City Council Special Meeting eAgenda June 26, 2025
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REVISED PROCLAMATION
CALLING A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE
BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL
(REVISED TO UPDATE THE TELECONFERENCE LOCATION)
In accordance with the authority in me vested, I do hereby call the Berkeley City Council in special session as follows:
Thursday, June 26, 2025
6:00 PM
SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD ROOM - 1231 ADDISON STREET, BERKELEY, CA 94702 TELECONFERENCE LOCATION - 1032 BANCROFT WAY, BERKELEY, CA 94710 Adena Ishii, Mayor
Councilmembers:
District 1 – Rashi Kesarwani
District 5 – Shoshana O’Keefe
District 2 – Terry Taplin
District 6 – Brent Blackaby
District 3 – Ben Bartlett
District 7 – Cecilia Lunaparra
District 4 – Igor Tregub
District 8 – Mark Humbert
This meeting will be conducted in a hybrid model with both in-person attendance and virtual participation. Live captioned broadcasts of Council meetings are available on B-TV (Channel 33) and via internet video stream at http://berkeley.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=1244 . All Council meetings are recorded.
To access the meeting remotely use this URL:
https://cityofberkeley-info.zoomgov.com/j/1612354681
. To request to speak, use the “raise hand” function in Zoom. To join by phone: Dial 1-669-254-5252 or 1-833-568-8864 (Toll Free)
and enter
Meeting ID: 161 235 4681.
To provide public comment, Press *9 and wait to be recognized by the Chair. To submit a written communication for the public record, email [email protected]
.
This meeting will be conducted in accordance with the Brown Act, Government Code Section 54953. Any member of the public may attend this meeting, however, if you are feeling sick, please do not attend the meeting in person. The City Council may take action related to any subject listed on the Agenda.
Pursuant to the City Council Rules of Procedure and State Law, the presiding officer may remove, or cause the removal of, an individual for disrupting the meeting. Prior to removing an individual, the presiding officer shall warn the individual that their behavior is disrupting the meeting and that their failure to cease their behavior may result in their removal. The presiding officer may then remove the individual if they do not promptly cease their disruptive behavior. “Disrupting” means engaging in behavior during a meeting of a legislative body that actually disrupts, disturbs, impedes, or renders infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting and includes, but is not limited to, a failure to comply with reasonable and lawful regulations adopted by a legislative body, or engaging in behavior that constitutes use of force or a true threat of force.
Government Code Section 84308 (Levine Act)
- Parties to a proceeding involving a license, permit, or other entitlement for use are required to disclose if they made contributions over $500 within the prior 12 months to any City employee or officer. Parties and participants with a financial interest are prohibited from making more than $500 in contributions to a decisionmaker for the 12 months after the final decision is rendered on the proceeding. The above contribution disclosures and restrictions do not apply when the proceeding is competitively bid, or involves a personnel or labor contract. For more information, see Government Code Section 84308.
Preliminary Matters
Roll Call:
Action Calendar
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The public may comment on each item listed on the agenda for action. For items moved to the Action Calendar from the Consent Calendar or Information Calendar, persons who spoke on the item during the Consent Calendar public comment period may speak again during the Action Calendar public comment period on the item The Presiding Officer will request that persons wishing to speak line up at the podium, or use the "raise hand" function in Zoom, to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time. If ten or fewer persons are interested in speaking on an individual agenda item, each speaker may speak for two minutes. If there are more than ten persons interested in speaking, the Presiding Officer may limit the public comment for all speakers to one minute per speaker. Speakers are permitted to yield their time to one other speaker, however no one speaker shall have more than four minutes. The Presiding Officer may, with the consent of persons representing both sides of an issue, allocate a block of time to each side to present their issue.
Action items may be reordered at the discretion of the Chair with the consent of Council.
The Presiding Officer may open and close an additional comment period for Action items on this agenda (excluding any public hearings, appeals, and/or quasi-judicial matters), at the start of the Action Calendar. Those who speak on an item during this comment period may not speak a second time when the item is taken up by Council.
Action Calendar – Public Hearings
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Staff shall introduce the public hearing item and present their comments. For certain hearings, this is followed by five-minute presentations each by first the appellant and then the applicant. The Presiding Officer will request that persons wishing to speak line up at the podium, or use the "raise hand" function in Zoom, to be recognized and to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time.
If ten or fewer persons are interested in speaking during a public hearing, each speaker may speak for two minutes. If there are more than ten persons interested in speaking, the Presiding Officer may limit the public comment for all speakers to one minute per speaker. Speakers are permitted to yield their time to one other speaker, however no one speaker shall have more than four minutes. The Presiding Officer may with the consent of persons representing both sides of an issue allocate a block of time to each side to present their issue.
When applicable, each member of the City Council shall verbally disclose all ex parte contacts concerning the subject of the hearing. Councilmembers shall also submit a report of such contacts in writing prior to the commencement of the hearing. Written reports shall be available for public review in the office of the City Clerk.
