Berkeley City Council
September 29, 2026

WEST BERKELEY PLAN
VII. LAND USE REGULATIONS OF THE WEST BERKELEY
PLAN - for adoption in principle
Status of the Regulations
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The land use r~gulations below are central to the West Berkeley Plan. They spell out generally what uses are permitted and prohibited in each of the districts qeated by the Plan, what allowable height and bulk standards ·would be, and set forth a series of regulatory concepts for' special situations: These include limits on changes of use of manufacturing facilities, on buffers between residential and heavy manufacturing sites, and other issues. They are much of what the framers of the West Berkeley Plan understand to be the content of the Plan.

N_ev_ertheless, these regulations are proposed for adoption.in principle only, rather than adoption as an amendment to Berkeley's General Plan (~s the rest of the document is). They are proposed for technical reasons. Development regulations such as these shou.ld ultimat~ly reside in the Zoning Ordinance, and will befouna'there once West Berkeley's zoning is brought into conformity with the Plan. City staff anticipates that the zoning will be drafted and approved next year; The procedure for adopting the zoning changes should be relatively streamlined, as it wiU be relying o~ the West Berkeley Plan Environmental Impact Report as environmental documentation. If these regulations were adopted as part of the General Plan, any change to them, however minor, would require a General Plan amendment. Such amendments are-because of state planning law_:_ procedurally complex, and limited in number.

For these reasons, adoption of this section in principle is recommended. Such adoption will make clear that zoning pr~visions should closely follow the Plan, while assuring the most appropriate and expeditious procedure for enacting and amending that zoning.

District permitted and prohibited uses (See also Special Situations section) Generally Permitted and Prohi~ited Uses
Manufacturing District
See also Development Standards, Manufacturing/Residential Buffers for regula­ tions affecting certain sites
Permitted Uses (see Development Standa!9-s chart fo! sizes of projects requiring Administrative Use Permit, Use Permit with Public Hearing) • Arts & Crafts Uses (workspaces only, not live-work)
• Auto body & painting
• Automobile dismantling ("junkyards")
• Auto repair
• Bus, Cab, truck, and public utility depots .
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• Composting
• Construction yards and associated offices
• Farms and Agricultural establishments
• Industrial Product Sales {Gases & Chemicals)
• Manufacturing: Food processing, textiles, apparel, lumber & wood products, furniture, paper & allied products, printing (exclusive of publishing); asphalt products, leather products (exclusive of primary production ofleather); stone, clay, and glass products; fabricated metals, industrial machinery, electrical machinery & electronics, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, miscellaneous manufacturing.
• Recyclable materials collection points, exclusive of facilities handling primarily hazardous waste
• Parking lots (for uses located in the district)
• Self-storage ("mini-storage")
• Warehouses
• Wholesale trade and distribution
Uses always requiring Public Hearing (regardless of project size) • Chemicals, including pharmaceuticals (exclusive of the manufacturing of alkalies, chlorine, chemical warfare gases, DDT, chloroform, fertilizers, and explosives)
• Parking structures
• Primary metals, including smelting and refining
Ancillary Uses (Uses permitted only as an integral part of manufacturing • Factory Outlets (for products manufactured on site)
• Laboratories
• Offices
Prohibited Uses 1
• Banks and financial establishments
• Gasoline stations
• Group quarters residences
• Hazardous waste transfer stations & disposal facilities (freestanding facilities) • Hotels and motels
• Laboratories (freestanding)
• Live-work
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(Manufacturing District -Prohibited Uses continued)
• Manufacturing: Tobacco products;alkalies, chlorine, chemical warfare gases, DDT, pesticides, chloroform,. fertilizers, explosives; primary production of leather; petroleum refining: products of p-~troleum a~d coal not elsewhere classified; tires, inner tubes, synthetic rubber, asbesto~ products, ordnance and accessories, reprocessing of nuclear cores &:. scrap •
• Offices (freestanding) •
• Pubfishing ..
• Residences
• Restaurants
• Retail establishments, except permitted factory-outlets • Schools and day care facilities
Mixed Manufacturing District
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See also Development Standards, Large Site Development Process; Manufactur- ing/Residential Buffers (regulations affecting frontage along portions of 7th St., Dwight Way)
Permitted Uses (see Development Standards chart.for sizes of projects requiring Administrative Use Permit, Use P~m1it with Public Hearing) • "
• Arts & C:rafts Uses (workspace~ only, not live-work)
• Auto body & painting
• Automobile dismantling ("junkyards")
• Auto repair
• Bus, Cab, truck, and pu,l;>lic utility depots
• Composting
• Construction yards and associated offices
• Farms and Agricultural establishments
• Industrial Product Sales (Gases & Chemicals
• Manufacturing: Food processing, textiles, apparel, lumber & wood products, furniture, paper & allied products, printing (exclusive of publishing); asphalt products, leather products (exclusive of primary production ofleather); stone, clay, and glass products; fabricated metals, i~dustrial mac~inery, electrical machinery & electronics, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, miscellaneous manufacturing.
• Parking Lots (for uses located in the district)
• Recyclable materials collection points, exclusive· of facilities handling primarily hazardous waste
• Warehouses
• Wholesale trade and distribution
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Uses Always Requiring Public Hearing (regardless of project size) • Chemicals, including pharmaceuticals (exclusive of the manufacturing of alkalies, chlorine, chemical warfare gases, DDT, chloroform, fertilizers, and explosives)
• Parking structures
• Primary metals, including smelting and refining
Ancillary Uses (Uses permitted only as an integral part of manufacturing or wholesale trade site)
• Factory Outlets (for products manufactured on site)
• Laboratories on the ground floor
• Offices on the ground floor
Upper story Uses (Uses permitted on the second story or above) • Laboratories (other than ancillary)
• Offices (other than ancillary)
• Publishing
Prohibited Uses
• Banks and financial establishments
• Gasoline stations
• Group quarters residences
• Hazardous waste transfer stations & disposal facilities (freestanding facilities) • Hotels and motels
• Laboratories (freestanding)
• Live-work
• Manufacturing: Tobacco products, alkalies, chlorine, chemical warfare gases, DDT, pesticides, chloroform, fertilizers, explosives; primary production of leather; petroleum refining, products of petroleum and coal not elsewhere classified; tires, inner tubes, synthetic rubber, asbestos products, ordnance and accessories, reprocessing of nuclear cores &: scrap
• Offices (freestanding)
• Residences
• Restaurants
• Retail establishments, except permitted factory outlets • Schools and day care facilities
• Self-storage ("mini-storage")
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Mixed Use/Light Industrial District ("Green")
See also Development Standards; Conversions from Manufacturing to Other Uses; Live'."Work Development
Permitted Uses (see Development Standards chart for sizes of projects requiring Administrative Use Permit, Use Permit with Public Hearing)

1. Industrial & Agricuitural Uses
• Arts and Crafts (workspaces only, live-work limited)
• Auto repair
• Bus, Cab, truck, and public utility depots
• Construction yards & associated 'Offices
• Farms & agricultural establishments
• Manufacturing: Food processing,(e.g. bakeries, wineries); textiles,.apparel, furniture, lumber & wood prod"!-lcts, printing and publishing; stone, clay, and glass products; industrial machi~~ry; electrical machinery & electronics (ex­ cept production of semiconductors and related devices); scientific instru­ ments; miscellaneous manufacturing
• Manufacturing Repair and Service
• Recyclable materials collection points, exclusive of facilities handling prima- rily hazardous waste
• Vocational Schools (providing training for uses in district) • Warehouses
• Wholesale trade and distribution

2. Offices and Services
• Offices-General, medical, and professional (see Conversions from manufac- turing to other uses)

3. Retail·
• Building Materials and Garden Supplies
• Business Services foot to exceed 3,QOO sq. ft.)

4. Other Uses
• Parking lots (for muses located in the district)
Uses Always Requiring Public Hearing (regardless of project size) • Auto body and painting
• Day Care
• Live-Work (Manufacturing and Arts & Crafts uses only) • Manufacturing of leather products, rubber products, plastic products, paper products, fabricated metals
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• Parking structure.s and parking lots (not for uses located in the district) • Restaurants
• Schools (other than Vocational Schools described above) • Shelters for Homeless Persons
Uses Permitted in Selected Locations-portions of Mixed Use/Light Industrial district north of Gilman St. and west of 3rd St. (Southern Pacific RR) • Laboratories (freestanding)*
• Manufacture of pharmaceuticals
Prohibited Uses
• Banks and Financial establishments (public service)
• Gasoline stations
• Group Quarters other than Shelters for Homeless Persons • Hazardous waste transfer stations&: disposal facilities (freestanding facilities) • Hotels and Motels
• Manufacturing-All uses prohibited in Manufacturing zone and Chemicals (except pharmaceuticals in selected locations), petroleum products, primary metals processing (e.g. "foundries"), production of semiconductors and re­ lated devices, transportation equipment and primary production of leather, rubber, plastic, or paper
• Residences (live/work conditionally permitted, see above) • Retail stores, except a:s listed above
• Self-storage ("mini-stor~ge")
Mixed Use/Residential District
See also Development Standards, Conversions from Manufacturing to Other Uses, Permitted Uses, Live-Work
Permitted Uses (see Development Standards chart for sizes of projects requiring Administrative Use Permit, Use Permit with Public Hearing)·

1. Residential
• Residences-Single-family, Multi-family, Group Quarters • Day Care
• Schools

2. Industrial&: Agricultural
• Arts and Crafts ( workspaces only)
• Farms and Agricultural establishments
*Pending further study when Hazard Ranking System is developed for rezoning. Certain types of laboratories may be inappropriate for these locations.

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. (Mixed Use/Residential District -Permitted Uses continued) • Manufacturing Repair and Service
• Recyclabl_e materials collection points, exclusive of facilities handling prima- rily hazardous waste
• Warehouses
• ·wholesale.trade and distributi~n
3, Retail
• Building Materials and Garden Supplies_
• Business Services
• Food Stores (not to exceed 5,000 sq. ft.)
• Cleaners, laundries, and laundromats

4. Other Uses
• Parking lots {for uses located in the district)
Uses Always Requiring Public Hearing (regardless of project size) • Auto body, auto painting, auto repair (with setbacks from residential use) • Bus, Cab, truck, and public utility depots
• Construction yards and associated offices
• Live-work (work activities those permitted in district) • Manufacturing-Food processing (e.~. bakeries·, wineries), clothing & textile production, furniture production, wood products, printing and publishing; stone, clay, and glass products; industrial machinery, electrical machinery & electronics (except production of semiconductors and related devices), scien­ tific instruments, miscellaneous manufacturing, leather products, rubber prod­ ucts, plastic products, paper products •
• Parking lots (not for uses located in the ~istrict) • • Restaurants
Prohibited Uses
• Banks and financial establishments (public service)
• Gasoline stations
• Hazardous waste transfer stations & disposal facilities (freestanding facilities) • Hotels and motels
• Laboratories*
• Manufacturing-All uses prohibited in.Manufacturing zone and Chemicals (including pharmaceuticals), lumber milling, petroleum products, primary metals processing, production ofsemiconductors and related devices, primary production of leather, rubber, plastic, or paper (e.g. pulp mills) *Pending further study when Hazard Ranking System is developed for rezoning. Certain types of laboratories·may be appropriate for this district
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• Retail stores, except as listed above •
Commercial District See also Development Standards, Live-Work Generally Permitted Uses (see Development Standards chart for sizes of projects requiring Administrative Use Permit, Use Permit with Public Hearing) L Retail.
• Barber shops, beauty salons, and other hair cuteries
• Gasoline stations
• Hotels and motels
• Cleaners, laundries, and laundromats
• Restaurants
• Retail stores (all types)

2. Residential
• Day Care
• Schools

3. Live-Work
• Live-work (work activities those permitted in district)

4. Offices
• Banks and financial establishments
• Business Services (above the ground floor in designated commercial nodes) • Offices-General; Medical, and Professional (above the ground floor in desig- nated commercial nodes)

5. Industrial and Agricultural
• Arts and Crafts (workspaces)
• Auto body, auto painting, and auto repair
• Farms and agricultural establishments
• Wholesale trade and distribution

6. Other Uses
• Parking lots (for uses located in the district)
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Uses Always Requiring Public Hearing (regardless of project size) • Construction yards and associated offices
• Manufacturing-Food processing, printing and publishing, wood products, furniture making; stone, clay, and glass products
• Parking structures, and parking lots (not for uses in the districts) • Recyclable materials collection points, exclusive of facilities handling primarily hazardous waste
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• Residential uses-single family, multi-family, and group quarters {above the ground floor in designated commercial nodes)
Prohibited Uses-Commercial District
• Bus, Cab, truck, and public utility depots
• Hazardous waste transfer stations & disposal facilities (freestanding facilities) • Laboratories (freestanding)
• Manufacturing (other than uses specified above)
Residential Districts
See also Development Standards
Permitted Uses in All Residential Zones-RlA, R-3, R-4
• Parks, playgrounds, playlots
• Day care for six or fewer children
Uses Requiring a Public Hearing (regardless of project size) in All Residential Zones • Churches, Community Centers, and Libraries
• Day Care
• Food stores (less than 3,000 sq. ft.)
• Cleaners, laundries, and laundromats
• Residence~ 1 unit, 2 unit
• S.chools
Uses Requiring a Public Hearing (regardless of project size) in R-3, R-4 z~nes only, not permitted in R-lA zones
• Group Quarters
• Medical buildings and hospitals·
• Multiple dwellings
Uses Requiring a Public Hearing (regardless of project size) in R-4 zone only, not permit­ ted in R-lA and R-3 zones
• Hotels and motels
• Institutions and offices
• Retail ancillary to hotels, motels, insdtutions and ~ffices . Uses Prohibited in All Residential Zones
• All other uses-agricultural, other retail, manufacturing,. wholesaling Note: Most of the "residential core" area of West Berkeley between Dwight and Camelia (excluding University Ave.) and 6th St. and the San Pablo commercial strip is zoned R-lA. However, parts of the blocks on either side of University Ave. are zoned R-3 or R-4.

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Table 1-5: Selected Development Standards by Zone
Use Permit
Type of Height & Bulk Thresholds 1 Parking
Standard (maximum) (public hearing) (minimum; by use) Traffic Manufacturing • 3 stories/45 feet • Mfg: 40,000 sq. ft. • Mfg. assembly & •Demonstrate ability to • FAR: 2 or where EIR req'd production:1/1000 sq. ft. • meet Level of Service • Other lndust: 40,000 • Warehouse: 1/1000 standard "D"or "E" as or where EIR req'd • Offices: 2/1000 appropriate
• Retail(ancillary): 2/1,000
Mixed • 3 stories/45 feet • Mfg: 40,000 sq. ft. or • Mfg. assembly & • Demonstrate ability to Manufacturing • FAR: 2 where EIR req'd. production:1/1000 sq. ft. meet Level of Service • Other lndust: 40,000 • Warehouse: 1/1000 standard "O" or "E" or where EIR req'd • Labs: 1.5/1,000 as appropriate
• Labs: 40,000 • Offices: 2/1,000
• Offices: 40,000 • Retail(ancillary): 2/1,000
• Restaurant: Any • Restaurants: 3/1,000 •
Mixed-Use • 3 stories/45 feet • Mfg: 30,000 sq. ft. • Mfg. assembly & • Demonstrate ability to Light Industrial • FAR: 2 • Other indust: 30,000 production:1/1000 sq.ft. meet Level of Service • Labs : 20,000 • Warehouse: 1/1000 standard "D" or "E" as • Offices 20,000 • Labs 1.5/1,000 appropriate
• Restaurant: Any • Offices: 2/1,000
• Retail: 2/1000
• Restaurant: 3/1,000
Mixed-Use • 2 stories/35 feet for • Mfg: 10,000 sq.ft· • Mfg. assembly & • Demonstrate ability to Residential non-residential • Other indust: 10,000 production:1/1000 sq. ft. meet Level of Service Industrial • 3 stories/35 feet for • Offices: 10,000 • Warehouse: 1/1000 standard "D" or "E" as.,. residential • Restaurant: Any • Residential: 1/unit appropriate • FAR: 1 for non- • Residential: Admin. • Office: 2/1,000 residential; 1.5 for Use Permit w/up to • Retail: 2/1,000 resid./mixed 4 units • Restaurant 3/1,000 • Residential Density:
max.1 unit/1,250
sq. ft. land
Commercial • 3 stories/40 feet for • Retail w/ housing : • Residential: 1 /unit • Demonstrate ability to commercial 20,000 sq. ft. • Offices: 2/1,000 meet Level of Service • 4 stories/50 feet for • Retail w/office: • Retail: 2/1,000 standard "D" or "E" as residential above 20,000 • Restaurant: 3/1,000 appropriate first floor • Offices: 10,000
• Encourage 2 stories • Retail: 10,000
• Fast food: 4/1,000
in this district • Restaurant: 3,000
• FAR: 32
• Residential: Any
Residential • R-1 A areas: 3 stories/ • Retail: Any • Retail: 2/1,000 35 feet • Residential: Any • Residential: 1/unit
• R-3 areas: 3 stories/
35 feet
• R-4 areas: 4 stories/
50 feet
' The square footage thresholds shown here designate the size at which any new use would require a Use Pennit, with a public hearing before Zoning Adjustments Board. •
2 Consider increasing height/FAR as bonus for providing parking w/in building.

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B. Special Situations and Regulations
Conversions from Manufacturing and Industrial Uses to Other Uses Rationale:

The W~st Berkeley Plan's regulation of "conversions" (technically "changes of use") from manufacturing and wholesale trade is a central element of the Plan's land use concept. In the M1x~d Use/Light Industrial ("Green") zone in particular, the conversion limits seek to maintain the _industrial character C!f the area, without completely blocking other uses there. !he dis try.ct description above makes clear how-in many re~pects-t~e • Light Industrial district is the key manufacturing and industrial district in West Berkeley . .Staff estimates that_the district contains at least 2.2 million square feet of privately owned manufacturing.and wholesaling space, in doz·ens and dozens of buildings, which range in size from a few thousand square feet to the 162,000 square feet of Utility Body .• This district-in coi:itrast with the ·Manufacturing and Mixed Manufacturing districts­ contains a substantial percentage of manufacturers and wholesalers which rent rather than own their space, putting them at much greater risk of displacement. .

If no limits on the conversion· of.manufacturing space were enforced here, widespread displacement of manufacturing would be possible, contrary to the Plan's economic development and land use policy. On the other hand, if the City were to seek to protect manufact~rers' space$ in the absence of such a rule, the list of permitted uses in the district would have to be much more restrictive. Thus, given the existence of limits on conversion, the Plan can be much more permissive about allo_wing certain uses as new construction (e.g. offices) while maintaining the area as an industrial district. The conversion limitation approach allows change, but regulates its pace and s':ope. Indeed, if the full 25% of space allowed to convert actually were to convert (an admittedly unlikely occurrence), some 550,000 squar~ feet of space would be changed to office or other ~ses.

If this 550,000 square_ f ~et _were to convert, some 40% of the district's current space ~~mid be non-manufacturing/wholesaling, about the maximum level at which the district could still be called "industrial."
Jhe issue is ~lso relevant in the Mixed Use/Residential district, although this di~trict is both smaller and designed to be less protective of manufacturing. In this district, the Plan calls for conversions of manufacturing/wholesaling buildings of 10,000 square feet or more to be reviewed for th~ir impact o~ the, industrial character of the area. Specific criteria will be pr~posed in the West Berkeley rezoning proposal.

Regulation:
"Conversion" ( Change of Use) of Manufacturing or W~olesalirig Space in Mixed • Use/Light Industrial District
Scope of Regulation-Changes of buildings currently or last used for manufactur­ ing, wholesale trade, or warehouse uses to anyotheruse, except man_ufacturing, wholesale trade, or warehouse use.

