Minimum size?
or Maximum neighbors!
Tell Berkeley City Council and the BART board:
Yes to 12 at both stations!
On April 6, 2022 the Berkeley Planning Commission (PC) officially recommended increasing the height limit at Berkeley’s BART stations from 7 to 12 stories!
7 is the minimum number of stories the city needs to zone the sites to be compliant with state law but the Final EIR identifies 12 stories as better for fighting climate change - which is true! - but we know there are lots more reasons to support 12. It's true that 12 stories could become 18 with state density bonus, but many think that outcome is unlikely.
The City Council will vote on this June 2 (meeting starts at 6). Tell them you want 12 stories and to support PC’s recommendation aka “Option B.”
The BART board will be voting a week later on June 9. Email the board of directors as well!
* Get caught up: Read the staff report, check out the PC meeting’s presentation, read the meeting minutes and Berkeleyside coverage
Send a Letter & Give Public Comment
Send an email to decisionmakers right now. (council@cityofberkeley.info and BoardofDirectors@bart.gov) There's no sample letter to copy and paste at this time, because unique messages REALLY get noticed. You can assemble a letter using talking points below, and be sure to include some of your own words:
I am a Berkeley resident and I support 12 stories at North Berkeley BART. Allowing more height provides more flexibility in the design, especially when stepping down height at the edges of the lot. More height also means more open space.
Given the choice between building more homes and providing more parking, the choice is obviously homes. Excess parking is not needed, and reducing parking at North Berkeley BART will reduce the traffic in our neighborhood. BART's own 200 spot maximum for North Berkeley is good.
Our community needs the maximum amount of affordable homes as quickly as possible. While Berkeley has set aside $53 million for this, not all of that money is here yet. We must support the creation of market rate homes to help pay for the affordable ones.
The economic, social, and environmental benefits of hundreds of households living next to high quality transit in high-opportunity neighborhoods for years to come are tremendous. We must not let fear of temporary discomfort lock us into a less ambitious trajectory.
Every part of Berkeley is attractive because of our mild climate, superior tenant protections, justice-oriented leaders, walkable streets, bike and bus networks, excellent K-12 schools, and a world class public university. Equitable zoning is equal zoning because we are all in this together. Development at North Berkeley should not be smaller than Ashby just because our NIMBYs are louder.
Before the big vote on June 2
Need help meeting with your councilmember? Fill out this quick form and we’ll try to match you up with others in your district. We’re especially looking for people who live in districts 4, 5, and 6.
Public Comment Tips
Start out with your name and your location relative to North Berkeley BART, e.g. "2 blocks from," "a 5 minute walk away," "across the street from."
If it helps, write down what you want to say ahead of time. You absolutely do not need to be a good public speaker to make an impact with your public comment.
Keep it short. You’re not going to have a lot of time; all speakers get a strict time limit, maybe 1 minute. Stick to 1 or 2 talking points. (If you can, practice your comments beforehand and time yourself to make sure you get to say everything that you want.)
Call out someone else by name that you agree with. i.e. “Janet really hit the nail on the head when she said…” or “I agree with Alex that...”
If you have a little time left, thank commissioners, councilmembers, and/or staffpeople for their hard work on this issue or just thank them for their time. It costs nothing to be polite!