Councilmember Susan Wengraf |
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Zoning Reform Update
March 24, 2021
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Revised Zoning Reform Items |
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==In my last newsletter, I reported to you about the Council item "Inclusive Neighborhood Scale Zoning," which proposed to re-zone R1 and R2 single family zoning to allow for multiple units on single family parcels in the City of Berkeley, as a means of achieving our Housing Element goals. In response, many of you took the time and trouble to write emails to the City Council and to speak at the Land Use Policy Committee Meeting. Thank you for speaking up and sharing your opinions. You were very effective. Vice-Mayor Droste withdrew the item and now has submitted a new revised item.
==The new revised item includes an improved emphasis on public safety, which is very important to all of us living in the high hazard fire area. It also includes a more detailed definition of "proximity to transit".
==However, there is a lot of misinformation and confusion about what is or is not included in the item, the impacts that it will have on our landscape, on public safety, and on our ability as a community to have input into our built environment. Because of this confusion, the proposal deserves a very transparent and robust community engagement process. I believe that it is premature for the City Council to direct staff to pursue specific zoning concepts before we have held several workshops with stakeholders throughout the city. Re-zoning and doing away with the single family zoning category is a huge change with many implications - especially in District 6, where single family zoning (R-1) is the predominant zoning north of Cedar St. There are still too many questions that need to be explored before any of us can understand the impact it will have on the many aspects of our investment in Berkeley and quality of life in the future.
==For these reasons, I am co-sponsoring this item, which focuses on developing a process for community participation in the Housing Element process.
==Planning for 9,000 housing units, as allocated in the Housing Element, is a complex process. Allowing multi-unit housing throughout the city may be a good strategy, but it should be considered along with many other approaches that need to be studied and vetted.
==Let's have a community-wide discussion and consider all the many zoning concepts and planning tools before we move forward with just one or two ideas.
==Your comments were very effective when you wrote previously about this item.
==Please join the City Council meeting on Thursday, July 25th at 6pm and let your voices be heard. I need to know what you are thinking about this so I can represent you.
==To join the Zoom meeting click here.
==To join by phone: Dial 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (Toll Free) and enter Meeting ID: 821 3323 3284. If you wish to comment during the public comment portion of the agenda, Press *9 and wait to be recognized by the Chair.
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==Gas-powered leaf blowers are loud, annoying, and ubiquitous. Leaf blowers with gasoline engines are illegal to use in Berkeley. Please tell your garden crew that they need to replace their gasoline leaf blowers with electric ones, or use brooms. There is no such thing as "a permit to use a gas leaf blower."
==California’s statewide Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) reports that leaf blowers emit as much smog-forming pollution after just one hour of use as driving a 2016 Toyota Camry about 1,100 miles. CalEPA adds that landscape workers running a leaf blower are exposed to 10 times more ultra-fine particles — invisible to the naked eye but easily lodged into the lining of your lungs — than someone standing next to a busy road.
==Please take responsibility to educate your workers. It is in the best interest of their health and our community!
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==The City of Berkeley and other vaccine distributors continue to add vaccine appointments and expand vaccine eligibility. In addition to all residents who are 65 and older, essential workers in the following sectors are now eligible:
- public transit workers, including airport and commercial airlines
- education and childcare
- emergency services
- food and agriculture, including restaurants, grocery, convenience stores
==Vaccine appointments are also now open to all residents age 16 and older with certain state-defined underlying health conditions. People with the following conditions are strongly encouraged to seek vaccination with a primary health care provider or system, or in an alternate clinical setting. Check first with your usual health care provider.
- Cancer, current with weakened immune system
- Chronic kidney disease, stage 4 or above
- Chronic pulmonary disease, oxygen dependent
- Down syndrome
- Solid organ transplant, leading to a weakened immune system
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease
- Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies (but not hypertension)
- Severe obesity (Body Mass Index ≥ 40 kg/m2)
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus with hemoglobin A1c level greater than 7.5 percent
==Vaccinations are also available at the Oakland Coliseum
Check availability and schedule appointments for the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum at myturn.ca.gov or by calling 833-422-4255.
==Supply is limited everywhere, so sign up for as many lists as you can to maximize opportunities to receive a vaccine.
==The City recommends that Berkeley residents sign up for:
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Asian American Pacific Islander Youth Rally |
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==Please join me on Sun., March 28 from 2-4 p.m. at Aquatic Park (next to Waterside Workshops, 84 Bolivar Drive) for a youth rally organized by middle school students to show solidary for our Asian American Pacific Islander community.
==Please wear a facial covering and join us as we march to the pedestrian overcrossing. For more information, please visit the rally website here.
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==AC Alert will be Berkeley's primary emergency alerting system for the public. It is one of the tools the City of Berkeley uses to communicate emergency information and instructions to the community. AC Alert can send:
- Voice alerts to phones
- SMS text messages
- Email
- TTY/TDD messages
Listed AT&T "land lines" are automatically included to receive voice messages from AC Alert for emergency warnings. Community members must sign up to receive voice or text alerts on cell phones, VoIP phones, unlisted phones, TTY/TDDs or through email.
If you want to receive emergency alerts and updates, sign up for AC Alert.
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- Need a new refuse can?
- Have a favorite pothole you want filled?
- Want to report illegal dumping?
CALL 311
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Susan Wengraf
Berkeley City Council District 6
(510) 981-7160
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