Limit on Change of Use-The change of use of any manufacturing, w~olesale trade, or warehouse use to a use o'ther than manufacturing, wholesale trade or warehousing would be limited to 25% of the floor area of the building now used for purposes other than Land Use Element
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offices, laboratories, properly approved live-work spaces, or properly approved retail space.

Example: Thus in a manufacturing site with 100,000 square feet of space (other than office), 25,000 could be converted (with a Use Permit) to other uses permitted in the district. • No further conversion would be permitted.

Hardship Exception-Buildings which are uneconomic to maintain in at least 75% industrial use could be converted to other uses permitted in the district with a Use Permit granted by the Zoning Adjustments Board after a Public Hearing. The Board would be required to find that there are exceptional physical circumstances pertaining to the building, which do not pertain to most .other buildings in the district, which make it impossible to reuse for industrial purposes. The simple fact that other uses would be more profitable is not adequate for this Use Permit.

Heavy Manufacturing/Residential Buffers
Rationale:

The intent of this regulation is to maintain a minimum distance of 150 feet between residential and "heavy" manufacturing uses in order to mitigate environmental impacts, such as noise, odor, vibration and glare, which would interfere with reasonable residential use and to provide a workable environment for these manufacturers.

Regulation: ,
Affected Districts-Mixed Use/Residential; Mixed Use/Light Industrial; Mixed Manufacturing; Manufactudng
Mixed Use-Residential
•·No new residential use may be established within 150 feet of an any property in a manufacturing district (i.e. Manufacturing, Mixed-Manufacturing); nor within 150' of existing "heavy" manufacturer in any zone. Additions to existing residential uses permitted at a "reasonable" level -standards to be set forth in the rezoning.
• No new or expanded manufacturing use may be established within 150 feet of an existing residential use, unless Performance Standards are met and a Use Permit is obtained.

Manufacturing; Mixed-Manufacturing; Mixed Use-Light Industrial Districts • No new or expanded manufacturing use may be established within 150 feet of a residential property located in the Mixed Use-Residential zone, unless Performance Standards are met and a Use Permit is obtained. • No new or expanded manufacturing use may be established within 150 feet of an existing residential use regardless of zone, unless Performance Standards are met and a Use Permit is obtained.

Note: Residential uses are prohibited in the Manufacturing, Mixed Manufacturing, and Mixed Use/Light Industrial district.

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Large Site Development Process·
Rationale:

West Berkeley h~s· a few large sites~sites o~ 5 ~cres or more und~r a single ownership-which present special chalienges and opportunities for planiiing and devel­ opment in West Berkeley. ·These large siteS--:such as the Miles or ~ex) Colga~e property~ are of a scale where they have a major impact on the area around them, and noticeable impacts on West Berkeley as a whole. They also may require modification of the uses and development standards· in a district to facilitate a·feasible large ~cale project.

For ihese reasons, the West Berkeley Plan.incorporates a concept of a Large Site Devel~pment P~oce~s. While. the process {emains to. be' defined, the concept is tha_t ,a special approval process would be used for certain projects .. Because of the importance of these projects, the Planning Commission would be involved in the process. The process would also provide a formal mechanism for early citizen input. The rezoning will propose a Zoning Or,dinance amendment to provide for a Master P,an Permit. It would he a middle ground alternative between the Use ~ermit and th~ Development Agreement. While .a master permit could. be issued for a ?1ult!-building project, then~ would be a procedure for review of individual buildings at their time of construction. This alternative could incorporate many of the master planning features of a Development Agreement, but would be acted upon under the procedures of the Zoning Ordinance, rather than as a separate contract.

It is important to note that no special proc·ess would be required of large scale projects which conform in all substantive respective to the uses and development standard of their district. Such a project, however large, would require simply the· normal Use Permit(s) and enyironmerital review (an Environmental Impact Report or other appropriate docm:nentation).

Regulation: •
Projects which are eligible for the Large Site Development Process are those which:
• On sites of at least 5 acres; and
• Prnl;'osing to incorporate uses which wou_ld not otherwise be permitted in the district; or ·.I ..
• Requesting an "alternative~ land u~e entitlement, such as a Development . Agreement. Another possibility is a Master Plan Permit, whereby a single permit would ~e issued for th~ development of a number of buildin:gs and/or uses within a given range.

Perfonnance·Standards
Rationale:

The West Berkeley Plan incorporates the concept of "performance standards." Performance standards differ from traditional zoning developme~t standards in .that they regulate the impacts of land uses-noise, odor, vibration, etc. By contrast, traditional zoning standards deal with the physical form of building-building mass, height, yards (setbacks), lot coverage, parking, etc. Performance standards set maximum permissible levels for the release of the item they regulate-e.g. X decibels of noise. Such performance Land Use Element
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standards are an integral part of Portland's ''Industrial Sanctuary" zoning policy, and are used in Oakland and many other communities.

Performance standards become particularly important in a context where dispar­ ate uses are close together-like West Berkeley. When differing districts abut each other, performance standards limiting noxious environmental impacts can help substitute for the absence of distance between uses. The ·sometimes difficult industrial/residential interface is a particularly salient site.

While manufacturing is typically the primary focus of performance standards, other types of business such as construction, transportation, laboratories, and nightclubs can have off-site impacts, and therefore are appropriate as subjects of performance · standard regulation.

Regulation:

To be included in rezoning
Live-Work Development
Rationale:

Live-work space has become an increasingly important element of the West Berkeley built environment. More and more people, in an ever-widening variety of fields, are interested in combining their living and working sites. Originally targeted by state legislation to artists and craftspeople, live-work now serves many more occupations.

Originally envisioned as occurring in converted warehouses, in .recent years there have been newly constructed purpose built live-work buildings as well. Ther~ are now over a dozen legally permitted live-work sites in West Berkeley, with 4 more projects (ranging in size from 1 large unit to 17 units) under construction, as of September, 1993. Given strong interest by both space users and developers, additional live-work developments­ particularly new construction developments-are likely.

Live-work is generally a positive presence in Berkeley and West Berkeley, but it must be carefully regulated so that it· does not cause negative impacts. Live-work generates life in neighborhoods which are otherwise moribund at night, increasing activity and safety. It can provide workspaces which do not need to be commuted to.

Some live-work still houses artists, a culturally important but often economically marginal segment of the population.

Live-work originally grew up in the interstices of economically marginal indus­ trial areas. However, in 1990s West Berkeley, both built space and land is scarce, highly prized, and competitive. This means that live-work uses have the potential of displacing or being physically incompatible with manufacturing, especially "heavier" manufactur­ ing. These potentials for incompatibility have grown as live-work has gained new constituencies, who are not always as tolerant of the pre-existing industrial land uses as artists and craftspeople tended to be. Some developers of live-work have complained about the activities of manufacturing uses which long predated the live-work project. In those parts of West Berkeley which combine industrial and residential uses (in the Mixed Use/Residential district), existing residents are concerned about the visual, parking, and economic impacts of new live-work developments in the area.

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Regulatory-Concept: The West Berkeley Plan intends fo regulate live-work along two dimensions. First is location: live-work is permitted in the Mixed Use/Residential districts (where histo~cally most live-work has occ:urred) and the Commercial district; restricted to a~~ists and craftspeople in the Mixed Use/Light Indu?trial district; and barred outright in the Manufacturing, Mixed Manufacturing, and Residential districts (although in the last home occupations are permitted). These provisions keep live-work out of the "heavy" manufacturing districts, where there are great physical incompatibilities. Live­ work is restricted in the Light Industrial district.to help maintl:\in the ~ndustrial character of that ar~a; but allow that live-w~rk wh\ch is most likely to be compatible.

The second dimension of regulation is new development standards for live-work; covering such matters as height, bulk (total permitted amount of construction), parking, open space, and other issues, particularly for newly constructed live-wo.rk spaces. There are also general construction standards for live-work-one is what requirement should there be for live/work projects to provide and/or contribute to the provision of affordable live-work spaces. Another is what the approval process requirements should be live-work projects, and how these requirements should relate to residential and commercial permit thresholds. Because of the complexity of these issues, specific proposals for them will be presented as part of the rezoning of West Berkeley.

Changes of Use from Residential.in (he ~1ixed Use/Light Industrial District Rationale:

This represents a clarification of'existing City regulation, but it is important to note because it has been an ambiguous point. This note is to affirm that residential uses may be eliminated in industrial districts, so: long as replacement dweiling units are • provided elsewhere. • •• • • •
In Manufacturing, Mixed Manufact~ri~g. and Mixed Use/Light Industrial, resi­ dential uses are not permitted: No new dwelling units may be construc~ed or created in any of these districts.· •
However, in the Mixed Use/Light Industrial District, there are a small number of reside~tial curr.ently existing. There are no legal residential units in the Manufacturing or Mixed Manufacturing Districts (Live-work spaces are a separate category). While the Plan allo~s these Units ·to re~ain and even expand modestly, in the long run it.would best achieve the industrial purposes of the dist_rict if the requirements of the neighborhood Preservation Ordinance, the units would have to be replaced with other residential units (or a fee paid in lieu of constructing such replacement housing), but they could be replaced in a district (residential, commertia( Mixed Use/Re~idential) where residential uses are allowed and more appropriate. Changing the use of these properties from residential would not necessarily require de_molition of 'the buildings.

Regulatory Concept: Residential uses in the ~ixed Use/Light Industrial District may be changed to permitted uses. The residential use must be replaced in a district where residential uses are permitted, or an appropriate .in-lieu fee paid. Review of any alteration or demolition of the structure by the ~nd~arks Pres~rvation Commission would not be affected.

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• ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
I. STRATEGIC STATEMENT
West Berkeley is in a very real sense one of the economic engines of Berkeley, and has historically played that role. It has the most private sector employment of any Berkeley area, and thus roughly 1/4 of all jobs in the city. West Berkeley is home to thriving manufacturing, retailing, business services, and other types of enterprises. These businesses provide jobs for more types of occupation than anywhere else in Berkeley; • provide quality, often specialized goods and services for Berkeley, the Bay Area, and often beyond; and supply much needed City tax revenue.

The West Berkeley Plan should help make it possible for all sectors to-in an environmentally sound manner-continue to thrive. Some sectors will play their most important role in the creation of good jobs, particularly for those with poor employment prospects, others in supplying a wide and innovative range of goods and services, perhaps still others in increasing the City's tax revenue The Plan recognizes that the widespread view of (West) Berkeley as a "clean, environmental" area is an economic as well as an environmental advantage.

The Plan has a special focus on retention of manufacturing because West Berkeley is Berkeley's only manufacturing center, and because manufacturing provides many well paid jobs to people without advanced education. By supporting manufacturing, a sector which has had difficulties in the marketplace, but continues to have important promise, the Plan supports its overall goal of maintaining a sectorally mixed economy. ln addition to stabilizing and renewing growth in manufacturing, the Plan.anticipates that the largest growth sectors will continue to be retail and (office-based) services. The Land Use Element of the Plan contributes strongly to these goals by defining appropriate locations for manufacturing, office, and retail growth.

The policy approach of the West Berkeley Plan is spelled out in more detail in the next section of the Element-The Economic Development Rationale of the West Berkeley Plan.

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WEST BERKELEY PLAN
II. ECONOMIC RATIONALE OF THE PLAN
A. The Rationale Overall
The fundamental economic goal of the West Berkeley Plan is to maintain a sectorally mixed economy in West Berkeley-an economy which includes (along with others) healthy manufacturing, retail, and service sectors. Maintaining such a mix in West Berkeley is critical to maintaining it in the city as a whol~, because of both the size and the sectorial mix of the West Berkeley economy. West Berkeley houses some 1/4 of total Berkeley jobs, and the great bulk ofits manufacturing, wholesale trade, and transporta­ tion/public utilities jobs. By seeking to keep manufacturing, services· (particularly advanced services) and retailing al_l healthy in \Vest Berkeley, th~ city ca~ reap the henefits provided by each sector ( which are discussed below). The city can also avoid the dangers of dependence on too narrow an economic b~se, which is more vulnerable to sudden collapse. This rationale provides the basis for making the projections of West Berkeley's Economic Future below, since projections can only be made in the context of assumptions about policies.
. As noted in the Strategic Statement,jobs: goods and se~ices; and tax revenues are . the three key City goals in economic policy. 1!1 general, different businesses and different sectors are superior at generating one than the.other. Economic developmer~.t policies are also of course framed by the City's environmental and physical policies. The C!ty's economic policy must seek to create and maintain jobs for its citizens, most importantly for its citizens who would have the mos~ difficulty obtaining jobs. The City should seek to assure the availability of needed goods and services for its citizens, which also is typically most difficult -for the poorest citizens. City government should strive for • adequate tax revenue to provide City services.

The City's economic ·policy must also strike a balance between ~orki~g wit~in market, environmental, and physical realities on the one hand, and guiding and regulating economic actors to achieve City goals on the other. A policy not grounde~ in market and other realities would be quixotic, while a policy which passively followed dominant market forces would not necessarily achieve City economic or environmental goals (and . would not require a Plan): The City also generally seeks to retain existing businesses, in all sectors. It is almost always ·more difficult to attract a new business than retain an existing one, and· there-is almost always time (and thus tax revenue and wages) lost until a site is reused by a new business. The greater ihe number of employees or the capital investment on a site, (generally) the greater the lag. Maintaining the economic mix requires active City intervention to support the retention of manufacturing plants. In the absence of supportive land use policy, and other support for manufacturing, West Berkeley would tend to "de-industrialize" over time, with manufacturing facilities and jobs moving elsewhere. While support for advanced services and retailing is also important, these sectors are generally supported, rather than threatened, by market :
developments. Thus, the policy structure for these sectors should be different. We now turn to the reasons for supporting manufacturing, advanced services, and retailing in tum.

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Manufacturing provides several benefits for the City and its residents, While some manufacturing jobs-particularly in "biotech"-now require more advanced skills, manufacturing still provides the best combination of jobs accessible to the less educated with good wage levels. Manufacturing historically has hired people who have difficulty being hired elsewhere, most notably Black and Latino men. Manufacturing also has higher "multiplier" effects-that is generates other local economic activity because of the inputs it uses-than other sectors. Thus, while the direct tax generation of non- biotech manufacturing is of ten (although not always) lower than other sectors, the multiplier effect leads to more economic activity and thus tax revenue. For biotech manufacturing the rationale is somewhat different-stronger on tax. revenue creation, but probably weaker on hiring of the lesser skilled (although in the particular case of the Miles Development Agreement, policy seeks to draw more residents in). Supporting manufac­ turing in West Berkeley is typically a retention activity, on sites which in some cases would be costly and difficult to reuse.1
Perhaps the strongest benefit from advanced services (e.g. software preparation, research laboratories, architecture&: engineering) come from the high salaries paid to the professional element of its workforce. These wages should generate daytime spending in West Berkeley, and perhaps elsewhere in the city. The support element of the service workforce (clericals, janitors, etc.) do not of course generate such high wages. In direct tax revenue, advanced services occupy an intermediate place-higher than many manu- • facturing activities, but lower than retail. Certain kinds of advanced services (e.g. research laboratories) can lead to the creation of new companies with new products or services ("spin-offs"), which might be produced in West Berkeley. To date, this process has not been widely documented for West Berkeley. Market forces at this time seem to strongly support the development of advanced services in (West) Berkeley, particularly in small companies.

Retail trade's strongest suit from an economic policy standpoint is its tax generation, well above any other sector. With the sales tax currently providing between 1/5 and 1/4 of the City's hard-pressed General Fund, this quality is quite important.

Retailing also provides needed goods, although much West Berkeley retailing is in specialized goods, rather than daily necessities. "Neighborhood" oriented retail-food stores, hardware stores, drug stores-which is relatively weak in (comparatively) low density, low income West Berkeley, most directly satisfies these needs. This weakness is 1On a regional level, the Bay Area Economic Forum (formed by the Association of Bay Area Governments and the Bay Area Council, which represents major Bay Area businesses) makes a strong case for the importance of retaining manufacturing.

In The Bay Area-A Region At Risk in a section entitled "Why Manufacturing Matters" they argue in part:• ... Because service industries have generated so many jobs, and shown higher productivity than most traditional industries, it's easy to dismiss manufacturing as an activity that is inevitably declining and may be expendable anyway. That would be a mistake­ especially in the Bay Area, where high-tech manufacturing has been so integral to our economy. Lately the region has been losing some manufacturing operations to lower-cost areas, and while that is natural in a maturing economy where land supplies are tight, the regional economy would be ill-served by policies exacerbating the trend. "The most obvious reason is the linkage of manufacturing to jobs in other sectors. Many of those highly-paid jobs that show up in the services sector are in fact dependent on high-tech production operations. High-tech manufacturing also has a high export quotient, meaning that much of the income it generates is new wealth brought here from other parts of the globe."
Loss of manufacturingjobs in Berkeley can have region-wide impacts. When manufacturers leave Berkeley, they sometimes move to Hayward or Richmond, thus remaining within the regional economy and labor market. In other cases, howev.er, they migrate to other parts of the state or out of state, damaging the whole regional economy.

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most pronounced in the poorer, southern part of West Berkeley. On.the other hand, West Berkeley has shown clear strength as a regional retail center. "Interesting''. retail as a city amenity can also be an attraction for various types of business.

B. Defining"the Economic Role of We~t Berkeley within Berkeley Panof the economic rationale of the Plan is to define West Berkeley's role within Berkeley. While West Berkeley is the leading economically active area in Berkeley, it is. far from the only one. Thus not all economic functions which are important in Berkeley need be fulfilled in West Berkeley. Some can take place in Downtown Berkeley, in the Telegraph commercial district, in North Shattuck, on the University of California campus and elsewhere. The General Plan, which is being initiated in mid-1993, will address the intended economic roles of various sections of the city. • • This Elem:ent noted ·that West Berkeley and Downtown have be~n the two leading economic centers in Berkeley. In fashioning an economic development rationale and strate·gy for West Berkeley its economic role within Berkeley, as contrasted with Downtown's role, must be considered·. Ideally a _strategy would be fashioned which ~ould treat ·the areas as complementary, not competitive.
. . . Downtown and West Berkeley have some overlaps, but many differences, in their economic roles in Berkeley. Downtown is the center <?f public employment in Berkel~y, with the University of course adjacent. Downtown is the civic and cultural center of the city, having the most nighttime:-oriented uses: movies, live theatre, and concert venues.

While restaurants are strong throughout Berkeley, Downtown-with its nearby student, University staff, and office worker markets-has the greatest c_oncentration. Downtown re.tail has been weak recently, but some stores with "niche" markets have prospered.

West Berkeley's first distinction is as the city's manufacturing area. Laboratory uses also locate in West Berkeley. _As noted previously, West Berkeley has increasingly become the city's main regional retail area-;-a trend which is particularly pronounced around 7th & Ashby a?d 4th'& Hearst. West Berkeley also has _some office uses-,-such as graphic artists-which need relatively low rents to function. West Berke~ey­ especially San Pablo Ave.-has numerous low rent service/retail uses, notablyauto repair. ' ' . . .

Both areas house professional services (e.g.· architects)• and business service functions, including computer services, such as software development. Both areas also have a complement of neighborhood-oriented retailers (such as food stores) and personal services (such as beauty salons) though clear_ly the neighborhood populations served in West ~erkeley and Downtown are quite different.

How do these existing orientations translate into economic strategies? Answering this requires ongoiI1g analysis and testing in the two areas t.o see what uses are viable.

Initially, however, the city can seek to build on the existing strengths of the area. In the Downtown, this could mean focusing partic-i.ilarly (although certainly_not exclusively) ori its office worker, University· staff, student, and nearby resident markets for retail.

Downtown can reinforce its role as a nighttime activity center, perhaps by encouraging more stores to stay open later, and by encouraging theatre goers and moviegoers to patronize Downtown restaurants and businesses. New h~using and/or new office <level- Economic Development Element
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opment in and around the Downtown would both themselves provide tax revenue and strengthen Downtown retail markets.