1. -Zoning Ordinance and General Plan Amendments Relating to Middle Housing Supplemental Material (Supp 2) (Planning Department)
Revised Material (Supp 2) (Councilmember Kesarwani)
Revised Material (Supp 2) (Councilmember Tregub)
Presentation
From: City Manager
Recommendation:
Conduct a public hearing, and upon conclusion:
1. Adopt first reading of an ordinance amending Berkeley Municipal Code Title 23 (Zoning Ordinance) and the Zoning Map, for the purposes of encouraging development of “middle housing” in areas currently zoned R-1, R-1A, R-2, R-2A and MU-R (“low-density residential districts”), with an effective date of November 1, 2025; and
2. Adopt a Resolution amending the General Plan for the same purpose.
Financial Implications:
See report
Contact: Jordan Klein, Planning and Development, (510) 981-7400 Adjournment
I hereby request that the City Clerk of the City of Berkeley cause personal notice to be given to each member of the Berkeley City Council on the time and place of said meeting, forthwith.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the official seal of the City of Berkeley to be affixed on this 16 th
day of June, 2025.
/s/ Adena Ishii, Mayor
Public Notice – this Proclamation serves as the official agenda for this meeting.
ATTEST:
Date: June 16, 2025
Mark Numainville, City Clerk
NOTICE CONCERNING YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
: If you object to a decision by the City Council to approve or deny a use permit or variance for a project the following requirements and restrictions apply: 1) No lawsuit challenging a City decision to deny (Code Civ. Proc. §1094.6(b)) or approve (Gov. Code 65009(c)(5)) a use permit or variance may be filed more than 90 days after the date the Notice of Decision of the action of the City Council is mailed. Any lawsuit not filed within that 90-day period will be barred. 2) In any lawsuit that may be filed against a City Council decision to approve or deny a use permit or variance, the issues and evidence will be limited to those raised by you or someone else, orally or in writing, at a public hearing or prior to the close of the last public hearing on the project.
Archived indexed video streams are available at:
https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas .
Channel 33 rebroadcasts the following Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. and Sunday at 9:00 a.m.
Communications to the City Council are public record and will become part of the City’s electronic records, which are accessible through the City’s website.
Please note: e-mail addresses, names, addresses, and other contact information are not required, but if included in any communication to the City Council, will become part of the public record.
If you do not want your e-mail address or any other contact information to be made public, you may deliver communications via U.S. Postal Service to the City Clerk Department at 2180 Milvia Street. If you do not want your contact information included in the public record, please do not include that information in your communication. Please contact the City Clerk Department for further information.
Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the City Council regarding any item on this agenda will be made available for public inspection at the public counter at the City Clerk Department located on the first floor of City Hall located at 2180 Milvia Street, and through the City's online records portal:
https://records.cityofberkeley.info/
.
Agendas, agenda reports, and revised/supplemental material may be accessed via the online agenda for this meeting at:
https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/city-council-agendas and may be accessed at reference desks at the following locations:
City Clerk Department - 2180 Milvia Street, First Floor Tel: 510-981-6900, TDD: 510-981-6903, Fax: 510-981-6901 Email:
[email protected]
Libraries: Main – 2090 Kittredge Street,
Claremont Branch – 2940 Benvenue, West Branch – 1125 University, North Branch – 1170 The Alameda, Tarea Hall Pittman South Branch – 1901 Russell COMMUNICATION ACCESS INFORMATION:
This meeting is being held in a wheelchair accessible location.
To request a disability-related accommodation(s) to participate in the meeting, including auxiliary aids or services, please contact the Disability Services specialist at [email protected]
, (510) 981-6418 (V), or (510) 981-6347 (TDD) at least three business days before the meeting date.
Please refrain from wearing scented products to this meeting.
Captioning services are provided at the meeting, on B-TV, and on the Internet. In addition, assisted listening devices for the hearing impaired are available from the City Clerk prior to the meeting, and are to be returned before the end of the meeting.
Communications
Council rules limit action on Communications to referral to the City Manager and/or Boards and Commissions for investigation and/or recommendations. All communications submitted to Council are public record. Copies of individual communications are available for viewing at the City Clerk Department and through Records Online
.
Item #1: Zoning Ordinance and General Plan Amendments Relating to Middle Housing Jennifer Fisher
Anne Weinberger
Lisa Friedlander
Leni Siegel
Aubrey Grove
Jane Martin
Lauren Parsons
Wade Skeels
Carol Hirth (2)
Lisa Bruce
Colleen Whitney
Virginia Browning
Eva Herzer and Dechen Tsering
Daniel Borgstrom
John Oram
Neelam Patil
Leah Kaizer
Bill Kristy
T.M. Scruggs
Jane Freeman
Kathy Stuart
Marissa Moss
Janice Murota
Kori Kody
Silvia Turchin
Lynn Sherrell
Micky Duxbury (4)
Julie Lamont
Matt Wickland
Julie Kramer
Merle Lustig
Julie Weeks
Barbara Erickson
Susan Brooks
Toni Mester
Janice Schroeder
Fred Krieger
Gael Alcock
Christopher Hamilton
Darlene Bronson
Chris Hudson
Jed Harris
Lance Williams
Kenneth Laws
Katherine de Runtz
Joan Garvin
Alison de Runtz
Berkeley Neighborhoods Council Executive Committee
Toni Casal
Laura Klein
Mimi Moungovan
David Whipple
Elsie Martinez
Stephanie Lim
Dr. Bruce Feingold
Lisa Vogel
Robert Riemer
Summer Brenner
Cindy Shamban
Helen Guerrant Toy
Dr. A. Boersma
Virginia Warheit
36 Similarly worded form letters “I’m writing to urge you to pass…” 95 Similarly worded form letters “Please DO NOT PASS…”