-one and small group discussions with six Planning staff members in attendance about the substance of the Middle Housing proposal unanimously approved by Council in July—and to be considered for adoption sometime next year. I was also looking forward to listening to these conversations so that I could act on actionable feedback from the public. Sadly, the combination of the physical assault and the continued angry screaming by certain attendees caused me to leave the meeting for my personal safety. I am glad that the meeting was able to proceed without me, and that those who attended in good faith were able to learn more about the substance of the proposal.
As a Councilmember, I have held numerous public meetings on the contentious topics of housing and homelessness. But I have never experienced the threatening behavior that occurred at the Middle Housing Community Meeting. I filed a police report because I want to send an unequivocal message: There is no place for physical intimidation or violence in our public discourse. Just because one disagrees with the format of a meeting, or the substance of a policy proposal, it does not give a person license to engage in threatening behavior. I can only hope that this ugly episode provokes some self-reflection among those who acted inappropriately and among those who minimized or rationalized such behavior. And I want to thank everyone who reached out to me with messages of encouragement, support, and appreciation for the housing policies I have championed.
Taking a step back, I understand change can be hard or inconvenient; I get that. And I’m always willing to listen to reasonable people who disagree with me. However, too often in California, our local elected leaders have backed down from these land-use fights because it’s easier not to ruffle any feathers. Over decades, the path of least resistance has led to skyrocketing housing costs and record rates of homelessness as well as a host of related problems. I am determined to be part of the solution. Within the last ten years, we have seen our state government recognize the shortage of homes for what it is: a critical issue of statewide concern that harms our communities in myriad ways. State leaders have acted to pass housing laws that have largely taken away local discretion for many land-use decisions. State law also requires local jurisdictions to develop Housing Element plans that spell out the programs to be implemented to address the city’s housing shortage. The Middle Housing Program is a state requirement under our Housing Element, and as such, we are obligated to adopt a Middle Housing Ordinance.
Sign up for Emergency Alerts
The recent tsunami evacuation alert and subsequent cancellation is a good reminder to make sure you’re signed up for emergency alerts.