West Berkeley's uniqueness and thus economic strategies for it begin with the manufacturing base. In retailing, West Berkeley's closeness to the Freeway will provide for the foreseeable future-a thick stream of potential customers from throughout the East Bay. Given this proximity, there are still opportunities to augment West Berkeley's regional retail role (and thus increase the City's tax revenue), particularly in the 4th & University area-although impacts from such regionally oriented development must be . carefully monitored and mitigated. The 4th & University area may ultimately benefit from increased rail passenger traffic, although this volume is unlikely to approach the Freeway's. San Pablo Ave. also could absorb more intense retail uses in some locations, as has begun to occur. Yet there are unmet neighborhood retail needs, especially along the southern part of San Pablo, which.should be better served. There will presumably continue to be strong interest in office development in West Berkeley. These offices may house some firms which would have difficulty using Downtown offices, such as those which require large areas on a single floor. Just as the West Berkeley Plan seeks to assure that office development in West Berkeley does not interfere with retention of manufac­ turing, so must economic planning assure that these offices complement, rather than compete with Downtown office development.

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WEST BERKELEY PLAN
III. BACKGROUND
A. Introduction-. West Berkeley as Economic Engine for Berkeley West Berkeley is one of the key economic areas of Berkeley, and has been so since the city was founded. Berkeley's history is unique in that the city was formed by a merger of two communities-campus-based "Berkeley" and "Oceanview" or West Berkeley.

Even then, West Berkeley was beginning to develop as an industrial center, although stronger growth would occur after the tum of the century. Today, West Berkeley has some 1/4 of jobs in Berkeley, while UC and LBL have roughly another·l/4 (Down~own has perhaps another 15% of jobs, the rest are scattered).

West Berkeley clearly has unique economic elements within Berkeley. It is the city's only manufacturing center. It is where major "biotech" firms-some laboratories, some manufacturers-have located. It is Berkeley's leading regional retail area-with the largest department store (Whole Earth Access), two large auto dealers (Weatherford BMW and McNevin Cadillac), and major specialty retailers (e.g. REI, Nature Company, Amsterdam Art). These elements can all fairly be thought of as key to Berkeley's economic "base."
Wt; have noted'. the economic functions of firms and aref1s (from a public; policy standpoint) as providingjobs, goods and services, and tax revenue. The firms whichfolfill one of these municipal needs may not fulfill others. After revie~ng the overall economic mix in West Berkei~y. thi~ backgr~und section will look at We~i. B~rkeley as jo~ provider, as goods and services provider, and as tax. base ..

B. The Economic Mix'in West Berkeley
Before considering West Berkeley',s roles as employer, goods and service provider, and tax revenue generator, we must first note what econoµiic activity is there. The geo~raphy of these firms is. discussed in the Land Use Element. , More detajl on, Jhe. su~sectors of West ~erkel~y•s broad sectors is provided in the qoods and Services portion of this Background discussion.

Table 2'"'"1 demonstrates both the mix and the evolution of the West Berkeley economy. Manufacturing remains tlie largestsector,.with 32% of employment, despite a sharp decline in the· l 980's. City data suggests that the sector stabilized at least somewhat at the ~nd of the l 980's. The related field of wholesale trade was more robust, adding jobs· to reach 1,488 (about 9% of the total) in' 1991. Construction held about 8% of employment, transportation and .public utilities 3%. ,
Remaining jobs were in "white" and "pink" collar sectors. Retail trade neariy doubled the number of stores, and close to tripled its number of workers to reach 16% of the workforce.1 Similarly spectacular have been the increases in services, especially office­ based services. These office-based service~in West Berkeley primarily business ser- 'Please note that this table is based on zip code 94710, and therefore excludes San Pablo Ave and includes the Marina/ Waterfront. However, many San Pablo Ave. retailers would not in any case be included in County Business Patterns­ the source of this data-because they do not have "payroll." Economic Development Element
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vices, and engineering and management services-now constitute virtually 20% of area employment.

Table2-1: Sectors of the West Berkeley1 Economy-1981-1991 1981-1991
1991 1981 1981 Change in#
Sector Business Employees Employed
Agriculture 2 8
Construction 55 1,605
Manufacturing 133 7,833
Transportation 15 408
& Public Utils.

Wholesale Trade 69 994
Retail Trade 51 967
Finance, 17 132
Insurance,•
Real Estate
Services 117 2,302
Unclassified 24 75
Total 469 13,661
1981-1991
%Change
in Employees
Source: County Business Patterns, Computer Run for Berkeley, Calculations by Berkeley Planning Dept.

To get a view of the leading businesses, the distribution of larger firms should be considered. West Berkeley in 1991 reported 56 businesses with 50 or more employees, over 40% of the total number citywide (131). Although they represented only some 7% of the businesses reported, these 56 biggest West Berkeley firms had an estimated 59% of West Berkeley employment. The largest number of 50 or more employee businesses- 17-are now fourid in services; However, it is in manufacturing where firms with 50 or more employees (16 of them) make up the largest proportion of the workforce (an estimated 66%).

C. ·west Berkeley as a Place of Employment
. Because of the wide variety of sectors active in West Berkeley, there is an equally wide range of occupations there. West Berkeley businesses provide good quality blue collar jobs, highly skilled white collar jobs, and the low- wage jobs of ten referred to as "pink collar." This section of the report will present an overview of the occupational composition of the West Berkeley workforce, then review wages, unionization, and "minority" hiring in manufacturing, services, and retail respectively.

1. Estimated Distribution of Employment by Occupation
There is no central source of data on jobs by occupation, unlike jobs by industry.

The City of Berkeley has collected information on specific companies, but this is not adequate to develop estimates on West Berkeley as a whole. However, by applying national data on the mix of occupations in a given industry to the number of jobs by industry, an estimate of jobs by occupation can be derived. The following table estimates 'West Berkeley in this table is defined as Zip Code 94710, which excludes San Pablo Ave. addresses and includes the Marina and Waterfront.

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WEST BERKELEY PLAN
jobs by occup!ltion in private sector employment irt West Berkeley as o'rl990. The city as a whole has a higher proportion of professional jobs, and a lower proportion of production and related jobs.

Table 2-2: Estimated Private Sector Employment by Occupation, West Berkeley 1990 .. ,. Clerical Prod .

Occupational Mgmt.& • Profess!.. Sales & Admin.& Const. • -- Category ·Admin. & Tech. Related • Support Service Agri. & Oper.

Number in 1,269 2,670 . 2,094. 2,867 1,558 75 5,929
W.8. ·!,•,
%W.8 8'% 16% 13% 17% 9.% <1% 36%
Total
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employme_n! ·survey, 1989-1991 Note: Occupational totals were derived with information.~y.l digit SIC code industries (e.g. Construction), except for Manufacturing and Services, where two digit SIC code indu'stries (e.g. Printing) were used. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational categories have been used.

2. Jobs in Manufacturing
Manufacturing, as discussed above, continues to be the largest sector in West Berkeley:_ Wages and_benefits in manufacturj.ng are generally good, and many of the larger firms are unionized. Most of the jobs in mimufacturers are classified as "production and r~lated", generally not-requiring forma~ e~~.<:~!ion, although sometim¢s requiring signifi­ cant on ~he job lear~ing. As of the end of.1989 (tp.e last date for:"hich local data by detailed sec to~ is avai.lable) ,.the averag~_ annual pay fc?~ !1 manufact_uring employee in metropolitan Oakland ·was $32,945 .. On the high side, among se~tors represented in Berkeley were . ~ • ~ l. - , . - • . •
che~icals at• $39,134 ~n average annu~l_pay; scientific;_ instruments at_ $37,297· and primarily metals at $3~,921. Towards th~. low enQ are printing at $24,307;miscellane6us manuf;!ctu_ring at $21,882, and apparel at $15,194. F;llling in tlie,middle were electrical m~chinery at $29,839 ;nd fabricated metals at $33,221. Individual firms of course vary; The extent of unionization is significant, because unionized jobs generally pay better and provide better benefits. In West Berkeley, most heavy manufacturing worker;, and some light manufacturers, are cqv~re~. qy _µnion agreements.·· There are at'least 20 manufact~~ers in W_est Berkeley, with a total o,f some 1,900 jobs, which are unio_nized.1 In some cases, almost all jpbs at th~ site are 1,1nqet union contracts, in other ~ases less than half. Mi~es, _}':acific ~teel C~stings, a~9 Peerkss Lighting are among-the unionized firms.

The 1;3usiness Outreach S-qrvey fol;l11d 26 cnher firms, with some 1,350 .employees .. The non-unionized firms terided to be i:r;1 sectqrs-such as food processing, machinery, and scientific instruments; they also tended to be smaller. _ , ~.' . ,- - '
Manufacturing h~s a generally weak record of Berkeley resident hiring. ·sector- wide,.as of 1989,_ only some 20% of ~erkel~y manufacturing employees were Berkeley re~idents,-c_oll_lpared to-just UJ)der 40% for. ·Berkeley workplaces for _a whole. Individual companies vary widely-while several_ food processors reported 50% or more Berkeley re~ident employment, oth~r ~ompanies r~ported 10% or less resident employment:· A number of manufacturers ar~,working with the Firs_t Source program and may improve 1There is no central database of :what companies are unionized and what companies are not, thus information must be gathered oil a firm by firm basis. While we have attemp'ted to identify all the unionized firms, there may weU be other unionized manufacturers. • ~ •
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WEST BERKELEY PLAN
this record. 1 There is clearly a
Berkeley workforce needing
manufacturing jobs-almost 1/3
of the unemployed registering
at the Berkeley EDD office were
in "blue collar" occupations
most likely to appear in manu­
facturing or wholesaling. The
proportion of Non-White
workers in Berkeley manufac­
turing (Outreach companies)
was 4 3%-higher than any sec­
tor except retail.

3.Jobs in Advanced Services
We noted above that
West Berkeley's services tend
to have high technical con­
tent, like Business Services, and
Engineering and Management.

These sectors tend towards
high-payingjobs which require
higher education on the one
hand, and clerical jobs on the
other. Business Services, which has a high proportion of clerical workers, had an end- 1989 annual average pay of $21,109, some 2/3 of the manufacturing average. But Engineering and Managemem-where over 60% of the workforce is professional and technical-had an average pay of fully $38,651, just behind chemicals.

Virtually no service firms in West Berkeley are.unionized-most tend to be extremely small. One notable exception in health services to both rules is the very large Kaiser Permanente facility, which is being expanded and rebuilt .

There is not reliable data on what proportion of West Berkeley service employees live in Berkeley. Citywide data from the 1980 Census. (parallel 1990 data is not yet available) indicated that 36% of business and repair services employees live in Berkeley, slightly under the workforce wide average. For professional services (including engineer­ ing and management), the figure was 44%. However, this figure is perhaps inflated by the high proportion of University staff who live in Berkeley. Data is not adequate to assess the racial composition of the West Berkeley advanced services workforce specifically but it appears that the professional element of it is disproportionately White; For example, as of 1980 in Alameda County as a whole, engineers, managers, and architects were 74% non-Hispanic White.
'A travel survey of employers of over 100 workers was conducted in summer,1993, and results should be available in fall,1993, which will give current information on what percentage of their workers live in Berkeley.

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WEST BERKELEY PLAN

4. Jobs in Retail
Retail trade has been expanding in West Berk_eley. Unfortunately, retail trade jobs generally pay poorly and provide poor benefits. The Department of Labor, for example, characterizes retail jobs as having a high ·growth rate, but very low wages, high unemploy­ ment rate, very high "separation rate" (tu~over of employees) and a very high percentage of part time workers. The retail-wide end of '89 average annual pay was $16,239. Best paid were salespeople at auto dealers-$26,981, and at building materials stores­ $20;549. Below average pay was found at restaurants-$9,772; and in miscellaneous retail at $15,663. With the exception of a few large restaurants like Spenger's, West Berkeley retailers are generally not unionized (in retailing, supermarkets and conven­ tional department stores are inost unionized).

The proportion of residents in retail emplqyment-3 7% is typical for the Berkeley . ' .
employed labor force as a whole. Only 1% of the Berkeley unemployed were in sales, the ~ost characteristically retail field, but the~e may be ca~didates· in other occupational groupings. Retail employment was heavily minority~6%. A high proportion of young people also work in retail jobs. • •

5. Self-employment in Live-Work.

One small but growing employment type in West Berkeley occurs in live-work spaces, which now house a wide occupational range, ,beyond their original artist­ craftspeople-tenants. The work done in these spaces, generally by !?elf-employed people, cuts across the spectrum from manufacturing to advanced services (although retailing is unusual, and generally not permitted). • ·, ·:
. . '
6 .. Goods and Services from West Berkeley
• ~ • . ' J •
• • • West Berkeley provide·s a· broad range ·of goods and services to customers; both at retail and as producer products for whole~alers, ~anufacturers, ~nd o'ther businesses._ a. The Bazaar-West Berkeley R~tail.

Regional Retail-The Broadest Selection
West Berkeley has the_ b_roades~ rai:ige 9f retail stores of any area within _Berkeley:• .·.!,. ,·
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The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) recognizes 63 types of retailers, 48 of which (or 76%) exist in West Berkeley, more than in any other Berkeley shopping district.

Usually these retail types are represented in West Berkeley by more than a lone outpost.

The SIC groups its specific retail types into 8 major retail groups-Building Materials &:

Garden Supplies, General Merchandise (department and discount stores) Food, Autos and Auto Parts, Apparel, Furniture, Restaurants and Bars, and Miscellaneous Retail. As of 1991, West Berkeley had a significant proportion of Berkeley's sales in all these categories, except apparel, where it represents only 5% of Berkeley sales dollars.· West Berkeley dominates building materials (81% of citywide sales) and general merchandise (7 4% of citywide sales). It has roughly half of autos ( 46% of citywide). West Berkeley sales range from some 1/3 to 1/5 of citywide in furniture, restaurants, and miscellaneous retail (food is discussed in the next section). West Berkeley also dqminates auto repair (69% of citywide gross receipts), which is considered a service, but functions alongside retail.

West Berkeley has 63% of the city's sales in sporting/outdoor goods.

The area also has a broad range of retail on other dimensions as well. West Berkeley stores are among the cheapest and the most expensive in Berkeley in areas such as home furnishings and apparel. There are also a wide range of ethnically identified stores and restaurants, with a prominent group of Indian stores cohabiting with Arab/Middle Eastern, Japanese, Mexican, and African-American enterprises. These businesses of ten attract a more regional clientele than would otherwise come to (for example) a food store.

An emerging element ofW est Berkeley retailing is stores which wholly or partially focus their appeal to customers around the environment. There are stores which offer a range of goods which have been checked for their environmental appropriateness, while others seek to provide environmentally sound goods in a given sector. Analysts suggest Economic Development Element
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Table 2-3: West Berkeley's Largest Retailers,
1991 (by employment)
Company Goods Sold Employees
Spenger's Restaurant Fish dinners 198 ..

Whole Earth Access General merchandise 175
REI Outdoor clothing 135
Truitt & White Lumber 110
Amsterdam Art Art supplies 94
McDonald's . Cheeseburgers 60
Bette's Diner Breakfast, lunch 50
Rubber Stampede _ Rubber stamps . ' 50,
McNevin Cadillac Cars .. , 49
that this type of retailing is
likely to have growing appeal
. in the future.
b; The Workshop­
Producer Goods from ,
West Berkeley Manufacturers
West Berkeley manu-
facturers are also in a s~nse
"shopped" at., though typically
: by other businesses, · rather •
than retail consumers. . • . ' -
Nature Company Miscellaneous goods 40 Berkeley's manufacturers are .__ ______________________ __, too diverse to occupy a par- ticular niche in the business market. However, Berkeley clearly represents a city in which specialized, sometimes technically sophist1cated, often custom ordered products, rather than mass produced ones, are· made. 1 '. It !S • also part of the • large Alameda County manufacturing "complex" whose overall employment levels were generally stable through the l 980's and early 90's (Alameda County is California's 5th_ largest manufacturing roun~. •
'Most West Berkeley manufacturers d~ not make _consum~r products directly for the public. There are of course important excep_tions lo this rule, (especially in the food processing secto.r)-outdoor equipment from North Face, sake from Takara Sake, and energy bars from Powerfood are among them. :Other West Berkeley products are used by contractors in construction, such as confi-ete· Tram Berkeley Ready Mix and lighting fixtures from Peerless Lighting. But most typical are A&B's die castings for manufactur­ ers, Flint Inks for printers, PQ's salts for soap makers.

Table 2-4: West Berkeley's Largest Manufacturers,
1991 (by employment)
Comean]l Goods Produced Emelo]lees
Miles Inc.• Pharmaceuticals 686
North Face Outdoor Equipment 445
Pacific Steel Castings Steel Castings 300
Xoma Pharmaceuticals 250
Flint Ink (Cal Ink) Printing Ink 144
Peerless Lighting Light Fixtures 130
De Soto Inc. Coatings 113
Andros Analyzers Gas analyzers 110
Permanente Eyeglasses 94
Medical Group
Iron 93
Berkeley manufactur­
ers' markets are typically re­
gional and national. Slightly
under half of Berkeley manu­
facturers interviewed in the •
Business Outreach Survey said
their primary markets were
found within Northern Cali­
fornia. In a few cases (PQ,
Asphalt Products Oil Corp.)
the manufacturers are
branches established to serve
the Northern California mar­
ket. No companies saw Macaulay Foundry .__ ___________________ ___, Berkeley itself as their primary 'This general characteristic probably bodes well for the economic future of Berkeley manufacturers. Analysts of American manufacturing argue that to compete in the future, manufacturers in general will need to learn to produced specialized "niche" products, as many Berkeley manufacturers are already doing. • Economic Devt:/oj,meni Eleme!lt
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market, and there were distressingly few links between Berkeley based manufacturers · (some firms saw opportunities to expand Berkeley sales). Silicon Valley was an important market for some, as was the industrial East Bay in general.

Roughly 1/3 of manufacturers served the national market. A number of these firms said that they did secondarily serve international markets, but only 3 firms (of 48 surveyed) saw their primary market as international. Firms with an international presence terided to be in "higher tech" sectors such as chemicals, machinery, and instruments. One reason for the relative lack of international activity by Berkeley manufacturers may be their comparatively small size vis-a-vis multinational firms.

Businesses of course buy wholesale products from wholesalers as well as directly from manufacturers. West Berkeley has approximately 100 wholesalers, who sell goods in. 3 7 different categories. They are overwhelmingly small-with the departure of Bookpeople, no wholesaler has more than 50 employees (three book wholesalers do remain). Direct data for comparing Berkeley wholesale trade with other communities is not available, but it does not appear that Berkeley has a strong specialization within this sector.

The Back Office
West Berkeley as a Provider of Services
As noted above, West Berkeley has increasingly added an office-based services component in recent years. West Berkeley now has slightly over 1/4 of Berkeley's private sector employment in office-based fields-such as business services, architecture and engineering, and legal services.

West Berkeley has not develop a clear specialization in services, unlike other sectors. On a regional level, Berkeley does not have a strong share of office-based services, with the partial exception of gaining 14% of Alameda County receipts in computer Economic Development Element
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services. This suggests, but does not prove, that much of the market for Berkeley service firms is within Berkeley (an alternative .explanation is that Berkeley; for whatever reasons-perhaps the Berkeley residence of firm proprietorS-:-has· a certain· share of regkm-serving firms).

Within Berkeley, West Berkeley's strongest performance is engineering and management services; where it gains almost half of citywide gross receipts. This category includes, among other things, architectural services, engineering services, and freestand­ ing laboratories. West Berkeley has about 1/4 of citywide receipts' in business services; which includes such fields as computer services (among them software), graphics services, and advertising.

