The Sustainable West Berkeley Alliance (SWBA), an organization of Berkeley residents and businesses, and the Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA), filed their suit in Alameda County Superior Court under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) on May 11.

The suit concerns proposed Master Use Permit (MUP) sites – developments of more than four acres — and focuses on three aspects: the proposal to increase building … Continue reading »]]>

A lawsuit filed on May 11 against the City of Berkeley focuses on proposed zoning amendments to West Berkeley. Photo: Tracey Taylor

Two citizens’ groups have sued the City of Berkeley over proposed zoning that they say would radically restructure West Berkeley.

The Sustainable West Berkeley Alliance (SWBA), an organization of Berkeley residents and businesses, and the Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA), filed their suit in Alameda County Superior Court under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) on May 11.

The suit concerns proposed Master Use Permit (MUP) sites – developments of more than four acres — and focuses on three aspects: the proposal to increase building height limits from 45ft to 75ft, the impact of taller buildings on residents, and the effect of proposed development on the environmental resources of Aquatic Park.(...)

Read the rest of Citizen groups sue city over West Berkeley proposals (448 words)

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | 38 comments |
Post tags: Council of Neighborhood Associations, Sustainable West Berkeley Alliance, west berkeley

“The Council passed the least controversial measures on Tuesday,” said Dan Marks, Berkeley’s Director of Planning and Development. Councilmembers Kriss Worthington and Jesse Arreguín both voted against the three separate agenda items which made up this first part of the process.

About eight members of the … Continue reading »]]>

The future of West Berkeley is under consideration by the City Council, in three stages. Photo: Tracey Taylor.

At its Tuesday evening session this week, the Berkeley City Council closed the public hearings on the West Berkeley Plan, and took the first of three steps towards adopting the plan in its entirety.

“The Council passed the least controversial measures on Tuesday,” said Dan Marks, Berkeley’s Director of Planning and Development. Councilmembers Kriss Worthington and Jesse Arreguín both voted against the three separate agenda items which made up this first part of the process.

About eight members of the public, including local architect Joe Decredico and acupuncturist Annie Wells,  spoke of their concerns over parking, which was the main focus of the ordinances under consideration.(...)

Read the rest of City takes first step towards adopting West Berkeley Plan (135 words)

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: west berkeley, West Berkeley plan

By John Osborn. | Permalink | 21 … Continue reading »]]>

Tonight the Berkeley City Council will hold a special meeting for a final public hearing on the city’s proposed West Berkeley Plan. Ahead of the debate, we bring you a photo essay of West Berkeley by John C. Osborn with explanations of some of the issues under consideration. Click through to this post to see the slideshow or click on the slideshow images above to read the captions.

By John Osborn. | Permalink | 21 comments |
Post tags: Berkeley zoning, west berkeley

The moves have left the place looking a little desultory. In the run-up to the holidays, at least one pop-up shop made a fleeting appearance, but, … Continue reading »]]>

Show Place Art, which opened in November, has a revolving number of shows and events.

Garden outlet store Smith & Hawken closed up shop in 2009. Then, several other businesses, including Turkish towel importer Forza & Home and Paulson Bott Press, defected from the Gilman Village shopping area on 10th Street to the more vibrant Fourth Street. Other shops, such as TravelSmith, closed down permanently.

The moves have left the place looking a little desultory. In the run-up to the holidays, at least one pop-up shop made a fleeting appearance, but, since then, the vacant spaces have lent the mall an air of abandonment.

Since November, however, there has been a regular hive of activity in the space formerly occupied by Paulson Bott Press. Music events, art shows, private fundraisers — even a wine society singles night: Show Place Art is an evolving-use space curated by former interior designer Karen Hart.

Soap by Berkeley-based Slice of Delight: for sale at Friday's Etsy craft show.

Hart, who is based in Redwood City, had been looking for a place to open a gallery on the Peninsula but found the rents there too prohibitive. Encouraged by Diane Haydon, owner of home design outlet store Trove, to consider the Gilman Village complex, she decided to leap when landlord Larry Haydon offered her a competitive rent there.(...)

Read the rest of Gilman Village: a Berkeley shopping area in transition (182 words)

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: Gilman Village, Show Place Art, Slice of Delight, west berkeley

Tonight will see part two of public hearings on proposals which could see West Berkeley transformed, and many residents are making their views known on “open town hall” site Peak Democracy.

