The project sailed through the oft-arduous city approval process because the owners, who intend to live on the property, worked with neighbors and made changes in response to their concerns.
A City Council majority affirmed approval Thursday night of an 18-story building with 274 units planned at the site of the downtown Berkeley Walgreens at 2190 Shattuck Ave.
One project will serve seniors. The other will serve the homeless, veterans, and low-income residents.
BART has the authority to build what it wants at the station, but the City Council and neighbors weighed in this week.
The time has come to tear down the North Berkeley BART parking lot and put up a mixed-use neighborhood center that includes housing and is designed to be compatible with the character of the surrounding residential area.
State and city laws have made it easier, in theory, to build backyard cottages in Berkeley. In practice planners sometimes seem to need to catch up with the new regulations.
The developer and preservationists had hoped to save it, but the house was so large it would have to be cut in two to be brought through Berkeley streets.
The rules for eviction are stringent. There should be exemptions created so landlords who provide short-term rentals to those who have suffered a natural disaster can make sure tenants do not overstay.
A group of neighbors has formed South Berkeley Now! to promote transit-oriented, low-income and service-enriched housing in the neighborhood along Adeline Street in South Berkeley.
Citing the "tremendous" need for new housing in Berkeley, and its location near BART along key transit lines, officials overturned a zoning board vote to reject a five-story "co-housing" project at Shattuck and Ashby.
Randy Shaw argues more apartment complexes must be built in neighborhoods like the Elmwood and Thousand Oaks to ensure teachers and nurses can afford to live here. He will talk at Books Inc. on Thursday.
Zoning board members got their first chance to weigh in on plans for a new 12-story building proposed on Shattuck at Berkeley Way. Their advice? Have some fun with the design so it reflects more of Berkeley's quirkiness.
A new affordable housing project for seniors, on land at Oxford and Cedar streets donated by — and next to — All Souls Episcopal Parish, won unanimous approval Thursday night from Berkeley's zoning board.
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