West Berkeley's share of ·,
those subfields does not
exceed, roughly 25%.

7. The Revenue Func­
tions of West Berkeley
West Berkeley as
Tax Generator
From a city gov­
ernment perspective, one
of West Berkeley's key
contributions is to City
revenues. City govern­
ment finances have be­
come increasingly con-
Table 2-5: The Largest Service Firms in West Berkeley,
1991 (by employment)
Company Services·Provided
Permanente Medical Medical laboratory, other
Gannett Outdoor Billboard creation
Engineering Sci.Ass. Architecture/planning
General Parametrics Software
Ecole Bilingue School
Fantasy/Prestige/Miles Records
Innovative Interfaces Software
Gazette Press Direct mail marketing
Custom Process Photo Processing
Cygnet Technologies Res_earch laboratory
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104
72 71
60 59
45 34
33 28

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Tabie 2-6: Contribution of Various Taxes strained due to Proposition 13 and state and federal cuts in aid to cities.

Thus California cities have been forced
to increasingly ."fiscalize" their poli­
cies. This section explores the rev­
enue contribution of various forms of
economic activity in West Berkeley.
to General Fund, 1991-92
Tax
Property Tax
Sales Tax
Utility Users Tax
Business License Tax
Property Transfer Tax
Transient Occupancy Tax
Contributes
39% of General Fund
22% of General Fund
17% of General Fund
11 % of General Fund
6% of General Fund
3% of General Fund
It must be acknowledged at
this point that direct tax revenues are
notthe only economic contribution to
the City that businesses make. Two
other forms of contribution-which ultimately lead to City tax revenue-are the impacts of employee spending and the "multiplier" effects of business spending for other businesses in the community. Unfortunately, available information is inadequate to quantitath:ely estimate these impacts. West Berkeley employees undoubtedly spend money on lunches and other goods. However, given the relative dispersal of West Berkeley employees-compared to a compact employment district such as Downtown Berkeley-it is difficult to accurately estimate how much they spend. Parallel problems arise with multiplier effects of business a buying from business b, which in turn buys goods or services from business c, etc. Given Berkeley's small size, and the lack oflinkages (at least in goods purchases) between West Berkeley manufacturers, Berkeley may not be receiving the full benefit of presumed multipliers.

The comparison of these impacts between sectors yields mixed results. Advanced Services firms tend to have the employees with the highest overall wages/salaries, thought to contribute heavily to retail and restaurant spending. However, in manufacturing, wages are highest for the broadest spectrum of workers. Retailers generally pay the lowest wages, but often seek to stimulate spending by providing employee discounts. Regarding multipliers, construction and manufacturing generally have the greatest multiplier effect, but there is the difficulty of capturing these in Berkeley. a. West Berkeley's Contribution to Various Taxes
Returning to taxes, there are six. key·taxes which support the City of Berkeley's General Fund (the funds over which the City has the most control). These are, in order of funds generated:

It should be noted that the property tax is divided among a number of taxing • agencies (e.g. Berkeley Unified School District, Alameda County, etc.). Concerning sales . tax, the City gets 95¢ fr:om each dollar: of taxable sales (which generates total sales tax for all agencies of over 8¢). The discussion in this report concerns only the tax revenue received by the City of Berkeley.

The percentage of revenues generated in the West Berkeley Plan area varies greatly for each of these taxes. The City does not keep official statistics on taxes generated by area, these figures represent estimates with available data. Table 2-6 outlines the basic information. It appears that West Berkeley generates approximately 10% of citywide Economic Development Element
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property tax revenue.1 This relatively low percentage is in part explained by the relatively low turnover (co:mpated to honies) ofWest Berkeley commercial properties, thus keeping the assessments down·under the Proposition 13 system.

West.Berkeley's largest c~ntr:ibution comes in sales tax, where it represents som~ _;40% of ,citywide revenue. w~·st Berkeley has sonie 33% of dtywide retail sales dollars, according to the City's business licenses .. But some 20% of Berkeley's taxable sales come in· business to_ business transactions. "!hese include sales of electronic equipment', chemicals, software, metal products, and o.ther items. Based on an analysis of detaHed taxable'sales data from the Board of Equalization, it appears that West Berkeley accounts for some 67% of these sales in Berkeley. Thus, sales from sectors such as construction, manufacturing, wh~lesaling, and health services make ~p 1/3 of the over $4.miilion i~ sales tax generated. We estimate that West Berkeley generates 20% of.utility users tax '• - . . ,'
revenues, based on citywide estimates of how much of the utility users tax residents and businesses respectively pay .• However, West B~rkeley has ~any of the City's energy~ intensive businesses-such as certain manufacturers. If data becomes available o·n energy use by business type, it may be possible to re-analyze this questio·n .. . The other taxes provide a less important contribution fro~ West Berkeley. The slow raie of West Berkeley property transfers-depressing that revenue~ has been.noted. above. Berkeley's major hotels, including the-Marriott, are outside the West Berkelty Pla~ area, limiting that revenue.
1The most.recent da~ on assessed value come from the Redevelop~:nt ·Expansion Feasibility Study, which indicated that West Berkeley's total assessed property value was $304.5 million. At that time, 1986-87, the Citywide total was $2,966 million. Regarding later change, West Berkeley has had faster economic growth than the city as a whole (tending to increase its share of property tax) but properties there tum over more slowly than in the city as a whole (slowing reassessments and tending to decrease West Berkel!!y"s share. •
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Table2-7: Estimated West Berkeley Plan Area Contribution to Major Taxes, 1991-92 Citywide West Berkeley West Berkeley
Projected Estimated Estimated
Tax Revenue ·Share Revenue
Property Tax $19,001,725 10% $1,901,725
Sales Tax $10,618,200 40% $ 4,247,2801
Utility Users Tax $8,502,000 20% $1,700,400
Business License Tax $5,565,000 29% $1,613,850
Property Transfer Tax $2,935,000 5% $146,750
Transient $1,664,000 10% $166,400
Occupancy Tax
Tax Total $ 48,285,925 20% $9,776,345
'Includes both retail sales and other taxable sales
b. Relative tax importance of Various Sectors
The information above demonstrates the overall importance of the West Berkeley Plan area in City tax collections. But a more "micro", site specific? view is also important.

Without looking at all West Berkeley companies, this can most easily be constructed on a sectoral basis.

Table 7 shows the estimated City revenue (including special taxes and assess­ ments)1 derived from a square foot of new construction for various sectors. It should be emphasized that the table is based on prototype revenues, drawn from prototype property values, retail sales, and utility usage of actual cases where available, and general data where not. Other situations in the same sector may vary. The table represents new development­ -the far greater amount of existing development will usually generate substantially less.

This is primarily because the property taxes on existing buildings are based on assessed - value as of 1978 or the most recent sale, whichever was later. Thus property taxes for a given type of property within West Berkeley (and throughout California) vary wildly.

Not surprisingly, given the key role of the sales tax in West Berkeley, retail is the most lucrative sector for the City. A successful West Berkeley retailer could generate $3.42 in City tax revenue per square foot per year. Fully $2.38 is from the sales tax.-It should be noted that this revenue assumes a quite successful retailer, with (taxable) sales of $250 per square foot. If sales per square foot are lower, sales tax revenue to the City is reduced. This level of sales per square foot (or an even higher one) is not uncommon in the interior West Berkeley commercial areas.

Laboratory "R&D" and heavy manufacturing provide similar revenues, but through different taxes. The manufacturers' heavy use of energy is reflected in the 23¢ per square foot of utility users tax, a tax where the R&D impact is modest. Conversely, the R&D user contributes 19¢ per square foot in business license tax on its landlord on • the rents it pays, while the heavy manufacturer contributes none, since it owns its' site.

These tenures are typical in Berkeley for these sectors.2 While we did not develop a 'Special tax and assessments are paid to the City for specific purposes, such as streethghting, or public schools. They are not part of the General Fund.
2lt should be noted that some firms may make extraordinary investments in plant and equipment, thus increasing property taxes. For example, City staff has estimated that Miles' expansion per year will generate some $4 per square foot in tax revenue (a higher level than the retail prototype above), in addition to its other mitigation payments. This is because of the massive plant and equipment expenditures Miles proposes. Other biotech and chemical firms could also have large expenditures.

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prototype for conventional office use, it should be broadly similar to laboratory: R&D.

Light manufacturing is'a weaker revenue producer. Its facility requirements are less demanding than heavy manufacturing or R&D, therefore lowering the cost of and thus the prope~ty tax derived from its buildings. Light mllnufacturirig also tend~ to use less e!lergy. This prototype case was an owner occupant ,firm, but there are tenant light manufacturers whose rents generate property owner• business license tax revenu.~. It should be cautioned, however, that varying light m_anufacturers have very different levels Table 2-8: W. Berkeley Estimated Direct Tax Revenues per Sq. Ft. of Added Space Heavy Light Laboratory/
Manufacturing Manufacturing "Rand D" Retail
Tax Source
Property Tax .31 .20 .38 '.26
Special Taxes .21 .. 21 .23 .23
& Assessments
Sales Tax .19 .19 •. 19 2.38
Business License Tax
Business. .27 .os:· .14 .30
Landlord .00 .00 .19 .19
Utility Users' .23 .16 .05 .06
Total $1.21 .81 1.17 3.42
' .
of investment in plant and equipment, and thus varying tax levels.

8. Advantages and Disadvantages of Doing Business in West Berkeley In assessing how West Berkeley is likely to evolve a:nd grow as a_ business center, i~ advantages and disadvantages as a business locale must be analyzed. Some of the issues can be viewed in strictly financial terms-what is the cost of doing business in West Berkeley, while others are mo're qualitative~.g. perceptions about the community's attitudes. This analysis was dev~loped both by staff and by the Economic Development S~bcoi_nmittee of the West Berkeley Plan Committee.
a. A Creative ''.Town" in the Heart of the Bay Area-Advantages of West Berlc.eley
West Berkeley's advantages center on its character as a dynamic, innovative center in the heart of the Bay Area. The Business Outreach Survey asked firms (mostly . manufacturer~) what they thought the advantages and disadvantages of doing business in West Berkeley are. Advantages they cited included the centrality of West Berkeley to the Bay Area and the strong availability of skilled labor here. Indeed, Miles Inc., in explaining why it wishes to concentrate its biotech operations in Berkeley cited _the large number of biotech companies and personnel located in Berkeley and the Bay Area.

Access to• the University is an important part of the attraction.· Berkeley's cosmopolitan population was seen as· a plus by some. In this same vein, the innovative, sophisticated image ofBerkeley made B~rkeley a "good address" for scientific instrument m~kers,.specialty food processors; publishers, and outdoor wear firms. A view ofBerkeley ·Economic Develop,ment Element
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as a "clean, environmental city" with enlightened business leaders helped attract like­ minded firms. For smaller firms of many types, Berkeley is a good place to "incubate"­ start up a grow in "a fertile entrepreneurial environment." The amenities of the city, such as restaurants, are also an advantage in getting and keeping firms in West Berkeley.

Berkeley's amenities and its tolerant atmosphere make Berkeley a place many employees enjoy working.

Office users also enjoy the accessibility, amenities, and to them "funky" image of West Berkeley. The mix of uses is part of the cultural appeal. Office users find rents lower and parking easier than in Downtown Berkeley and some other office locales.

Berkeley has both comparative advantages as against other cities in the region, and advantages it shares with them. Berkeley's unusual combination of a "smaller city" flavor with a dynamic urban economy appeals to many. Berkeley is safer from crime than Richmond or Oakland, two cities which businesses often compare Berkeley against..

Berkeley's relatively modest size (10th in population among Bay Area cities) makes its City government more accessible than in larger cities like San Francisco. The Business Outreach Survey and follow ups to it by the Community Development Department have opened lines of communication with business. The West Berkeley Plan itself (and perhaps now the Miles Development Agreement) stand as positive examples of how business, the City, and various community groups can come together to make decisions that provide planning frameworks. Berkeley shares·a well~ developed infrastructure with the Bay Area (as against more ruralareas where roads, water lines, etc. must be built for each plant, at significant cost).
b. The Price of Entry-Disadvantages of West Berkeley
The disadvantages of West Berkeley as a business locale center on the real and perceived costs of doing business-in time, money, and real or perceived community hostility. In the Business Outreach Survey, the lead negative was "anti-business" attitude on the part of the City and/or citizens, even though most surveyed firms had no complaints • about specific City services or processes (these comments were not a reference to taxes, as only 3% of companies singled those out as an issue).· Instead, many businesses­ manufacturers in particular-felt that the community did not recognize their value. An equally important negative was transportation and congestion-an ominous note (but one shared with much of the region) given the strong possibility of worsening conditions on I-80 ..

Economic factors did appear in the survey-11% of companies surveyed cited land cost and availability as the biggest disadvantage of doing business here. Average listed Berkeley industrial rents range from 8-27¢ (all rents converted to industrial gross) higher than in other East Bay cities, depending on the size of the space and the city (see Table 7).

In general, rent differentials were greater for smaller spaces, than larger ones, although . this was not always the case. These differentials reflect both higher pre-tax lease costs and higher taxes and assessments of some 3.5¢ per square foot.1 Similarly, the maximum $2 per square foot in initial mitigations a manufacturer might be charged could cost as little 'A sign of this cost problem is that a number of manufacturers and wholesalers, including a candy maker, a book distributor, and a household equipment distributor, have left Berkeley for other local cities, where they found industrial space more affordable. •
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WEST BERKELEY PLAN
as. 2¢ per month under typical financing terms. Nonetheless, taxes, impact mitigations, and other fees can serve as an irritant to business. A separate, but related, problem is the difficulty that both manufacturing and advanced services firms have finding large sized. spaces. Another problem for mariy firms was difficulty of obtaining qualified entry level Table 2-9: Berkeley and East Bay Cities-Industrial Rents by Size-Class, 1992* City
Berkeley
Emeryville .

Oakland
Sari Leandro
Hayward
Unio_n City
Richmond
~ 0-9,999 10,000-19,999 20,000-49,999 50,000 sq.ft. &
sq.ft.spaces . sq. ft. spaces sq.ft. spaces larger spaces monthly rent/ •• • monthly rent/ monthly rent/ monthly rent/ ~ft ~ft ~ft ~ft
$.64 (18) $.46 (7) $.52 (3) $.30** (2)
$.44 (4) $.31 (4) $.30 (1) . $.27 (2)
$:37 (21) $.38 (8) $.28 (9) $.27 (5)
$.48 (14) $.33 (9) $.30 (13) $.31 (5)
$.44 (31) $.37 (18) $.35 (15) $.30 (13)
$.56* (5) $.30 (2) $.29 (5) $.29 (2)
j
$.45 (5) $.37 (2) $.34 (2) $.20 (1)
*number of spaces in parentheses
**Allor a majority of'listings from a single property.

Source: Oakland Mul.tiple Listing Service .
workers, altho1;1gh not all had difficulties in this are~.

The Economic Development Subcommittee suggested some additional problems.

Besides cost factors, they noted the difficult Use Permit pro~ess, which can be time­ consuming and sets no priorities between permit applications. The perception that Berkeley is a difficult political environment with difficult approval processes, peopled by hostile activists, Commissions, and perhaps City staff and officials, was noted. They also noted the perception that Berkeley sets ·more stringent environmental regulations arid enforces them more strictly than other communities, even though all are most' of ten enforcing state law. It was noted that for some firms the. mi~ed-use na.ture of West Berkeley is a very mixed blessing, bringing incompatible uses to their doorstep, as well as residents who· might oppose their expansions. Berkeley also shares in the regionallack of affordable housing, despite the City's substantial efforts to deal with the problem. . ' • Economic Development Element
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, III.. THE ECONOMIC FUTURE OF WEST BERKELEY
The West Berkeley Plan is a 15 year Plan for the economic, physical, and social development of West Berkeley. Projecting the likely economic future-and shaping it to the extent that an active local government can-is a difficult, but necessary, task. All projections should be understood as analyses of likely future development based on infor111ati6n available today, and thus inevitably limited.

Regional Context
The West Berkeley Plan proceeds in the context of the Association of Bay Area Governments' projections for the 9 County Bay Are~-the only such set of detailed local area projections. The Bay Area can be seen as the economic context for (West) Berkeley development, although the region is of course influenced by state, national, and interna­ tional factors. ABAG projects continued growth. in the Bay Area until the year 2005, although at a slower pace than occurred in the l 980's. ABAG's Projections 92 also projects that 3 broad sectors of the West Berkeley economy-manufacturing, services, and retail trade-will also grow. Regionally, manufacturing employment is projected grow 18% between 1990 and 2005, services 37%, and retail trade 23%. ABAG predicts that most manufacturing growth will be in sectors it labels "high technology"-electronics, com­ puters, office equipment, and scientific instruments (with modest growth in remaining sectors). In services, it cites business services, along with legal services and architecture and engineering, as special growth areas.

ABAGprojects more sec to rally balanced growth patterns within Alameda County.1 They project a 30% growth in manufacturing employment in the County between 1990 and 2005, a 33% growth in services, and a 23% growth in retail trade. "High technology" manufacturing is projected to grow from 29,000 to 52,000 employees in the County over the period, while other manufacturing grows very modestly from 55,000 to 58,000. In services, a business services cluster identified by ABAG, including business services as identified by the Standard Industrial Classification, legal services, and architectural & engineerin,g services (or SIC codes 73,81, and 89) will garner 59% of growth.

Local Conditions
• These projections, if accurate, set the framework for considering economic development in West Berkeley, but of course cannot precisely predict it. Development in West Berkeley is constrained by the available supply of land and buildings. Moreover, even with some 15,000 jobs, West Berkeley is a small enough area so that the performance of individual companies can make a substantial difference in the area's direction. This is particularly true in· manufacturing, but there are some large retailers and office-based service companies as well. The development of specific geographic areas is important, particularly such retail concentrations as _7th & Ashby, University & San Pablo, and 4th & University. Nonetheless, some general projections can be made. 1 Alameda County is a relevant unit of analysis because the County government is becoming more active in economic development, and because to a certain extent the County (excluding the Livermore Valley) forms an economic sub-region.

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WEST BERKELEY PLAN
Future ~conomic development in West Berkeley shou_ld be·~ssessed b~th in terms of building development and econ~·mic ac'tivfty by sectori E~onomic activ;ity bysect9r is ultimately the more important and driving forc·e, but buildingdevelopment gives the area its physical form and sets (or removes) coristraints on economic activity. , r . . . . .

In building development, the West Berkeley Plan projects a_n increase of some 1,535,000 squa~~ feet'of occupied space from ~992 ~o 2005. Majorisites for qev~lopm~nt or reuse include UC's Harrison tract, Utility Body, and the Colgate site. 'It also projects retail add~tions throug~out the c~omm~r~iai' zo~e, pri~arily through conve~siqn fr:om other uses, and to a lesser extent from new construction. Linking these buildings to use types, the Concept projects that this space wiil be distributed as follows:'a ne't acidi_t.ion of 400,000 squ.are feet in ~anufacturing (with wholesaling); 680,o"OO square feet in office and laboratory uses, and 325,000 square feet of retail uses. It should be stressed that the manufacturing figure is a Net figure, the product of new construction, reuse 9f vacant sp_ace; and also of ~osses of space due to conve:sion to other uses:_ Economic Prospects by Sector
Manufacturing is likely to be in a stable to.slow growth mode, when net gai~s and • . . ., . '· . • , I
losses of employees are totalled. West Berkeley's role as a manufacturing centq i~ set largely by the fi~ms _that are here,' since' manufacturer~ do not. inove eas,ily, biit West - l •. • . . -
Berkeley manufacturing is also characterized_ by technical and product·_ inn.ovation.