More than 200 people have so far left comments on a forum set up by councilmembers Laurie Capitelli, Susan Wengraf and Gordon Wozniak, which leads with the question: “Should the City Council amend West Berkeley zoning to allow conversion of warehouse and/or wholesale … Continue reading »]]>

West Berkeley. Photo: John C. Osborn.

Tonight will see part two of public hearings on proposals which could see West Berkeley transformed, and many residents are making their views known on “open town hall” site Peak Democracy.

More than 200 people have so far left comments on a forum set up by councilmembers Laurie Capitelli, Susan Wengraf and Gordon Wozniak, which leads with the question: “Should the City Council amend West Berkeley zoning to allow conversion of warehouse and/or wholesale spaces to other uses including research and development (R&D)?”

The proposed changes would relax protections that have been in place for years over what types of business the city allows within the West Berkeley industrial area, which has tended to focus on fast-disappearing manufacturing spaces. In particular, they would open up the area to research and development outfits. Some people who oppose the changes are concerned that an expansion of residential development could dramatically increase property values to the point of pushing out small businesses.(...)

Read the rest of Berkeleyans add to West Berkeley debate in novel forum (432 words)

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | 39 comments |
Post tags: west berkeley, West Berkeley plan, West Berkeley zoning

We went back to look at those 10 resolutions and scored them 0 for no movement (or backward movement), a ½ point for some improvement and a full 1 point for true progress. We have to say that, even with the most generous grading possible, we can only give ourselves a score of four out of 10.

Here … Continue reading »]]>

People's Park: there has been no progress this year on the future of this controversial space. Photo: djwudi/Flickr creative commons.

A year ago, we suggested 10 resolutions for 2010 for Berkeley (we’ll have our 2011 resolutions tomorrow). How did our city do?

We went back to look at those 10 resolutions and scored them 0 for no movement (or backward movement), a ½ point for some improvement and a full 1 point for true progress. We have to say that, even with the most generous grading possible, we can only give ourselves a score of four out of 10.

Here are our judgements. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

Downtown: not yet transformed

1. Progress in making Downtown a more vibrant, welcoming district. There are signs of improvement. The arts cluster on Addison Street continued to pick up steam, and the success of Gather and Ippuku seems to have spurred a worthy gastronomic hub east of Shattuck. But there are still too many empty storefronts and the end-of-the-year closure of Amanda’s, something of a showpiece for affordable, sustainable food, was a real downer. The effect of Measure R, approved by 64% of voters, remains to be seen. It did show that a healthy majority of Berkeleyans really want change Downtown. ½ point.
2. Berkeley High will support science labs. We gave this a very generous half point. BHS did find a compromise that preserved AP science labs and created voluntary science labs for other courses. The half point, however, recognizes that there is a very encouraging optimistic spirit at the high school with the new principal, Pasquale Scuderi. ½ point.
3. Transformation of People’s Park into a space the whole community can enjoy. The state of People’s Park (pictured, top) was an issue in the District 7 council contest. Councilmember Kriss Worthington has advocated that the university sell the park to the city, park district or a non-profit group. But there has been no progress that we can see over the past year. 0 points.
4. Police cleaning up Civic Center Park. There are still plenty of problems in Civic Center Park and other places in Berkeley. But there has been so much positive action by new Police Chief Michael Meehan, and the level of cooperation between the police and Berkeley High School has soared. We’re not yet at perfect, but it deserves 1 point.


A tough year for retailers

5. A better year for local retailers. We wish it had happened, in Berkeley and across the country, but it hasn’t. 0 points.
6. A plan for decent lighting and a better road at the south end of Aquatic Park. There are steady improvements at the north end of Aquatic Park, but the south end remains a no-go zone. 0 points.
7. The state will stop squeezing the UC budget. Well, that certainly didn’t happen this year. But Governor-elect Jerry Brown is making more encouraging noises. We’ll see. Still, 0 points for 2010.
8. Take more time to walk and cycle in Tilden. You’ll have to score yourself on this one. We didn’t do too well, but some of us had a great family walk on Christmas Eve and Tilden was filled with families. A generous 1 point.
9. An exciting start-up will make West Berkeley its home for years to come. It’s the nature of the start-up world that we don’t know what might be brewing. Will Wright does have his Stupid Fun Club in West Berkeley. There are plenty of others below the radar, and there’s the encouraging, nascent Berkeley Startup Cluster (more focused on spaces near the university). We remain optimists, so will give this 1 point.
10. Mayor Bates will start using his Twitter account. Sorry, still at zero tweets. Oakland Mayor-elect Jean Quan is at 910 tweets and counting. 0 points.

