Dear Neighbor,
A lot has happened since our packed community meeting at St. John's Church in January. Our voices are starting to make an impact—and we need to keep the pressure on!
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We do support building more housing in Berkeley. But we don't believe that demolishing small businesses is necessary when the City has already identified hundreds of other sites that would work while preserving small local shops. One solution could support 5,700 units near the Elmwood.
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Our independent small businesses provide jobs, community, and character. They are society's "Third Places," where folks interact outside of home and work, just like libraries, parks, churches, and cafes.
Once they're gone, they're gone forever.
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Background
Last September, the City proposed "upzoning" the Elmwood, upper Solano, and North Shattuck shopping districts to allow 8-12 story residential towers. Almost no one was notified. When residents pushed back, Council responded by raising the limit to 14 stories, a 1,400% height increase in many cases.
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No Planning
The City bypassed the planning process it uses everywhere else. When we asked leaders for their vision, City leaders had no answer.
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No Consideration of Impacts
The City's $600,000 consultant contract for the Corridor Zoning didn't ask for any analysis of how upzoning would affect existing businesses. Due to the specter of upzoning, Landlords are already offering only short-term leases, leaving shop owners unable to plan or secure loans.
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No Investigation of Property Insurance Cancellations—A New Concern
Local owners are receiving insurance non-renewal notices due to excessive density. The City is aware but refuses to investigate.
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At the March 4th Planning Commission meeting, commissioners pushed back on the most extreme proposals and supported upzoning only select "opportunity sites" on each street, a far more measured approach.
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The City Intends to Act by Summer
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An upzoning ordinance could be adopted as early as June. The time to act is now.
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Contact Your Representatives
Contact the Mayor at 510-981-7100 and ma...@berkeleyca.gov, as well as your Councilmember. Tell them you oppose broad upzoning in the three shopping districts and that height caps at opportunity sites must account for state density bonuses (incentives the State gives developers), so that buildings stay at a reasonable height.
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Spread the Word
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Host a house party! Contact Carla Woodworth at carlawoo...@gmail.com
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Go door-to-door — contact Mike Apte at mga...@gmail.com
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Join a committee (Fundraising, Research, Media, Web) by contacting Claudia Hunka at ckh...@gmail.com
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Spread the word in the community—most neighbors still don't know this is happening!
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Support Referendum Organizing Efforts
If the City adopts an extreme ordinance, voters can override it through a Referendum. The Save Berkeley Shops Action Fund is fundraising money now to make that possible (read more below).
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Donate—Every Dollar Makes a Difference
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Support Our Fund & Charity
There are two ways to support the fight to save Berkeley's neighborhood shops. We welcome contributions to either, or both:
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#1: Donate to Save Berkeley Shops Action Fund
This fund is a 501(c)(4) political action committee (PAC) and powers our political and referendum efforts. This is the most urgent need as we ramp up efforts for a City referendum.
Click here to donate to the Action Fund, or send a check to:
Save Berkeley Shops Action Fund
2912 Benvenue Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94705
Contributions are treated like any other political contributions and are NOT tax-deductible.
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#2: Donate to the Save Berkeley Shops, a non-profit charity
We additionally welcome your tax-deductible contribution to Save Berkeley Shops, a non-profit charity.
Click here to donate to our non-profit Charity.
Your donation to the Save Berkeley Shops non-profit charity IS tax-deductible. Note that these funds cannot be used directly for elections.
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Let's protect what makes Berkeley great. 💙
Thank you,
Save Berkeley Shops Board of Directors
-John Gage, Elmwood resident representative
-David Salk, Elmwood shopkeeper representative
-Mike Apte, North Shattuck shopkeeper representative
-Rohini Kumar, North Shattuck resident representative and Treasurer
-Fern Solomon, Solano Ave. shopkeeper representative
-Melissa Quilter, Solano Ave. resident representative
-Peter Montgomery, Secretary
-Donald Simon, President
Learn more at SaveBerkeleyShops.org →
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