Naticmal scale manuf~cture;s have largely left the city, leaving less footloo,~e locally based firms. Few recent Berkeley pla'nt cf~sures have been due to business failures,~ trend which will hopefully continue. However, some firms unable to find (affordable) expansion space'--ideaUy ;pace adjacent to existing, sites~are likely to continu~ 'leaving . .' The Economic Development· Element
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projected growth in manufacturing assumes that the City places a priority on retaining existing manufacturers and facilitating their expansion, as the West Berkeley Plan calls for.

These expansions, rather than attraction of new companies into the city, will almost certainly be the main source of new manufacturingjobs (one potential source of relocated . manufacturing jobs is printers and other manufacturers leaving San Francisco).

The most dramatic example of expansion should occur at Miles/Cutter, where the City and the company have agreed to a 30 year development plan for the 25 acre site.

Peerless Lighting and Andros Analyzers are other exam pies of large manufacturers who plan to add jobs in Berkeley. Most manufacturers polled in the Business Outreach Survey • stated that they planned to add jobs. Certainly, company by company factors concerning markets for the company's products, site conditions (including expansion possibilities) and costs, management plans for the company, and others will affect these expansion plans over the long run:

Biotechnology could be a growth area for Berkeley manufacturing, if local companies can successful develop and prove the safety of their products. Miles and Xoma are large existing "biotech" firms, perhaps their presence, the presence of the University, and the presence of similar firms in the East Bay "Biotech Corridor" wiBattract new producers. Among sectors highlighted by ABAG, Berkeley has a strong presence in scientific instruments, with firms also in electronics and industrial machinery. Thus, in Berkeley, as in the region, "high tech" manufacturing will continue to grow as a proportion of total manufacturing, but "traditional" manufacturing will remain as well.

The broad services sector is likely to continue growing significantly. One of Berkeley's economic roles as a city-with a strong contribution from West Berkeley firms-is as a reservoir of brainpower and artistic talent for the East Bay, the Bay Area, and to some extent an even larger area. Business services as defined by the Standard Industrial Classification are strong in West Berkeley, particularly in graphic arts and software writing. In terms of overall growth (or decline), the specific fates of individual firms are least important in this sector, since it is composed of many (mostly) small firms. West Berkeley and other parts of Berkeley have numerous small software companies, to some extent as a result of the presence of the University and of a major software research institute. In the past, some of these firms have left Berkeley if they got large, but the potential for office developments at such sites as the University's Harrison Tract may make it easier for them to remain in the future. Architectural and engineering services-also part of ABAG's services growth cluster-are also strong in West Berkeley and likely to remain so. Berkeley is also a likely site for the expansion of research laboratories, particularly in association with-or as a precursor to-biotech manufacturing. Other services, most notably auto repair, are not likely to grow and may even shrink as competition for commercial sites increases.

Retail trade should also expand in West Berkeley over the Plan period. While Berkeley is narrowing the gap, it remains "understored" in sales dollars per capita (in some retail sectors) compared to other Alameda County or Bay Area cities. Paradigmatic West Berkeley retailers seek to project images of creativity, technical sophistication, supportive service, and environmental concern. The key assumption allowing West Berkeley to grow Economic Development Element
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as a retail area is reasonable traffic flow on 'I-80.1
West Berkeley's current strength as a regional ret_ail area is marked by the entra_nce of Orchard Supply. Hardware, the expansion_s of Whole Earth Access and the planned addition of a second car dealership at Weatherford BMW. The 4th & University area also has potential for added regional retail (much of it in smaller shops), particularly if a train station and parking structure are added. If San Pablo Ave. retail nodes (e.g. San Pablo & University, San Pablo & Dwight) can be strengthened, as the Plan hopes, both neighbor­ hood and regional serving retail can be developed at ~hese lqcations. The many ethnicaHy identified retailers along University and San Pablo Aves. should prove· to be a source of strength, as the population of the East Bay conti:~mes to grow more diverse. There is less basis to predict an expansion of purely neighborhood serving retail, although the City can attempt to foster it. On San Pablo Ave., Walgreen's has opened two drug stores, a classification generally considered to be neighborhoodc:serving, although the stores are on a scale which suggests a somewhat broader clientele'.
'A major increase in trafiic congestion on the Freeway could also drive away manufacturers, who cite the Freeway as an advantage of their Berkeley location.

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. V. GOALS AND POLICIES
Goal 1:
. Take all reasonable actions to maintain and promote manufacturing and other industrial sectors in Berkeley.

Rationale:

One of the central thrusts of the Pref erred Land Use Concept was to provide a land use framework which would allow manufacturing to remain and expand. Manufacturing is the one economic sector which is unique to West Berkeley. Manufacturing also provides often well-paid blue collar jobs accessible to moderately skilled people. Some manufacturers also produce products with important technical content, thus also provid­ ing technical jobs. The Plan is also premised on the concept that manufacturing can be maintained and expanded without sacrificing environmental quality.

Policies:

A. Implement the land use concept in the Pref erred Land Use Concept, which allows for the retention and expansion of manufacturing, in conjunction with other Plan goals; B. Implement the measures in the Preferred Land Use Concept which will streamline the,. . permit process for manufacturers (consistent with other Plan goals such as the mainte/D~·r{f nance of environmental standards) and explore additional methods for streamlining th~};}J}//'.'" process;
C. To the greatest extent possible, focus business assistance efforts, including efforts to retain and attract new companies, on manufacturers which will provide jobs and/or other benefits for Berkeley.

D. Continually assess the impact of policies in other areas-such as taxes, impact mitigations, transportation planning, environmental quality, and others to assess how these policies affect the goal of retaining and attracting manufacturing; and how the goals which these policies are intended to achieve can best be harmonized with the manufac­ turing retention goal.

Goal 2:

Support the growth of regionally oriented retail trade in WestBerkeley· in locations which are consistent with other goals and standards, particularly the traffic goals of the Transportation Element.

Rationale:

West Berkeley has been increasingly successful as a regional retail center. This success has provided tax revenue to the City, provided innovative goods and services ( which are not generally avail~ble at locally oriented retailers) to Berkeley and surround- Economic Development Element
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ing communities, and in some cases created stimulating urban environments. In a time of fiscal stringency for the City, gaining new tax revenue is critical. There are a number of locations-the Ashby corridor, around 4th & University, and along San Pablo Ave., where retail expansion can occur without damaging industrial activity. Clustering of regional retail uses can help them succeed, help make retail areas more pleasant and attractive, and allow for centralized parking facilities shared among retailers. However, in developing these areas, the City and businesses should assure that they do not cause undue traffic congestion at nearby major intersections. Such congestion is both undesir­ able in itself and tends to make the retail areas less successful.

Policy:

A.Assist appropriate types of retailers to locate in WestBerkeleytetailareas, and to meet planning standards for those areas.

Goal 3:

Improve the level of neighborhood serving retail in West Berkeley Rationale:

As discussed abov_e, many We~t Berkeley residents ~eel_ the_area is deficient in neighborhood serving retail, such as food· stores. There are many factors-e.g. competing . commercial areas, the need; for service· commercial uses such as ·auto repair, low population density-which have led to the character of commercial strips such as·san Pablo Ave. Yet San Pablo Ave."may have the ability to attract local customers from both.

West Berkeley and neighboring areas. Doing so would not only provide needed services, but also impr~~e the urban environment. Improving the level of n~ighborhood servi~g retail might make it possible for area residents to walk or bike instead of drive on some shopping trips. Therefore, the City should explore and take feasible action to imp~ov~ the situation.

Policies:

A. Explore how neighborhood serving retail uses might be brought to San fablo Avenue specifically.

B. Explore the potential of other locations within West Berkeley to support neighborhood serving retail.

C. Implement the provisions of the Preferred Land Use Concept which allow small scale food stores in residential zones.

Goal 4:

Continue to support the growth of advanced t~chnology manufacturing (such as bi;·technology) and advanced technology services (such as research laboratories) in appropriate locations, under appropriate environmental safeguard~. •
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Rationale:

As is discussed earlier in this Element (seep 7 4), Berkeley's concentration of both scientifically trained personnel and scientific research institutions is a "comparative advantage" (vs. other cities) for this community. The recently signed Development Agreement between the City and Miles Labs indicates both City and corporate interest in this type of expansion. The body of trained people here makes it possible for Berkeley firms to set up the most technologically sophisticated manufacturing and research processes possible. Research conducted in these operations may (or may not) have spinoff benefits irt other fields. While research activities generally provide jobs solely for the highly trained, jobs requiring less advanced training are also likely to be created if products move into the production process. The heavy capital investments required for advanced technology manufacturing, and to a lesser extent for advanced technology . services, also translate into increased property tax revenues for the City. While advanced technology firms cannot and will not completely supplant "mainstream" manufacturers or service providers, they are likely to form an important part of West Berkeley's economic base and thus should be supported.

Policies:

A. Provide assistance to advanced technology firms to help them establish or expand businesses in appropriate locations.

B. Periodically review the City's regulation of biotechnology to assure that it both meets City regulatory objectives and does not unnecessarily interfere with the creation and expansion of biotechnology firms here (see Environmental Quality Element for imple­ mentation measures)
C. Develop links between training agencies and Berkeley biotech firms, so that Berkeley residents can become qualified for biotech jobs.

Goal 5:

Continue to create employment opportunities, especially for Berkeley and West Berkeley residents.

Rationale:

Finding employment opportunities, especially in good jobs, is one the major goals • of the City's overall economic development policy. It is particularly important to find these opportunities for economically disadvantaged Berkeley and West Berkeley resi­ dents. In 1990, the Census showed that West Berkeley residents were less likely to work in Berkeley than other Berkeley residents. Doing so both serves needy citizens and reduces the strain on the stressed regional transportation network. Getting residents employed, has secondary beneficial effects, such as reducing social service costs and increasing retail spending in Berkeley. Creating employment opportunities requires not only assuring that there are jobs in Berkeley, but also that needy residents have the skills and mechanisms to access these jobs. Therefore, the City implements such programs as First Source, which • Economic Development Element
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WEST BERKELEY PLAN
requires that businesses which get Use Permits review Berkeley resident candidates first for their job openings (however, the program does not require that the businesses hire the Berkeley.candidates, and does not expect businesses to hire unqualified employees).

Policies:-
A. Pursue all avenues which will result in the training of Berkeley residents, particularly economically disadvantaged Berkeley residents, for. the ,widest possible range of occupa­ tions that-exist in West Btrkeley. To do so, pursue stre1_1gthened links between ~ajor employers and educational institutions, and major elJlployers and training agencies. In the context of citywide efforts, improve. the abilities of Berkeley training agencies and schools to prepare future workers.

B. Improve the access of(West).Berkeley residents to jobs which exist in West Berkeley through mech_anisnis such as an actively implemented First Source Program.

C. Improve the placement and retention rate of First Source Program participants by improving training through intensified links between the First Source Program and the planning and outreach process for employment and training agencies.

Goal 6:

Promote opportunities for business ownership by the economically disadyantaged-non­ Whites, women, and other economically disadvantaged people. . Rationale:
• While, paid employment will remain the primary source of income for most , households, business ownership can be a means for economic advancement for some non­ White people, women, and other economically disadvantaged people. The diverse West Berkeley ~conomy, with its many niches and many s_mall businesses, provides opportu~ nities for business ownership without capital' requirements that are pi~hibitive to non­ traditional business owners. As of 1991, 20% of West Berkeley businesses report themselves as minority owned, although these businesses gain only 8% of total gross receipts. The City should be alert for opportunities to assist African-American, Latino­ American, Asian-American and women entrepreneurs. The "high technology" sec~ors present in West Berkeley have tended to have a low percentage of entrepreneurs from these groups. To the extent that San Pablo Ave. becomes a focus of economic development activity, it could be a good locale (among others) for expansion -of "minority" owned businesses.

Polky:

A. Use City economic development programs, such as the Revolving Loan Fund, business outreach; and ownership transfer·assista_nce as vehicles to promote business ownership by non-Whites and women.

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Goal 7:

Protect small businesses, particularly arts and crafts businesses, so they can continue to flourish in West Berkeley. •
Rationale:

Small businesses, especially arts and crafts businesses, are key in creating the unique character of West Berkeley. The City has developed Arts and Crafts zoning to protect these businesses. However, the zoning has not always worked as intended. It is vital to assure that arts and crafts enterprises are genuinely protected from displacement.

Policy:

A. Use available mechanisms, including zoning, property purchase assistance, and direct City assistance to artists,.to assure that artists and craftspeople remain a vital part of the West Berkeley community.

Goal 8:

Encourage linkages between West Berkeley businesses, and between public institutions and Berkeley businesses.

Rationale:

West Berkeley businesses-especially (but not only) manufacturers-purchase millions of dollars of goods and services annually as inputs into their goods and services.

To the extent that these purchases can be made locally, their economic impact can be greatly increased. Many necessary inputs are not available within Berkeley (and sometimes even Alameda County) but there has been no concerted effort to assure that businesses are maximizing their opportunity for local purchases. There is a particular opportunity for those firms which are undertaking major construction projects. Beyond purchasing, there may be possibilities to increase cooperative information sharing efforts, training, or problem solving .

A similar logic obtains for public agencies, such as the City of Berkeley or the University. Public agencies are major goods and services purchasers, although typically of final products, not intermediate inputs. Public agencies can also seek to use the funds they have on deposit to encourage to lenders to engage in socially constructive (or "community development") lending.

Policies:

A. Explore mechanisms which can facilitate increased linkages between West Berkeley businesses.

B. Explore the possibility for City funds to be used in "linked deposit" programs.

C. Use the Recycling Markets Development Zone (RMDZ) as a way of encouraging manufacturers to use local inputs. (see Environmental Quality Element Economic Development Element
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IV. ISSUES AND STRATEGIES
This section forms a transition between the Background and Goals and Policies • on the one hand, and the specific implementation measures on the other. The Background section seeks to paint a picture of existing conditions in the West Berkeley economy, while t~e Goals and Policies section points out desired goals and directions for City policy.· This section outlines some key issues-largely those highlighted by the Economic Develop­ ment Subcommittee of the West Berkeley plan Committee:__and discusses in general how the. City should • respond to them, how to move towards the goals.' The strategic discussions in this section suggest appioa~hes to probl~ms, although.spedfic implemen:­ tation steps have not necessarily been developed, particularly if areas of program activity are required. It is expected that the strategic concepts discussed here-and the specifiC ~easures used to implement them-will evqh'.e, over time.

A. Strategies for Business Retention
Business retention is one of the central elements of the West Berkeley Plan. The.

Preferred Land Use Concept was conceived in significant part to provide a more stable planning environment for manufacturers and other businesses. Manufacturers in certain areas of West Berkeley are protected by the Plan from invasive and destabilizing uses, in others the nature of the mix of uses is clarified. In all areas, permitted and prohibited activities are more clearly defined, and the process for expanding a permitted use is generally eased-changes which will benefit manufacturers and other businesses. Stream­ lining the permf t process has been repeatedly cited as a key goal of businesspe~pk These changes are necessary, but. not sufficient, to retain manufacturers­ particularly expanding ones.1 These expanding companies of ten face the need to find space at affordable rents/prices, which can be difficult in West Berkeley. The.Community Development Department currently works intensively with manufacturers and other businesses to help them find appropriate space. In some cases these effor~ have _been successful, in others they have not.

The Economic Development Subcommittee suggested that business retention· efforts focus on sectors such as scientific instruments, printing, machinery-, biotechnol­ ogy, and possibly other light ~anufacturing sectors. While the City.generally s~eks to retain most businesses, these:sectors are particularly promising for Berkeley and do deserve special attention .. The mechanisms to do provide this attention will. need to be defined. Perhaps ( with adequate staffing) a special program of regularly contacting these businesses to make sure they were functioning well in Berkeley would be possible. The West Berkeley Manufacturers' Forum planned in the Miles Development Agreement will provide another avenue to implement these ideas.

In addition to these con~rete, botto~ lin~ factors, there are less objective factors­ such as how the "business climate" seems-as well. It is unclear how important these factors are in business retention-companies-relocating out of Berkeley cited cost and 'I~ recent years, Berkeley manufacturers have not gen~raUy closed because of business failure, although such cases have occured. ' ., .
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space availability as their key reasons for leaving. These factors are discussed in the Opportunities and Constraints subsection of the Background section of this Element.

One relatively low cost way to improve perceptions about doing business in Berkeley to recognize and reward those Berkeley firms which make a particularly po_sitive contribution to the city. For example, Berkeley manufacturers have been leaders in seeking out environmentally sensitive ways to manufacture products. Those who innovate in this field or in the making of environmentally sound products· should be recognized and rewarded.· Some such firms have been noted in the South and West Berkeley Revitalization Exchange, but there are many other possible publicity mechanisms. A Made in Berkeley labeling program for such products has also been proposed (as has simHar labeling for the Bay Area as a whole).

Another important strategy for retaining manufacturers is addressed in the following discussion.

B. Strategies for Retaining Local Ownership of Manufacturers One important strategy area for business retention is retaining local ownership.

Both academic studies and Berkeley experience demonstrate that owners based outside . Berkeley ( or the Bay Area) are much more likely to move or close a plant than locally based ones. Non-localowners may "consolidate" Berkeley plants into plants elsewhere. Durkee Foods, Colgate-Palmolive; Heinz, Canada Dry, Lectra Lighting, and UprightScaffolding are all examples of outside corporations which closed Berkeley plants. This is not to suggest that aU local owners are community-minded, or that all outside owners (even . foreign ones) are not, but rather that in general local owners are more comm1tted to remaining in Berkeley.

In order to maintain local ownership of West Berkeley businesses, there must be intervention at the time when a company is likely to pass out of local hands. Two times when this likely to occur are !)retirement of owner(s); and 2) major expansion. When the local owner(s) retire, (s)he may not have a family member who is interested in assuming control of the business. At that point, (s)he may sell the business to an outsider or simply close it down, even if it is still profitable. Major expansions generate the need for increased capital for the firm. One way that firms generate that capital is by selling the firm to non-local owners.
• There are many roles for the City, or a City-supported intermediary such as an Economic Development Corporation, to play in facilitating local ownership. These could include finding financing for a local buyer, guaranteeing loans for a local buyer, providing information on employee ownership options such as ESOPs (Employee Stock Ownership Plans) and finding technical assistance for that buyer. The City or Economic Develop­ ment Corporation would have to develop mechanisms to learn of impending owner retirements or company sell-offs, though some such situations are already known .. In cases where the firm's workers were interested, they could be the local buyer. It seems prudent for this effort to focus initially on smaller firms, to help build up a credible record for later efforts to intervene with larger firms.

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C. Strategies for Improving the Level of Neighborhood-Serving Retail Some West Berkeley residents feel the area is short of neighborhood serving retail.

Food stores are the key issue. In a 1989 survey of Berkeley· households, 57% of West Berkeleyans responded that there were too few food s'tores near their house. Mor~ West Berkeleyans felt they were lacking for food stores than any other neighborhood's • residents-in South Berkeley 38% felt there were not enough. West Berkeley residents missed food stores more acutely than any other dtegory, though 48% also desired more specialty stores and 39% more drug stores. (Most West Berkeleyans-54%-felt they had too many liquor stores:) • • • • •
Unfortunately, it may be rather difficult to increase food stores in West Berkeley.

West Berkeley already has 27 of Berkeley's remarkable total of i57 food stores1, or 17%.

West Berkeley's food stores racked up some $12.5 million in sales in 1990; almost 10% of the Citywide sales of $128 million, despite the absence of a major supermarket in West Berkeley. The portion of Berkeley's population which could be expected to rely on West Berkeley food stores is also 10%, suggesting that the area is capturing a fair share of sales (This adds Census Tract 4233-the San Pablo Park area~to West Berkeley proper, because San Pablo Ave. is the closest major shopping street for them). Berke!eY has only some 9 supermarkets-depending on exactly what stores are considered supermarkets­ again suggesting that West Berkeley's populatiori rriay be too small (and too low income) to attract one.