By lance. | Permalink | 7 comments |
Post tags: Amanda's Restaurant, Aquatic Park, Berkeley High School, Berkeley local business, Berkeley new year resolutions, Berkeley Startup Cluster, Civic Center park, Downtown Berkeley, Jean Quan, Mayor Tom Bates, People's Park, Stupid Fun Club, UC Berkeley, west berkeley

“It’s transformed the area,” says Delaney of the cafe. “Every neighborhood needs somewhere public like this where … Continue reading »]]>

Opened a year ago on San Pablo Avenue, Local 123 has met a need. Photo: Janet Delaney.

Photographer Janet Delaney has lived in West Berkeley for 22 years and she has watched the complexion* character of the neighborhood change, mostly for the better. Recently, she says, it took a great leap forward when Cafe Local 123 opened its doors at 2049 San Pablo Avenue and created community where before there had been little more than passing acquaintances.

“It’s transformed the area,” says Delaney of the cafe. “Every neighborhood needs somewhere public like this where people can run into each other. Artists, teachers, independent workers come here to work or just to say hi.” Delaney herself spends a lot of time at the cafe which was opened a year ago by Katy Wafle and Frieda Hoffman.

Wafle says they researched the area thoroughly before choosing the location — Hoffman would stand at various points on San Pablo with a clicker measuring foot traffic — and they quizzed local residents. “We found that people were hungry for community,” Wafle says.

Alder Thicket, Jewel Lake, Tilden Park, Berkeley, 2004, by Janet Delaney.

Local 123 has drawn customers in by offering more than a good cappuccino. Wafle and Hoffman organize events — such as a grow-your-own edibles workshop held on its back patio last month — and art shows, and serve weekend brunch as well as a tapas menu in the evenings. The cafe recently extended its hours so that it is open until 10.30pm most days.

Wafle says there’s a rotating clientele of regulars: employees from nearby Clif Bar tend to come in on Thursdays for reasons she can’t quite explain; others come for coffee and the newspapers; there’s the laptop contingent of course — although wi-fi is deliberately switched off at the weekends to encourage sociability; and one group of friends has set up a regular games of Mah-Jong there.

Local 123 owners Frieda Hoffman (left) and Katy Wafle. Photo: Janet Delaney.

San Pablo is not devoid of good cafes, of course. Caffe Trieste further up the street at number 2500 is part of a Bay Area institution and has been a go-to place for years, and there’s Cafe Leila at number 1724. Wafle says a new cafe is opening closer to them, nearer the University-San Pablo junction, perhaps spurred on by the success of Local.

An exhibition of Janet Delaney’s work — penetrating close-ups of trees and landscapes, taken on travels to Napa and Rhode Island, as well as nearer to home in Tilden Park — is currently hanging on the cafe’s expanse of white walls. Delaney, who is working on a book of photographs documenting San Francisco’s SoMa district, some of which have been bought by SFMOMA — is delighted her images are on view here. “I want to feel my work is close to home, seen by my neighbors.”

Manzanita Chaparral, Napa Valley 2007, by Janet Delaney.

Of her work, she says it always reflects her state of mind. An early series of photographs, Housebound, shows lovingly shot details taken when, as she put it, she was “trapped in domestic bliss” caring for a young daughter and a frail father.

Delaney now walks over to  Local 123 often — a home away from home. On a morning in early July she greets three separate friends who drop in — one has driven from another part of Berkeley to frequent the cafe because she likes it more than her local spot.

Janet Delaney's exhibition, "Between Chaos and Grace", runs to July 31. Photo: Janet Delaney.

But perhaps Jessen Kelly best expresses Local 123′s gravitational pull. Kelly, an art history graduate student at UC Berkeley, lives in Oakland but bikes to the cafe regularly — with her boyfriend Martijn Van Exel when he’s over from the Netherlands where he lives.

Recently the couple decided they loved the place so much they would hold their wedding there. “We spent so much time there drinking coffee and studying and we like the atmosphere,” says Kelly. “When we were looking for places, we were overwhelmed by the wedding industry. This is more personal and a local business — and is itself deeply supportive of local businesses.”

In October the couple, who have known each other two years, will be married in Tilden Park and then repair with friends and family to Local 123 for a party, which will include, Kelly hopes, a little dancing on the back patio.

*Editor’s note: We have replaced the word “complexion” with the word “character” because several Berkeleyside readers were concerned that the word “complexion” had a racial inference. We would like to state for record that the word “complexion” was employed to mean “appearance, character or aspect” as defined in the dictionary.

