The Berkeley Party (BP) Elections 2002
Newsletter #1, September 9, 2002
Assembled by Tim Hansen
BP Launches Election 2002 Newsletter: This is the first issue of an online newsletter focusing on the November 5th election. It will not be sent out more often than once every two weeks. Please submit your thoughts to info@berkeleyparty to be included in the newsletter. Your help would be appreciated.
BP Endorsement process starts: In two weeks, September 23rd, we will be emailing party members asking them to vote on the planks we have received and City Watch. The endorsement process for the BP is just like adopting a plank. Any party member can send in an endorsement, it will be posted on the Berkeley Party website and discussed on the election forum for at least two weeks, then the party members will be asked to vote. It takes 2/3s of the party members voting to endorse a candidate. So far we have received endorsement proposals for Dona Spring and Anne Wagley. The Berkeley Party has already endorsed the Measure P, the Height Initiative. Check the Berkeley Party Platform page for the latest list at http://www.berkeleyparty.com/party.html.
New online Berkeley Public Elections Forum
2002: The Berkeley Party is sponsoring a new election ActionForum. It can be found at: http://www.berkeleyparty.com/electionforum.html
BP Members running for City Council:
BP members Dona
Spring (incumbent) and member Bob Migdal are running for the City Council seat
in District 4. Also running in District
4 is L A Wood and David Freeman. BP member
Anne Wagley is running in District 8 against Gordon Wosiak, Andy Katz and Carlos Estrada. Anne
Wagley and has set up a website at www.annewagley.com. Dona Spring’s is at http://www.donaspring.com. Bob Migdal has not listed a website
yet. Check them out and bookmark them
as they will be updated often. The City
Clerk is listing candidates websites on the City’s Candidate Information page
at: www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/elections/candidates/default.htm
.
Neighborhood Groups lining up behind Measure P, the Height Initiative:
The following groups have endorsed Measure P: North East Berkeley Association (NEBA), Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Association (CENA), Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA), Berkeley Alliance of Neighborhood Associations (BANA), Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA), and The Berkeley Party.
FAQ: Measure P, The Height Initiative (send
us your questions, we will try to answer them in the next newsletter)
“What are the four most frequently asked questions about the Height Initiative?”
Reply - Martha Nicoloff: 8/22/02
1. Why are you concerned about the impact
of over-sized developments in the community?
As a person who has stood up for the plight of many neighborhoods in Berkeley over the years, I have often found myself assisting fellow citizens in various problem areas. More recently, I became pro-actively involved in civic affairs when it became apparent that city officials were repeatedly allowing construction of housing projects totally at variance with the Area Plans. These neighbor-involved Area Plans had been approved by the City Council and incorporated in the General Plan only to be ignored by them whenever they chose to do so.
Huge, oversized projects were scattered throughout the flatland of the city, having a scale, bulk and density much more appropriate for the downtown core than in outlying districts. It seemed remote that anything could be done to call into question the legality of these practices.
A committee was therefore formed to write an ordinance that would deal with the problem on a city-wide basis rather than in piecemeal fashion as had been done in the past. That is pretty much the history of the Height Initiative, (now titled MEASURE P). It is actually a companion to the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance, another initiative that passed in 1973. MEASURE P will provide Berkeley a more sensitive guide to in-fill development.
2. Will I be able to add height to my home
in case I need more space?
Yes. The Berkeley Height Ordinance has not changed the currently
permitted height of 28 feet to 35 feet, (i.e. In the less dense
residential zones of R-l, R-lA, R-2 & R-2A).
What has been changed is the process of getting a building permit. For several years, an increase in building height had been granted by simply obtaining an Administrative Use Permit or (AUP) at the Planning Department for a fee. This delegation of authority to the Planning Department staff has caused problems in hill zones resulting in too few of the surrounding neighbors being notified about planned additions.
Provisions in the Height Ordinance will assure neighbors (within 300 feet of the building site) of being notified by mail and being sent information about the addition. Furthermore, the Ordinance will require a Public Hearing to be held before the Zoning Adjustments Board to provide more construction details and hear neighborhood input before a decision is made.
3.
If Berkeley’s population increases, as the Association of Bay Area
Governments (ABAG) has predicted, where can the newcomers be accommodated ?
This is currently not a problem in Berkeley. Widespread reports have it that there are more vacant apartments in Berkeley now, than in the last twenty years. Additionally, there are almost 450 apartment units in the Zoning permit pipeline, just waiting to be added to the housing stock. Because of this huge increase in vacancies, rents are in flux at this time.
A frequent statement made by notable politicians in Berkeley is that “affordable” housing units are needed desperately. They give the mistaken impression that all of the units in the “big bulkies” will be affordable, when in fact, only 20% or less are housing for lower income residents. If the notable officials mean they are seeking “financially assisted” housing for low-income tenants, then the city can help these tenants move into vacancies, or even purchase homes, using Section 8 certificates. These “rent assisting certificates” have gone unused in Berkeley, even though local developers are assured full market-rate rent with the help of Federal funding.
The University of California has housing goals to construct up to 4,600 beds for students, by the year 2005. Mayor Jerry Brown welcomes Cal students to Oakland and is urging construction of 6000 new apartment units in the downtown near the city’s center. These developments could benefit Berkeley students as it is a short trip by BART to the U.C. Campus .The necessity of owning an auto will no longer be as urgent and congestion could be significantly reduced
4.
How can urban sprawl be reduced?
First of all, urban sprawl can be significantly reduced if cities around the Bay each include a number of affordable housing units within their new market-rate housing projects. (Berkeley has done so ever since NPO was passed in l973.)
Secondly, sprawl does not depend on population increases alone. Some cities have continued to spread out without any big population increases. It must be understood, sprawl also begins when people change their life style and their land-use plans and patterns. For example, by “sprawl” one must include the trading in of current homes for larger ones on larger lots (for example, an eight bedroom house with a four car garage). By sprawl, one should also include the urban expansion/extension that takes place when secondary homes are built in mountain habitats, forests or near the ocean.
In this context, Berkeley is:
- the third densest city in Northern California;
- has already fulfilled its regional quota of increased housing units for several years to come;
- hosts a dynamic university that draws thousands every day;
- is bisected by the Hayward fault, well-recognized for its latent earthquake potential.
No one city should be expected to solve regional population problems without the assistance of its adjoining cities. Sprawl can be checked if these cities decide to absorb greater densities in their downtown centers.
Martha Nicoloff, anicoloff@aol.com