However, most of West Berkeley's food stores are in the area from Addison St. north, suggesting that the southern residentfal areas are relatively underserved. In addition, ·a West Berkeley supermarket might be feasible if it could capture some of the traffic from outside West Berkeley which use West Berkeley arterials. In addition, it has been suggested that the Redevelopment Agency explore the idea of establishing an outdoor "mercado" or farmers/arts and crafts market at the Delaware St.' Historic District (Delaware St. between 5th and 6th). Such a mercado might be able to draw on the regional traffic 4th St. draws while providing locally useful'services (and re-establishing the retail importance of Oceanview's historic main street) ..
'Food stores as a category in the Standard Industrial Classification includes both general grocery stores, such as supermarkets and comer groceries, and more specialized shops such as bakeries, fish markets, and meat markets. Perhaps one reason West Berkeley residents feel underserved by food stores is that many area food stores are specialized, while others are small. Small stores also generally have higher prices than supermarkets. However, Berkeley as a whole has significantly more food stores than typical for a California city its size.

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VII. IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES
Priority Implementation Activities
The first group of activities are activities which have been selected for ho.th their particular importance in implementing the goals of the Element and for the likelihood that they can be at least partially implemented in the short run. . 1. Targeted in.dustrial retention and attraction program-Develop and imple­ ment a targeted West Berkeley industrial retention and attraction program, including preparation of appropriate and timely informational and promotional materials.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policy IC; Goal 4, Policy 4A Responsibility: Community Development Services, Community Development · Department
Funding: Costs not yet analyzed, but general Berkeley promotional brochure published, West Berkeley promotional brochure planned.

2. Large Site Reuse Project-Make reuse ,oflarge sites such as Colgate and Utility Body priorities for business assistance, explore how planning tools such as the Large Site Development Process could facilitate development on these sites, and explore mecha­ nisms for financing toxic remediation and improvements on the site, including (but not limited to) expansion of the Redevelopment Area and creation of assessment districts.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policy IC; Goal 4, Policy 4A; Goal 5, Policy SA
Responsibility: Community Development Services, with City Planning Dept.

Funding No non-staff costs yet identified.

3. Major Employer Training Project-Implement the Biotech Academy provi­ sions of the Miles Development Agreement, and seek to develop similar comprehensive education and training arrangements with other large employers, particularly those in the biotech/laboratory·field.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 4, Policy 4C; Goal 5, Policies SA and SB Responsibility: Community Development Services
Funding: Miles Development Agreement.

General Implementation Activities:

A. Ordinances, Regulation and Policy Development

1. Rezoning-Rezone the West Berkeley Plan Area to reflect the land use districts, permitted and prohibited uses, and development standards of the West Berkeley Plan.

Goals and Policies Implemented-Land Use Element Goals and policies, also Economic Development Element Goal 1, Policies IA & lB; Goal 2; Goal 3, Policy 3B; Goal 4, Policy 4A
Responsibility: City Planning Department
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Funding: Regular staff and operations fund.ing

2. Arts and Crafts-Review the functioning of the arts and crafts Ordinance, and develop recommendations about how it can best be implemented.

Goals and Policies lmplemented:-Goal 7, Policy 7 A
Responsibility: City Planni_ri.g Department, in consultation with affected parties.

Funding: R~gular s·taff funding • • •
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3. Mitigations-Develop and adopt as Ordinances housing, child care, and possibly other mitigations which reflect both the City's goal of recovering the impacts of • development, and the ~City's goal of maint;ining· manufacturing ~nd creating jobs generally. • • •
Goals and Poiicies Implemented: Housing/Social Services go.ais Responsibility: Community Development Services, Community Development Department, with City Planning Department •
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' ' 4. Coordination with County-Increase City coordim1tion wit}:i ~pd participa- tion in Alameda County industrial r~tenti~n-, defense conversion,job training, and other econo~ic development programs and policy developm'ent.
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Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policy 1 C; _G~al 2; Goal 5, Policy SJ\ Responsibility: Com~unity Development, Services, Community Development Department, with Berkeley representative on Alameda County Economic Development Advisory Commission •
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Funding: Regular staff and operating funds
B. Programs • '

1. Building Buyout Program-Impl_ement the West Berkeley small· business buyoutprogram, established as a mitigation for the Durkee project.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policy lC; Goal 5 Responsibility: Community Development Services, Community Development Department
Funding Program Self-funde_d

2. Buyouts of Retiring Owners-Develop a'rid implement a financing and technical assistance program to facilitate worker or community buyouts of retiring owners of manufacturers.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policy lC
Responsibility: Community Develop~ent Services; Community Development Department . ,
, F~~di~g ,Costs not !yet analyzed.' Industrial Development Bonds possible source • • for project finan.cing. . • • •
. 3. Emp_loyment/fraining System- Institute a coordinated program to improve Berkeley's system for employment training, and to impro\'.e Berkeley resident workers' access to Berkeley jobs (see also Priority_ A
0 ctivity #3)
Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 5, Policy SA & 5B
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Responsibility: City Manager's Office, possibly to be delegated Funding Costs not yet analyzed.

4. Recognition-Develop mechanisms to recognize and publicize manufacturers and other businesses with outstanding records in environmental quality, local hiring, or other contributions to the Berkeley community.

Goals and Policies Implemented:: Goal 1, Policy lC
Responsibility: Community Development Services, Community Development Department
Funding Regular staff and operating funds

5. Business Assistance-Continue to provide assistance to manufacturers, retailers, and other businesses seeking to locate or expand in appropriate West Berkeley locations.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goals 1,2,3,4; Policies lC, 2A, 3A, 4A J?.esponsibility: Community Development Department
Funding: General Fund
C. Projects

1. Business Directory-Develop a directory of West Berkeley businesses, both for. retail customers and to assist West Berkeley businesses in buying goods from each other.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal l; Goal 2; Goal 3: Goal 8, Policy BA Responsibility: Not yet determined, directories frequently published by commu­ nity organizations
• Funding: Costs not yet analyzed.

D. Studies
. 1. San Pablo Ave. Economic Development Study-Analyze the social, economk, and physical conditions and potentials on San Pablo Ave., in order to formulate and • . .
implement an Improvement Strategy for San Pablo Avenue. The strategy should • emphasize attracting and retaining desired businesses and improving the physical character and appearance of the street.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 3, Policy 3A; Goal 6 • Responsibility: Not yet determined
Funding: Costs not yet analyzed.

2. Redevelopment Feasibility-Study whether renewal and expansion of the Redevelopment Area would be a feasible and appropriate method to finance West Berkeley Plan proposals. The study would develop an appropriate proposed area.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goals from Housing, Transportation, Environ­ mental Quality Elements, also Goal I, Policy IC; Goal 3, Policy 3A; Goal 4, Policy 4A; Goal 6, Policy 6A; Goal 7, Policy 7 A.

Responsibility Redevelopment Agency
Funding Costs not yet analyzed.

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3. Economic Development Organization-Explo'te the feasibility and usefulness of creating some form of West Berkeley economic development entity, such as an Economic Dev~lopment Corporation, perhaps analogous to Coliseum C~rporation in Oakland ...

Goals and Policies Implemented: Potentially all, depending on entity's focus.

Responsibility: Community Develqpment Services with City l'lanning Dept.

Funding: No sources identified, ,b,ut Miles Development Agreement provides for Miles' in-kind support to West Berkeley economic development forum.

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· ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
I. STRATEGIC STATEMENT
West Berkeley in many ways is the environmental "frontline" of Berkeley. It is adjacent _to the Bay and Interstate 80, and contains the Southern Pacific Railroad and all or part ofBerk~ley's 2 State highways. West Berkeley has Berkeley's largest concentration of users of hazardous materials, such as manufacturers, laboratories, and auto repair· . . . . . shops. West Berkeley also has a thinner network of public transportation network than the rest of Berkeley, forcing greater reliance on automobiles for transportation. Iri this, special-and especially vulnerable-context, citywide policies and strategies to protect '?":i and improve the environment become particularly crucial for maintaining West Berkeley's • ••• }i !\
productive diversity of industrial, residential, and commercial land uses. t Environmental strategies are found throughout the West Berkeley Plan because achieving good environmental quality is a key goal of the Plan. Environmental measures are found particularly in the Transportation, and Land Use Elements, as well as this Environmental Quality Element. This Element establishes the environmental measures necessary to maintain a balance between a viable and productive economy -which provides economic opportunity (and funds environmental protection efforts)-and a · decent, safe, and sanitary residential community and work environment. Implementation has already begun on a great many of its measures. The Plan is premised not on the displacement of existing manufacturers, but rather on the improvement of their (as well as other business', institutions', and households') environmental practices.

This Element's goals and policies complement those of the Transportation and Land Use (and Economic Development) Elements. The ~nd Use and Transportation Elements provide environmental protection through a gradation of zoning/land use districts, the careful selection of permitted and prohibited uses, strategies to reduce single occupant vehicle trips, and a set of appropriate development standards. The environmen­ tal goals and policies that follow are based on a strategy of increased communication, community participation, regulatory coordination, and a spirit of cooperation and compromise. In particular this Element addresses community awareness and the regulatory process, as well as 5 specific areas of concern: Hazardous Materials, Bio hazardous Environmental Quality
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WEST BERKELEY PLAN
Materials, Air Quality, Soils and Groundwater, and Noise. On the positive side, the Element briefly reviews the actual activity and potential for further activity of recycling in West Berkeley.
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II. BACKGROUND
A. General Introduction
On some fundamental levels, the environmental quality of West Berkeley is good and improving. The Bay Area overall has almost the lowest air pollution of the 20 largest American metropolitan areas, with most measures showing continued improvemenL West Berkeley, with its strong prevailing westerlies from the Bay and the ocean, shares in this favorable circumstance. Drinking water, supplied by the East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD), is high quality, drawn from clean Sierra sources.

Yet there are unquestionably serious environmental issues in W,est Berkeley.

Interstate 80 is a major emitter of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, arid reactive organic gases, joined by some industrial users. There is significant use of hazardous materials in industries and households, causing the potential for environmental problems. Aquatic Park has suffered water quality problems, many other sites have contaminated soils. The ground itself can be a cause for concern in West Berkeley, given that it has liquefaction potential in earthquake, particularly west of 3rd St. (Southern Pacific RR).

These environmental stresses do not occur in splendid isolation in WestBerkeley­ because from virtually its beginnings as Oceanview until today West Berkeley has encompassed the full range of uses from "heavy" industrial to residential. Conflicts over noise, odors and sometimes more severe problems are virtually. structured into this pattern. Some previous planning efforts sought to deal with these conflicts by eliminating either the residential or the industrial component. The West Berkeley Plan by contrast • recognizes conflicts, seeks to reduce them, and seeks to improve environmental perfor­ mance while maintaining a mix of uses.

The response to these issues has come from a variety of levels, resulting in a complex of federal, state, regional, and local environmental regulations to protect both residents and workers. The appropriate .level for regulation continues to be discussed, especially in the legislature. State laws are often particularly far-reaching. This growing mass of sometimes duplicative legislation can bewilder and irritate businesspeople. Yet the multiplication of laws does not necessarily produce effective enforcement, particu­ larly if resources are not available to enforce them. And some Berkleyans express frustration about what they see as a lack of effective environmental protection.

The West Berkeley Plan Preferred Land Use Concept has a healthy environment as a central goal, without destructive overregulation of West Berkeley's economic base.

One impediment to developing and evaluating environmental strategies is lack of data­ local data on environmental conditions is not yet as well as developed as for areas such as housing, economic development, or transportation. Many environmental problems are broadly regional or site specific, limiting the availability of data about West Berkeley as an area. Over time more relevant data should be available.

This Element of the West Berkeley Plan, along with the Land Use and Transpor­ tation Elements lays out the environmental policy framework and strategies of the West Berkeley Plan. This Element discusses goals, policies, and implementation measures in Environmental Quality
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WEST BERKELEY PLAN
the areas of environmental review generally, hazardous materials, soils and groundwater, air quality, noise, and biohazardous materials. The Environmental Quality Element incorporates one of the most detailed programs for City action of any West Berkeley Plan Element.

Appendix A-Environmental Strategies and Implementation Measures- is a 1992 evaluation of a set of generally short~r range strategies in these areas which the West Berkeley Plan Committee put forward for .re~iew .. In many cases, as the Appendix describes, the City is already implementing programs in these areas. Taken as a _whole, the goals, policies, ap.q implementation measures in the Element and the Appendix are designed not only to. address specific environmental concerns, but to improve the environmental regulatory process as well.
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B. Hazardous Material~Vse & Disposal

1. Existing Conditions·
• .• •• J ' \ ' .
. Hazardous materials raise environmental concerns because they niay be released into the air, water,~~ soil, and then pose a threat· to people who are on site or nearby. In recent years, most businesses a~d institutions have tried to reduce their use of hazardous mate!ials, in part b~cause it has become increasingly expensive io handle them. However, for many manufacturers, laboratories, and service providers, there are as yet no adequate substitutes for many hazardous materials. •
Hazardous materials releases can occur during any of the stages of use of hazardous materials. These stages are: . first, hazardous materials of various types are . acquired and stored l;>y a business or institution. Secondly, these hazardous materials are . ' _,
used in the production of a (generally) non~hazardous product or provision of a non- hazardous service (e.g. chlorine is used to clean swimming pools). Finally, a typically much smaller qua~tity of hazardous waste is produced as the outcome of the production/ service process. Hazardous wa;{tes represent those portions of hazardm.i"s materials nor cons~med or transformed during the production process.

At present, there is no comprehensive source of current data on the hazardous materials or the hazardous waste stream fr9m Berkeley. City records are not yet adeguate to assess t~e overall level of hazardous materials use in West Berkeley. As of November, 1992, 256 users of hazardous materials in West Berkeley have registered with the City.

There _may be additional users_ of hazardous materials who have failed to register. West Berkeley has more hazardous materials users than any other area, but the largest single users in Berkeley are UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley Labs. The users range from gas stations and auto repair shops to foundries and pharmaceutical companies. The City-in the office of Toxics&: Emergency Management...::_is currently assembling a data base on the various hazardous_ materials used by different companies and institutions. • West Berkeley hazardous materials users are generally. found o~ commercial c9rridors and in "heavier" industrial areas. San Pablo Ave. has-by preliminary court-'­ some 67 users of hazardous materials/generators of quantities of hazardous waste sufficient to require the filing of a Busin~ss Plan. However, these businesses are largely . '
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auto repair shops, whose main waste is small quantities of used oil. The Mixed Use/ Light Industrial district-which is the largest non-residential district in West Berkeley-has the largest number of users/generators-95. These businesses are not concentrated-spread­ ing from the Emeryville to the Albany line, from near San Pablo Ave: to the railroad track.

Hazardous materials users in this district largely consist of auto repair shops, wholesalers, and light manufacturers. The smaller Manufacturing and Mixed Manufacturing districts have smaller numbers of hazardous materials users-27 and 15 respectively. However, these users tend to be larger and "heavier", s~ch as foundries, chemical plants, and pharmaceutical plants. Finally, the Mixed Use/Residential district has some 25 hazardous materials us~rs, including auto repair shops, light manufacturers, and wholesalers.

Data on the waste stream is somewhat outdated. The most comprehensive data now available are the 1986 figures contained in the Alameda County Hazardous Waste Management Plan. The Plan indicates that Berkeley generated 6,248 of the 85,107 tons of hazardous waste generated countywide. Thus Berkeley generated slightly over 7% of the County's waste stream, while representing slightly under 9% of the County's population. Berkeley wastes were made up of 3,267 tons of manifested waste, 2,744 tons from small generators, an estimated 160 tons from households, and an estimated 77 tons from tank cleanups. While no data is available for West Berkeley specifically, we may safely assume it provided a major part of the waste stream. Non-West Berkeley contributors include the University of California, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, private . laboratories, auto repair shops, and gas stations.

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The compos1t10n of manifested wastes (those ,wastes shipped offsite) from Berkeley was doµ1inated by "Miscellaneous Waste" ( 40%) which includes inorganic solids, aged organics,. empty containers, photo and lab wastes, . household wastes, . pharmaceuticals, and asbestos. Soils contamtnated by leaks or spills represented 21 % of the ~aste ·stream. Non-halogenated solvents (solvents _whose composition does not include chlorine) accounted for an additional .18% of the manifested waste. The wastes represented a wide range of hazard· h!ve_k
Since 1986, source reduction and pollution prevention efforts seem to have reduced the waste stream. One major change is a dramatic reduction iri hazardous waste disposal by DeSoto, Inc (now Courtalds). DeSoto's 1,104 tons disposed of in 1986 accounted for 34% of Berkeley's manifested waste stream and 18% of the city's total hazardous waste stream1.

2. Regulatory Framework
There are over 15 major state, federal, and local laws which regulate the ·use of hazardous materials and waste in (West) Berkeley. Each has a variety-of complex · reporting, inspection, and monitoring programming requirements. Virtually any business using hazardous materials in Berkeley is required to submit a Hazardous Materials Management Plan, which contain·s basic information on the facility, materials used there, and emergency response plans for handling incidents. Risk Management and Prevention Programs, specifying engineered backup safety systems-to protect • the community in the event of a primary systems failure, are required for a ·small number of large scale hazardous materials users. Berkeley's own Disclosure Ordinance also requires users to disclose known carcinogens or reproductive health hazards that they use.

Alameda County is preparing to adopt a Hazardous Waste Management Plan, to coordi­ nate and guide hazardous waste management in the County. The City has recently enacted 2 hazardous materials Ordinances-the Ozone Depleting Compounds Ordi­ nance O uly, 1989) and the Hazardous Waste Importation Regulation Act (Feb. 1991), and is considering adoption of a Pollution Prevention Act.

C. Biohazardous Materials-Use and disposal

1. Existing Conditions
Bio hazardous materials are specific subset of hazardous materials. Biohazardous materials are those with the potential to cause infection and disease. Such materials are used in West Berkeley by "biotechnology" manufacturers, by laboratories, and to lesser extent by medical, dental, and veterinary offices (which are relatively rare in West Berkeley). Biotechnology is a growing industry in the Bay Area, and one which Berkeley is well positioned to capture-thus it may well expand in West Berkeley in the years ahead. 1 The prominence of DeSoto reflected a Countywide pattern. In 1986, 12 manifestors (or .01 % of all manifestors)­ DeSoto and 11 non-Berkeley establishments-created 13,257 tons of waste, or 20% of the Countywide manifested waste stream.

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2. Regulatory Framework
The use and disposal of biohazardous materials is regulated by a very extensive network of state, federal, and local law. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has developed Guidelines for use of recombinant DNA. One of the requirements of the • Guidelines is establishment of an Institutional Biosafety Committee at each site using DNA. The manufacture of pharmaceuticals intended for human use is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA not only inspects the final product, but inspects manufacturing facilities to insure that they follow Current Good Manufacturing Practices. (Bio) hazardous waste generation and management are regulated by state statutes such as the California Hazardous Waste Control Law. The City has been restructuringits regulation of biohazards. A former City Ordinance, now repealed, dealt solely with recombinant DNA, and required public hearings to use it. Current City law is . much broader and includes disclosure requirements for such items as the use of biosafety level 2 and 3 organisms, safety and health information for emergency responders, and certification of compliance with safe laboratory practices.

Miles, Inc. is the largest biotech company in Berkeley. The Development Agree­ ment which they recently signed with the City ( which will allow them to pursue a 30 year development program) contains a number of measures to both reduce the risk. of biologically hazardous material, and to increase community awareness about the topic.

Miles' Waste Reduction program applies to biohazardous material as well as other hazardous material, a requirement which goes beyond current California law. Similarly, Miles' Risk Communication program incorporates material about biohazards as well as "conventional" hazardous material.