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | 21 comments |
Post tags: Clif Bar, Janet Delaney, Local123, west berkeley

State gives OK to expansion of Oakland enterprise zone into West Berkeley [Daily Planet]
Back to the drawing board for Maybeck-related landmark application [SF Chronicle]
Berkeley Rep celebrates 20th anniversary of its costumes shop queen [Broadway World]
Public Health Clinic on University set to close for renovations [City of Berkeley]
New anthropology museum director: “like being in a candy store” [Contra … Continue reading »]]>

State gives OK to expansion of Oakland enterprise zone into West Berkeley [Daily Planet]
Back to the drawing board for Maybeck-related landmark application [SF Chronicle]
Berkeley Rep celebrates 20th anniversary of its costumes shop queen [Broadway World]
Public Health Clinic on University set to close for renovations [City of Berkeley]
New anthropology museum director: “like being in a candy store” [Contra Costa Times]

[Photo of DNA sculpture at LHS by Kap Chris, Berkeleyside Flickr pool]

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: Berkeley Rep, Bernard Maybeck, west berkeley

To: John King, Architecture Critic, San Francisco Chronicle

From: Michael Goldin, Berkeley

Some time ago you were touring the West Berkeley area with [Berkeley architect] Regan Bice and you stopped by our new building – Swerve. We spoke about the district and had some differences over the question of how the district ought to change over time.

I was advocating densification and a radical re-thinking of how we plan the city. You kind of felt things were Continue reading »]]>

To: John King, Architecture Critic, San Francisco Chronicle

From: Michael Goldin, Berkeley

Some time ago you were touring the West Berkeley area with [Berkeley architect] Regan Bice and you stopped by our new building – Swerve. We spoke about the district and had some differences over the question of how the district ought to change over time.

I was advocating densification and a radical re-thinking of how we plan the city. You kind of felt things were just right as they were. I feel a mixed-use densification would provide the critical mass to fund public transportation programs, pay for infrastructure repair, and allow people to walk and to work and shop where they live — a European model of the city, really.

I am hoping you have reconsidered your position on urban planning in light of your recent article, State Exploring Detailed Strategy for Growth?

Time is of the essence. If it is not enough that the accelerated pace of technology and the globalization of the economy is forcing us to reconsider fundamental aspects of zoning and planning, then in light of the rapidly decaying environment, it has become imperative we do so. Watch this talk by Arun Majumdar – who, along with Steven Chu from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, (both in the Obama Administration), are advocating for sweeping change.

Although California is among the leaders in carbon reduction policy, bills such as SB375 and AB32 — which would see vehicle trips reduced through densification and mixed use in cities — will have little impact until local governments apply these concepts to local planning and zoning laws.

Even the renowned East Bay Green Corridor is meaningless without land use policy and laws that permit its implementation. We could not house the spin-offs from LBL or UC because West Berkeley Planning is mired in land-use policy from the 1950s.

I hope the current debate around land use in West Berkeley is not wasted; that it is used to motivate a more urgent and responsive change needed to improve our cities and our environment. The absurdity of this debate is best portrayed in Robert Gammon’s recent article in the East Bay Express.

If Berkeley, its people, or its politicians can’t lead substantive environmental change, who will?

I look forward to hearing from you again.

Michael Goldin

Michael Goldin is a business owner in Berkeley, where he also lives. He is involved in city development issues, including as the chair of the sustainability committee of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce. These are his personal views.

By guest. | Permalink | 4 comments |
Post tags: Urban planning: Berkeley, west berkeley

The program is in Berkeley to “recreate” to film an introduction about the gang murder that took place in May this year.

Fox put up signs on the street last Thursday, generating some heated email on the local neighborhood’s listserv. … Continue reading »]]> America’s Most Wanted, the Fox show that brings the glare of mass television to the task of tracking down fugitives from justice, will be filming on Allston Way between 9th and 10th Streets today (hat tip: John).

The program is in Berkeley to “recreate” to film an introduction about the gang murder that took place in May this year.

Fox put up signs on the street last Thursday, generating some heated email on the local neighborhood’s listserv. Some local residents object to the filming, and have been in touch Daryl Moore, District 2′s council member. Other residents have entered the debate, arguing that America’s Most Wanted has a strong record of finding criminals and bringing them to justice.

If anyone is at the filming, pass along a comment, photo or video to Berkeleyside.

By lance. | Permalink | One comment |
Post tags: america's most wanted, fugitives, west berkeley