The State of California adopted the 1991 Medical Waste Management Act. The Act regulates the generation, transportation, disposal, and treatment of medical wastes.

Medical waste generators include medical and dental offices, clinics, hospitals, laborato­ ries of all types, veterinary treatment facilities, and pet shops. The state's expectation was that local "Administering Agencies" such as the City of Berkeley would 'administer the Act's regulations. However, upon reviewing the costs of administration and the state's proposed fee structure, the City decided not to assume responsibility for the program.

This decision was also made by a majority of the other administering agencies in the state .

D. Soil and Groundwater Contamination

1. Existing Conditions
Soil and groundwater contamination can occur if hazardous materials {or biohazardous materials) are not handled safely. Such contamination can be caused by incidents, such as a spill of materials. It can also result from losses of material during operation of a facility. Leaks from underground tanks have been.a particularly common source of contamination. Typically, contamination is a site by site issue, but if contami­ nants have leaked into the groundwater there can be "plumes" of contaminants to neighboring properties. Soil and groundwater contamination is more dispersed through­ out Berkeley than some other environmental problems. Of the properties in Berkeley Environmental Quality
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known to have experienced underground tank leaks, less than half are in West Berkeley.

These leaks occurred at a great variety of types of uses-manufacturers, gas stations, auto repair facilities, private and University-related laboratories, apartment buildings (out of heating fuel tanks), and other typ~s of sites.

2. Regulatory Framework.:
like other environmental arenas, soil and groundwater contamination is subject to both state and local regulation.· The California Health and Safety Code sets out the basic requirements that all underground tanks be registered, that permits be obtained before they are installed, and thanhey meet construction and operating standards. The Uniform Fire Code-which the ·city of Berkeley adopts as its own Fire Code-also includes provisions concerning fire safe fuel storage and tank installation.· The Regional Water Quality Control Board is responsible for monitoring the·cleanup of hazardous materials that-have contaminated groundwater. The State .Department of Health Services is responsible for approving soil remediation goals, and thus has overlapping jurisdiction with the Regional Board. Once contamination is detected, soils and groundwater must be remediated ·before _sites can be released for further use.

The City's Toxics and Pollution· Prevention Program acts as lead agency and administering agency for the Regional Board, and therefore oversees granting of permits, monitoring ofconditions, tank removal, and release investigations. However, closure­ regulato_ry signoff than work is completed--0n sites with hazardous wastes is handled by Alameda County rather than the City of Berkeley.

E. Air Quality

1. Existing Conditions
While environmental problems related to hazardous materials are site specific, air quality problems tend to spread across multiple sites. Depending on the source of air pollutants, and the particular pollutant being emitted, the problem may spread over a greater or lesser area. Unlike some parts of the Bay Area, air quality in Berkeley meets clean air standards almost every day of the year.

Transportation is the grea'test source of air quality problems in the Bay Area. Over half of the background concentration of toxic air contaminants in the Bay Area comes from motor vehicles (cars, trucks, and other vehicles). Motor vehicle emissions account for 83% of ambient carbon monoxide, 43% of human-caused reactive.organic gases (gases which react with nitrogen oxide in sunlight to form dangerous low ievel ozone), and 56% of ni trogeii oxides. The remainder come from a variety of stationary sources, notably fuel combufoon by utilities, manufacturers; ~nd households. Use of paints, solvents, and chemicals, in manufacturing, business, and household situations also contributes. The most severe problem in the Bay A_rea (although relatively mild by large metropolitan area standards)· is ozone in photochemical smog. Particulate matter has also become an increasing concern. West Berkeley's foremost local air pollution problem-likely to get worse with worsening traffic conditions-is Interstate 80. There are also other major roads and some major manufacturers contributing to pollution problems. • Environmental Quality
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2. Regulatory Framework
Authority to regulate air pollution descends from the federal government to the state government to regional agencies. In California, the California Air Resources Board coordinates and oversees both the Federal and State air pollution control programs. These are implemented through regional districts. In West Berkeley, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) is responsible for both air quality planning and enforcement. The District has recently adopted a Clean Air Plan which includes a number of Transportation Control Measures and controls on stationary sources in an effort to bring the Bay Area as close as possible to 100% attainment of state pollution standards.

Specifically, the Plan seeks to reduce per capita exposure to pollutant levels above the state standards by 50% by 1994 and by 75% by 1997 (it should be noted that inland valleys, San Jose, and Vallejo are more likely to have excessive pollutant levels than the East Bay). For air emissions compliance, the Distrkt has a full-time Berkeley inspector, and the Toxics Program maintains a reciprocal referral and monitoring system with BAAQMD for responding to air quality complaints.1
BAAQMD has enacted on a regulation which would require every employer of over 100 people in the region to develop measures to increase "Average Vehicle Ridership"-to increase the number of people who commute by transit, carpool, bicycle, and other "alternative" means. The City could accept "delegation" of authority from BAAQMD to implement this Program, but has chosen not to do so at this time. The City's Trip Reduction Ordinance complements this regulation. It requires-among other provisions-that employers designate a commute coordinator and provide information about alternatives to driving alone to their employees (see the Transportation Element) 1In addition, at this time-October, 1993-the Mayor of Berkeley, Loni Hancock, sits on the Air Quality District Board.

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E Noise

1. Existing Conditions
Like air quality, noise is a problem of contamination ofthe ambient environment, in this case by excessively loud sound. Noise can be a problem in the outdoor environ­ ment, for those who work and/or play there. Noise can also enter the indoor environment, although some measures can be taken to reduce noise impacts on indoor places.

According to environmental studies, the primary source of noise in West Berkeley is auto and truck traffic on major roads. Typically, this noise will most impact the first row of buildings along the street, which attenuate (lessen) the impact for people in buildings behind them. However, a major highway like 1-80 has literally far-reaching noise impacts.

Another noise source is the Southern Pacific railroad line, which currently accommodates some 36 trains per day (2 direction total). A secondary noise source is from various industrial operations.

Noise is difficult to measure, because it not only varies from place to place, but also from time to time. The West Berkeley Plan Environmental Impact Report projects noise contours-areas where overall noise levels are likely to exceed 60 decibels. 60 decibels is the level the 1977 Master Plan sets as a generally acceptable level. The EIR indicates that noise is likely to be higher on major travel corridors, and gener:ally from 4th St: west, due to the impact of freeway noise. Aquatic Park is one of the more heavily noise­ impacted sites in Berkeley, although this should improve somewhat with the construction of soundwall along 1-80 near the park.

2. Regulatory Framework
Noise is'one of the few environmental areas where regulation is almost completely loc·al. The City's Noise Ordinance-last amended in 1982-sets limits for permissible noise levels during the day and night according to the zoning of an area. Residential zones have quieter standards than industrial-or commercial zones, but the Ordinance'does not re~ogriize residents living in non-residential zones. However, if ambient noise-the general level of noise in an area-exceeds the standard, that ambient noise level becomes the allowable noise
level. The Ordinance
is widely .viewed as
both inadequate and
hard to enforce, there­
fore the Health Depart­
ment is in the process
of documenting the
current state of Berk­
eley noise problems as
a prelude to revising
the Noise Ordinance.

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Ill. GOALS AND POLICIES
A. Community Awareness and the Regulatory Process
Goal 1:

Improve the efficiency, coordination and effectiveness of environmental review and regulation, • and provide recognition and reward to firms which exceed environmental standards.

Rationale:

The West Berkeley community-residents, businesses, environmentalists and others-seek to improve the existing local environmental review and regulation process.

All parties seek a more "transparent" and understandable process. Environmentalists seek to assure that environmental information will be accessible, that there will be citizen participation in the policy-making process, and that any new users of hazardous materials will be carefully reviewed. Businesses seek to assure that regulation will not be so onerous as to threaten business viability, and that regulatory requirements are not duplicated or conflicting. All sectors of the community recognize the need to improve preparedness for environmental emergency, compliance with environmental law, enforcement, and clean up efforts. They also acknowledge the value of recognizing and rewarding those firms which exceed environmental standards or otherwise undertake extraordinary environ­ mental efforts.

Policies

1.1 Provide environmental information which is accessible to the community and ip. a central location, through a coordinated staff effort.

1.2 Coordinate environmental regulation, both within the City of Berkeley, and with County, regional, state, andfederal agencies, to avoid duplicative and unnecessary efforts by regulators and businesses, while meeting environmental standards.

1.3 Increase1 citizen participation in environmental policymaking, in coordination with City staff programs.

1.4 Increase preparedness for environmental emergencies, utilizing existing neighbor­ hood organizations and watch groups, as well as other resources.

1.5 Retrofit seismically unsafe buildings.

1.6 Avoid the establishment of new uses which pose unmitigable environmental hazards (see Permitted and Prohibited Uses in Land Use Element).

1. 7 Require new uses to demonstrate an ability to meet applicable environmental laws and standards.
11n this document, the terms "increase", "reduce," or "enhance" mean (unless otherwise specified) increase, reduce,etc. from 1990-9 I levels.

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1.8 Enforce new and existing environmental laws in coordination with non-City regulatory agencies.

1.9 Assist existing manufacturers (and other businesses and institutions) to achieve compliance with environmental standards.

1.10 Require businesses which close or leave Berkeley to clean up contaminated sites·, as mandated by State law.

1.11 Recognize and reward those companies which exceed City of Berkeley or regional environmental standards, or undertake other extraordinary environmental efforts . . B. Hazardous Materials
Goal 2:

Reduce the generation of, importing importing into West Berkeley, transportation; use, storage, and disposal of all hazardous material/hazardous waste.

Rationale:

It is in the
0 in.terest of all West Berkeley stakeholders to see that the transport·, use, and disposal of hazardous materials is minim_ized. Recognizing this, an increasing number of West Berkeley industries h~ve ind'eed so~ght to minimize or eliminate' th~ use of hazardous materials, or to use materials with a lower level of hazard. They hav~ done so because it is increasingly expensive to handle and dispose of hazardous waste, and because there is an increasing market for products produced in an environmentally sound . manner. Nevertheless, there are many firms and research organizations-large and small-which still must use hazardous. materials for producing goods or providing • . . • . -
services: Although on a much smaller scale, ordinary households use hazardous materials. Given these realities, and given the cl~se proximity of industrial, laboratory, and residential uses in West Berkeley, the effective regulation of hazardous materials and waste is critical.

Policies

2.1 Reduce to the greatest feasible extent the amount and/or hazard intensity of hazardous materials and hazardous waste imported into West Berkeley, transported through West Berkeley, used or stored in West Berkeley and disposed of by West Berkeley businesses, institutions, and households.

2.2 -Promote risk manageml';nt and communication

2.3 Promote hazardous waste reduction and recycling
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C. Biohazardous Materials
Goal 3:

Assure that biohazardous materials are appropriately regulated, by the City or other agencies.

Rationale:

Biohazardous materials-even more than other environmental problems-are regulated by complex network of agencies at various levels of government. The City . should work to assure both that regulation covers important issues, and that businesses are not subject to unnecessary and repetitive regulation.

Policies:

3.1 Implement the City's new biohazards amendments to the Hazardous Materials Disclosure Ordinance

3.2 Coordinate City regulatory action with other agencies.

D. Soil and Groundwater Contamination
Goal 4:

Decrease the level of contamination in West Berkeley soils and groundwater.

Rationale:

The degree to which soils and groundwater in West Berkeley are contaminated is not fully understood at present. Unfortunately, there have been cases of contamination, the apparent result of decades when industrial, commercial, and even residential environ­ mental practices were less than careful. Nonetheless, increased disclosure requirements, inspections, and enforcement efforts can both provide information about conditions and improve the conditions.

Policies

4. l Increase contaminated site clean up efforts
E. Air Quality
Goal 5:

Enhance air quality in West Berkeley
Rationale:

Air quality in the East Bay (as measured by state standards) has been generally good in recent years. Nevertheless, the 1-80 Freeway, and to a lesser extent industrial sources, continue to be significant sources of air pollution. Some air emissions are actually Environmental Quality
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or potentially hazardous to health, while others are not, but result in unpleasant odors.

By working- along with the Bay Area Air Quality Managem.ent District-for trip reduction, and improvements in industrial emissions, air quality in West Berkeley can continue to improve.

Policies

5.1 Improve communication and coordinate responsibilities for assista_nce, enforcement, and complaint response. with the BAAQMD.

5.2 Reduce existing traffic and adequately miti.gat~ th~ impact of ~uture_ traffi~-(see Transportation Element)

5.3 Regulate the use of ozone depleting compounds.

5.4 Promote .risk management and <;ommunication_prapices.

5.5 Reduce the importing, transportation, use and storage of materials which will become airborne hazardous waste.

5.6 Avoid the establishment of new us_es which woul~ create unmitigable odors in residential districts.

5. 7 Institute tree planting as an anti-pollution measure (see Physical Form Element for Implementation Measures)
E Noise
Goal 6:

Reduce irritating noise by mitigating existing nois_e conflicts and preventtng the development of future noise conflicts.

Rationale:

There are many quiet times in West Berkeley, yet the area is also often subject to freeway and highway noise, railroad noise, and industrial noise, along with other an:ibient urban noise. However, there are many measures which can be taken to reduce the amount that noise impinges on "sensitive receptors" such as residents. Separating industrial and residential uses to prevent the creation of additional noise conflicts.

Policies

6.1 To the extent feasible, separate noise emitters from sensitive receptors (see Buffer Standards in Land Use Element.)

6.2 Develop performance standards for new uses (see Performance Standards in Land Use Eiement).
i .

6.3 Investigafe problem noise sources and develop appropriate s9lutions thrqugh negotiation or enforcement.

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6.4 Regulate truck circulation. (see Transportation Element for Implementation Mea­ sures)

6.5 Construct sound walls around freeways where feasible.

Goal 7:

Support and increase the recycling of a broad range of materials.

Rationale:

Berkeley has historically been a leader in recycling activity, and West Berkeley has historically been a location for recycling businesses. Recycling of discarded materials such as glass, paper, metals, plant debris, and construction materials is more important than ever, to help us towards a sustainable economy, to help preserve resources, and to fulfill local, State, and Federal mandates.

These issues are discussed in detail in the Source Reduction arid Reduction Element, by the City to fulfill the requirements of the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 and subsequent amendments.

West Berkeley is the Berkeley portion of the Oakland-Berkeley Recycled Materials Development Zone (RMDZ), a state designated zone where businesses are encouraged and assisted to use recycled materials in producing products. In this way, recycling of materials can support the goals of the Plan to retain and attract manufacturers.

Policies:

7.1 Support the growth of businesses using recycled materials in the West Berkeley RMDZ. Assist existing manufacturers and other businesses to convert to recycled materials in their production processes, and attract new businesses that use recycled materials.

7.2 To the extent feasible, and consistent with other land use goals, provide locations for recycling businesses in West Berkeley.

7.3 Implement citywide recycling programs in West Berkeley .

7.4 Encourage local businesses to use products - especially locally-made products - made from recycled materials, such as packaging, office supplies, and construction and . landscaping materials .

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IV. IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES ••
A. Implementation Programs
General Programs:

1. Centralize and ~oordinate ~~wironmental information-using measures such as an improved software program.::..:_through ihe Emergency &: Toxics Management Office, Office of Special Community Services. This will provide Co.mmunity Right to Know information.

Goa.ls and Polici~s I;,,plemented: Goal 1, Policy l' • ••• . ~ ~-. '
Responsibility: Emergency & Toxics Mai:i,agement Office Funding/Status: Ongoing operations
.. 2. Develop and implement work program for the Community Environmental Advisory Commission.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1: Policy 3
Responsibility: Emergency & toxics Management Office
Funding/Status: Ongoing operations
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Hazardous and Biohazardous Materials Programs

3. Revise and resubmit to state Citywide Chemical Emergency Respo-µse. Plan.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policy 4
Responsibility: Toxics&: Pollutio~ Prevention Progra~
' . '
Funding/Status: 1991-92 Work Program-Coll').pleted •

4. Provide risk management and communication program assistance to manufac­ turers and other businesses.

Goals and Policies Impkmented: Goal 2, Policy 2
Responsibility: Emergency&: Toxics Management Office.
' ' '
Funding/Status: Ongoing operations

5. Work ~ith businesses to improve exi;ting odor problems. • •• • . : ' - -:. ' . . •• ' '
Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 5
Responsibility: Emergency&: Toxics Management Office; Community Develop­ ment Department
Funding/Status: Ongoing operations
Air Quality Programs

6. Continue to review new and expanded uses for odorous potential.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 5, Policy 6
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Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding/Status: Ongoing City operations, project applicants fees.

Recycling Programs

7. Provide assistance to businesses through the Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ)
Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 7, Policies 1~4
Responsibility: RMDZ Program (jointly funded by Cities of Oakland and Berkeley) Funding/Status: Ongoing Implementation
B. Projects

1. Map source sites and groundwater contamination plumes.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 3, Policy 2
Responsibility: Emergency & Toxics Management Office
Funding/Status: 1994-95 Work Program

2. Construct acoustic berm along western edge of Aquatic Park, as recommended in Aquatic Park Master Plan.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 6, Policy 5
Responsibility: Public Works Department (Parks/Marina Division) Funding/Status: Caltrans to fond, design not yet finalized C. Ordinance and Regulatory Changes to Implement Element Hazardous Materials Ordinances

1. Implement 1991 Hazardous Material Importation Regulation Act.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 2, Policy 1
Responsibility: Emergency & Toxics Management Office
Funding/Status: Ongoing operations-to be reviewed in Hazardous Waste Man­ agement Plan
· 2: Create a hazard ranking system for use in charging fees and evaluating Use Permits
Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Goal 2; Policies 1.2, 1.6, 1.7, 2.1,2.2 Responsibility: Emergency & Toxics Management Office
Funding/Status: To be developed in Fiscal Year 1993-94, in conjunction with rezoning of West Berkeley

3. Develop and implement standard Use Permit conditions for hazardous waste hauling in West Berkeley.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 2, Policy 1
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Responsibility: City Planning Department, Emergency & Toxics Management Office., Public \Yor~s Departm~nt (Traffic Engineer)
Funding/Status: Will be developed with Hazard Ranking System

4. Adopt requirement for pollution prevention planning (proposed i~ ·th~ Petris bill) to reduce hazardous waste generation and encourage hazardous waste recycling.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 2, Policy 1 -✓ "
Responsibility: Emergency & To~ics Management Office •
Funding/Stat~s: ·Business/Generator fees (potential)
•·
Soil and Groundwater Ordinances and Regulations

5. lmplement Non-Point Discharge Program which regulates runoff of water into storm sewers and Bay.

Goals and Policies Implef!tented: Goal 3, Policy 1
Responsibility: Public Works (Engineering) with Emergency & Toxics Manage­ ment Office
. Funding/Status: Bei:µg implem~nted us~ng business Fee~ Air Quality Ordinances and Regulations

6. ~ork. withrBay Area Air_Quality M,anagement District to assure_ that BAAQMD Clean Air Plan Transportation Control Measures and Statio;i:ary Source Control Measures are implemented in a fair'and effective manner. • •
Goals and Policies I_mplemerited: Goal 5, Policies 1,2
Responsibility: City Planning Department, with Community Development De­ partment
Funding/Status: Ongoing operations.

7. Implement ozone deple~)qn Qi:dinance thro_µg,h preparation of self-enforce­ ment and waiver materials.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Go~l 5, Policy 3
• •, l • ;_'
Responsibility: Emergency & Toxics Management Office
Funding/Status: Implementation Program~su?mitt~l to Council 2/92-:-numerous CFC inspections already conducted.

Noise Ordinances·' '
' .,

8. Revision of Noise Ordinance
Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 6, Po,icies i "and 2 _ Responsibility: He_alth & Human Services Dept.

Funding/Status: To be completed mid-1994
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9. Improve the consideration of noise in Use Permit decisions-particularly for new residential or industrial uses-by measures such as performance standards, standard Use Permit conditions, or other appropriate mechanisms.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 6, Policy 2
Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding/Status: To be included in rezoning of West Berkeley D. Studies
General Studies

1. Review benefits and drawbacks, including potential to jeopardize companies' existence (see Economic Development Element, Policy 1.1) in Berkeley, from require­ ments for increased public notification for environmental review, particularly when related to hazardous materials.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policies 2,3
Responsibility: Emergency &: Toxics Management Office with City Planning Department
Funding/Status: Source not yet identified

2. Study possibility of extending tax credits or other incentives for pollution prevention, source and toxic use reduction. .

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policies 9,11
Responsibility: Emergency&: Toxics Management Office with Community Devel­ opment Dept.

Funding/Status: Source not yet determined
Hazardous Materials Studies

3. Research more comprehensive Hazardous Materials Transportation Ordi­ nance, to extend regulation beyond BART right-of-way.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 2, Policy 1
Responsibility: Fire Department, with City Planning Department, Public Works Department (Traffic /Engineer)
Funding/Status: Source not yet identified

4. Research a mandatory commercial hazardous waste recycling Ordinance, including costs to Berkeley businesses and effects on their competitiveness.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 2, Policy 3
Responsibility: Toxics and Pollution Prevention Program Funding/Status: Source not yet identified
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Noise Studies.

5. Identify sources of night noi5.e, and develop appropriate mitigations when possible. • •
Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 6, Policy 3
Responsibility: Health & Human Services Dept. with City Planning Dept., Com­ munity Development Department
Funding/Status: Source not yet identified
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PHYSICAL FORM
I. STRATEGIC STATEMENT
West Berkeley is a unique urban environment within Berkeley (and indeed the East Bay). West Berkeley's built environment encompasses Berkeley's widest range of building and site types-from massive "heavy" industries to single family houses on small lots. It encompasses an equally wide range of building dates-from the 1870's to the 1990's-the result of a virtually continuous process of building and rebuilding. West Berkeley's built form is the product of decades of additions and subtractions, not of the vision of single developer. This incrementally achieved richness should be conserved and improved as West Berkeley continues to evolve.

West Berkeley is home to striking industrial architecture, historic Victorian homes, and urbane new commercial buildings, as well as purely utilitarian structures and· highway-oriented "strips". Industrial West Berkeley's bold forms and sharp edges communicate a message of motion and machine force. Large low buildings on large sites give a valuable sense of (relative) openness in industrial areas. By contrast, the dense weave of smaller structures in mixed use areas convey the sense of a busy workshop. The parks of West Berkeley-despite their deficiencies-are key open spaces softening the environment.·
The West Berkeley Plan's design and physical form policies accept and celebrate this diversity of form and use, while recognizing that design can be improved within any given use type and geographic area. On the physical level, the Plan seeks to integrate historic preservation and urban design policies, not treat the two as separate issue areas.

On the functional level, the Plan's and the Element's policies seek to continue and acc·entuate West Berkeley's history as a successful multi-ethnic, multiracial, industrially­ based community. The West Berkeley Plan's design and historic policies and programs thus seek to preserve the historic and urban character of West Berkeley in the context of­ not in opposition to-its land use and economic development goals. The Plan's premise is that the character of West Berkeley is the product of West Berkeley's buildings and landscapes, the activities carried on in and around the buildings and landscapes, and the people who live and work here. Thus, the whole Plan-not just this Element is broadly Physical Fann Element
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WEST BERKELEY PLAN
"preservationis·t," and clearly in con!raSt with the c;levelopment path some Bay Are~ communitie~ have chosen. •• • • • ~ • • • •
Yet West Berkeley's urban land?cape can. be made better-more welcoming of ~alkers and bicycli~ts, more gentle with tre~s and landscaping. The area do·es suffer, from certain problems in the built environment-:-from pedestrtan-unfriendJy commercial areas, from unmarked gateways to the area which weaken _its sense of place, from overly .. : ' . harsh transitions between different.types of areas, and from uncl~rutilized ·parks. More- over, while the great majority of West Be_rkeley buildings will remain over th~ cou~se of the Plan period, some ~ew ones ·will be added, and some old on~s subtra~ted, arid these ~ha-nges must be int_egrat_ed as:mucli as pqssible into the West Berkeley urban_ environ­ ment. These.Plan policies therefore seek to further_define:and devel~p the urban fo~m of all part/~f West Berkeley, to highlight West-Berkeley's historic sharacter, revitali~e its parks, organi~e its commercial corridors, iri:tensify the use of commercial.nodes. w~ile making them more pleasant for pedestrians, and to improve the de~ign of new industrial, commercial, and :residential buildings. - • • • • • •
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II. BACKGROUND
A. West Berkeley's History
West Berkeley's history is intertwined with, yet clearly a quite distinct part of, the broader history of Berkeley in the Bay Area. West Berkeley originated as the community of Ocean View, separated by miles of fields from the Campus-based community of "Berkeley." Oceanview and then West Berkeley was a working class community whose residents· held jobs in local factories, while "uptown" Berkeley was dominated by academics and professionals. By the end of the 19th century, West Berkeley was a predominantly. itnmigrant community, but native born Whites dominated most of the rest ofBerkeleyuntil World War II. Even today, the residents,jobs, and buildings of West Berkeley are distinctive within Berkeley. Thus West Berkeley's history demonstrates both tension with and participation in the broader city of Berkeley.

The periods of West Berkeley's history and development might very roughly be • divided into 6 major periods:
1) 1853-1878-Pre-incorporation-Initial Settlement of Ocean View 2) 1878~1906-"Nineteenth Century" Development;
3) 1906~1941-Twentieth Century Growth;
4) 1941-1945-World War II Boom
5) 1946-1978-Post-War Stability and Decline;
6) 1979-__ Contemporary Restructuring and Resurgence
This section will outline key social, political, and architectural developments in each period.

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1. 1853-1878-Pre-Incorporation-Initial Settlement of Ocean View San Francisco was already an "instant city" of at least 50,000, and Oakland a budding town when Oceanview's first American settlers arrived i:ri..1853. Jacob's Wharf, . established in 1853 near the foot of Delaware St. was the port of entry into the community.

It was quickly followed by an inn, a grocery store, and a school (at the Franklin School site). Ocean V!ew in this period developf;d ·primarily in the area bet~ee~ (current) Dela"Yare St. and University Ave. It served as an agricultural and industrial (and commercial) center, supplying Sa~ Fra~cisco and Oakland. In 1860, the area :reported 69 ·residents, most of them working on area farms. By 1874, there.was a horsedrawn-stage connecting Ocean View and B~rkeley. • • • • • •
:.' ' '
Ocean View was also an industr~al center virtually from its beginning. The first factory~the _Pioneer Starch and Grist Mill---;0pened in 1855. It would be joined by enterprises such as a soap plant and a gunpowder maker. Industrial development got further boosts with the 1876 development of a "shoreline railroad" (the current SP mainline) and of gas mains in 1877 (well before central Berkeley got th_is service)._ Few st~ctures from this era remain. One which does is Higgins' Grocery at 834 Delaware-a simple 2 story redwood building which originally served as both inn and grocery store. The storefront now occupied by the Ca'rpet Center (875 University) dates from an 1875 commercial development. : •

2. 1878~1906-"Nineteenth Century" Development
Oceanview's decision in 1878 to jointly incorporate as a city with Campus-based Berkeley (which was also then unincorporated) would profoundly shape its history. It Physical Form Element
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may seem odd that Ocean View chose to incorporate with another community with clearly different residents some 2 miles away. In the 1870's-before electric trolleys or automobiles linked the two areas the separation was substantial. The communities decided to join forces in part because they both feared being absorbed into Oakland, which was seeking to annex the area. Community leaders also sought improved water service, sewers, and law enforcement. However, the joint incorporation initiated an era in which East and West Berkeley fought over how taxes should be levied and used, where City Hall should be located, and to what extent alcohol should be regulated. East Berkeleyans attempted to impose local prohibition on Berkeley in 1899, and were successful in doing so in 1909 (ultimately the prohibition grew so stringent that Oakland grocery stories could not deliver alcohol to Berkeley customers). The City Hall building, for example, was physically moved several times until settling in its current Downtown location, consid~ ered to be "neutral" territory between East and West.

West Berkeley's economic development accelerated in this period, as its industrial life came increasingly to overshadow (but not completely eliminate) its agricultural life.

Improved transportation was a significant factor-the building of a railroad station in 1878 at Delaware St. ( which would later be joined by Corbin Station north of Gilman) was an important stimulus. Even more important was the 1891 opening of an electric trolley line on San Pablo Ave., followed by a line on 9th St. (the reason for that street's great width). 1891 alsosawtheinaugurationof trolley service on University Ave., but east-west routes were never as important to West Berkeley as north-south ones.New and expanded eriterprises included a lumber yard with a pier 1/3 of a mile long for shipping lumber, the Manassee Tannery, and a cement works. By the end of the period, Cutter Labs and California Ink (now Flint Ink) had begun to establish their manufacturing on their current sites. A very few other West Berkeley businesses can trace their origins to this era­ Spenger's began frying fish (at its current location) in the late 1880's.

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West Berkeley's population grew with its economy. By 1900, the area's population had reached 1,544, or about 12% of the city's 13,000+ population (West Berkeley today represents 7% of Berkeley's population). In that year, for the first time, a majority of the West Berkeley population was foreign born-including Finns, other Scandinavians, and Germans. Just as today West Berkeley has the city's most diverse population, it was in the late 19th and early 20th Century the center of .the foreign-born population.

Incorporation was thus followed by both residential and industrial growth. In 1874, the Berkeley Land Title and Improvement Association was formed to sell lots in West Berkeley, but the promotion had little success until 1878. But the succeeding years • saw a proliferation of Victorian cottages, as well as a few grander structures. One modest cottage is the Italianite 2105 5th, erected in 1886. Twin to its southerly neighbor, in the 1890's it housed Thomas F. Dowd, an English immigrant framem;ker and Berkeley town trustee from the 6th Ward. 5th St., 6th St., and the block of Delaware between 5th and 6th are particularly rich in homes from this era. Perhaps the grandest structure ofthe era . is the currently abandoned Niehaus House at 7th &: Channing. Built in 1889 on a lot originally incorporating a full block, the flamboyant woodwork advertised the products • of Nieha~s' planing mill a few blocks away. The latt 19th Century also generated the Gothic spires of St. Procopius' Church at 8th&: Hearst, and Church of the Good Shepherd at 9th&: Hearst. Changing technological needs has ali-but ehminated factory buildings from the period, although there are some remainfog portions from California Inl<.'s Loi:iginal plant. • 1 • ·' • '· ;- •• •
3: 1906-1941: 20th.Ce11tury Growth·
West Berkeley b~c~me a~ ~~t~~rai'indu_strial and resid~ntial.part of thdiay Area metrc;,polis in the early 20th Century. As noted abo~e, the early 20th Century saw growth .in West Berkeley even before the 1906 e~~thquake. Exp~rid.ing_in~ustries were relocating Troin San Francisco to .. the E~st Bay s~ore, with Standard Oil's deve_lopment of a ,.'.new town" of Richmond. being ihe most'spectacular example. Bu·t the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire' spu'rred ·greatly. accelera.ted economic' ~nd pop~lation. growth.

Berkeley's population more than tripled b·etween 1900and' 1910, from approximately 13,000 to some 40,000, making it one of the fasi~st growing cities iu' the country (no • . , ' ..

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separate figures are available for West Berkeley, but numerous houses were built here in this period). Berkeley was the region's booming fringe suburb. Over 30 factories were constructed in Berkeley in the 3 months after the earthquake (Macaulay Foundry is one example). The Census of Manufactures found 84 factories in 1909.

Rapid although somewhat slowed growth continued between 1910 and 1930.

Berkeley's population doubled again by 1930 to 82,000, when West Berkeley reached 5,900. By 1929, there were 173 manufacturers with some 3,400 production workers (the available employment statistic). It was in this era that national manufacturers such as Colgate, Heinz, and Durkee Foods established their California branches in Berkeley (earlier firms were usually locally based).

Many of the buildings of this era remain today. The added factories filled what was then the waterfront (well east of today's shoreline) and blocks along railroad tracks and spurs. The Pfister Knitting (1906), Kawneer (1913), and Heinz Buildings (1929) are all landmark-designated examples of the industrial growth of the era. The area west of 7th St. between Dwight and Heinz-the Plan's Mixed Manufacturing District-was first developed in this era as "an early industrial park". Although residential growth was somewhat scattered, and not in large scale tracts, 1900-1910 saw substantial development in the University-Dwight and Grayson- Heinz areas. By the 1920's homebuilding had moved north and become more systematic-19 of the 25 houses on assessor's block 2125 (9th-10th, Virginia-Cedar) were built between 1919 and 1928. Hundreds of these "workingmen's homes" from these decades survive in West Berkeley, forming the fabric of most of residential West Berkeley. 2515-27 10th St., for example, is an intact group of "Mission cottages" built between 1925 and 1935. Yet not all were owner-occupied: the 1940 Census found virtually an even split between owners and renters in West Berkeley.

Socially, West Berkeley was dominated by White working class immigrants, but not by any one nationality. Over time, Italians and Mexicans (counted as White in the 1940 Census) joined the Finns and Northern Europeans who dominated earlier. How­ ever, the Non-White population in 1940 was less than 3% of West Berkeley's total.

Some of the Finns gathered at Finn Hall at 1819 10th St., later known as Finnish Comrades Hall, after non-communist Finns split and established another hall. Others worshipped at the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church on Channing between 8th and 9th. Another kind of gathering place were the backyard public saunas which some Finns established in this pre-zoning era. Finns would later play an important role in founding the Berkeley Coop grocery.

Yet while all parts of Berkeley benefited (in that era's perception) from growth, political issues remained between West and East Berkeley. West Berkeley made a serious, though unsuccessful attempt to secede from Berkeley in 1908. One major reason for the effort was its incorporation in the "reform" City Charter of 1909 of a complete prohibition on bars and alcohol sales in Berkeley, more than a decade before national prohibition. The new Charter also replaced 7 ward representatives on the City Council with 5 at large ones.

Even as the Charter was approved by voters Citywide, West Berkeleyans voted it down.

Political differences were again highlighted _in 1911, when Socialist J. Stitt Wilson was elected Mayor on the strength of winning every precinct west of Shattuck Ave.

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The Depression of the l 930's reversed industrial growth-e-production employ­ ment_ in manufacturing shrank. But to compensate for the economic slowdown, the federal government sponsored many important public projects. Aquatic Park was created this way, as was the Eastshore Highway and the Ashby Ave .. extension and University Ave. overpass which accessed it.

4. 1941-45-\vorld War II Boom
World War Il was a critical event in the Bay Area generally, and W~st Berkeley specifically. The War vastly increased the population· of ·the Bay Area, brought large numbers of African-Americans to the region for the first time, and greatly strengthened its industrial base. West Berk~ley parti~ipated in this boom as an integral part ofan East Bay industrial belt now stretching virtually unbroken from East Oakland to Richmond.

Berkeley, however, did not suffer the massive overcrowding and strain on public facilities that plagued mushrooming cities such as Richmond and Vallejo. A new "Shoreline Railway" from West Oakland to the Richmond shipyards was opened, using recycled New York City elevated train cars to carry its passengers. The War resulted in the development of the last undeveloped areas of West Berkeley-generally north of Gilman St.'and around the newly extended (to the Eastshore Highway) Ashby Ave., where Potter Creek was still open.

The War produced instant industrial and residential growth in West Berkeley.

The building which now houses Weatherford BMW at the foot of Potter St. was built in 1942 by the U.S. Navy as a foundry making parts for the Richmond shipyards. Other already established industries~such as Pacific Steel Castings and Berkeley Steel Con­ struction (now Berkeley Forge & Tool) near 2nd and Gilman-expanded dramatically to meet wartime-needs. West Berkeley's manufacturers generally boo~ed on the strength of wartime orders.

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West Berkeley's population jumped from 6,100 in 1940 to over 8,200 in 1944, with much of the gain being in Codornices Village 1, wartime housing adjacent to Albany Village. The war's presence was also felt at 9t.h & Ashby, where Camp Ashby was established as a training site for Black soldiers in their segregated units. More permanently, the War established West Berkeley's first large African-American commu­ nity, West Berkeley's 1940 population was only 2% Black, and still had substantial contingents of "foreign born Whites", especially Italians, Mexicans, and Finns. Codornices Village where many of the blacks lived was originally to be closed to blacks (as many • wartime projects were). However, pressure from the Berkeley Interracial Committee, backed by Governor Earl Warren, opened it to them. Blacks faced equally difficult conditions in the private housing market, where then legal restrictive covenants pre­ vented blacks from buying, and many landlords openly discriminated against black would-be renters. By 1950, the area was 30% Black, a proportion it has more than maintained ever since.

5. 1945-1978-Post War Stability and Decline
The post-war era brought stability to West Berkeley manufacturing, but change to its population. West Berkeley was now a mature area-not part of the (then) declining· regional core, but certainly no longer on the suburban fringe. Manufacturing employment and (real dollar) value added would continue to rise through the Census of Manufactures of 1972. There was substantial industrial building in the late 1940's and 1950's, though by the 1960's construction had declined. West Berkeley's residential population became increasingly African-American, with a Black majority found in 1970 and 1980. In this period, the City Council (and some others) increasingly perceived West Berkeley as • blighted and in need of redevelopment, occasioning many political struggles.

Throughout this period, there were battles over what parts of West Berkeley would be designated for industry, what parts for residences. These battles were • presumably spurred by the fact that-for the first time in West Berkeley""".'.'"'there were no more undeveloped areas. The relative economic strength of industry in the period, and e~onomic weakness of the residential sector also probably spurred the calls for industrial expansion.

From the late 1940's through the mid-1950's West Berkeley manufacturers sought to have parts of the residential area south of University Ave; zoned for manufac­ turing. In 1955, when Berkeley's first Master Plan was passed, the City opted for a more modest approach--designating the area between 4th and 6th Streets as a Special (light) Industrial zone. At the same time, however, the Council approved the demolition of Codornices Village's wartime housing, removing over 1,000 rental units with over 3,500 residents. The Council argued that the land was needed for industrial expansion, but some felt the fact that Codornices tenants were largely Black spurred the demolition. The issue was again joined in 1967 when the City, led by manufacturer Mayor Wallace 1Codornices Village was built in part on a site mapped for development around a small oval-shaped park, analogous to Sou th Park in the South of Market area of San Francisco. The only remaining trace of this proposal is the block long street named Park Way in the Manufacturing District (between Gilman and Harrison, 3rd and 4th) which was to lead into the park.

One notable resident of Codornices Village (in his childhood) was Bobby Seale, later a leader of the Black Panther Party.

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Johnson designated the "West Berkeley Industrial Park", This issue continue to play itself out into the l 980's and is discussed under the next historical period.

The strength of manufacturing in Be;keley was apparent irt' this period. The numberofplants grew from 18'7 in 1947 to 263.in 1963, declining to 231 by 1972. In 1967, the peak year for large plants; 86 reported employing· 20. or more. In 1964, Berkeley geographer James Vance wrote that the region's growth industries were ·the East Bay's industries.
. Residentially; small (ofte~ 5-9 unit) apartment buildings dorhi~ated constructed in this era. West Berkeley was in part reshaped by the wave oflow rise apartment buildi:f1.g which swept th~ East Bay between roughly 1955 and 1965. In 1967', West Berkeley'~ residential core was dowiizoned from R-4 (multi-family)to Rl-A (limited two family). :, . ' . ~ ~
Rezoning to R-2-as part of a Flatlands-wide downzoning-:--had been recommended in 1962 by the City Planning Department, but action here was delayed. The· area between Delaware St. and Dwight Way, from 6th St. to San Pablo Ave. had the most apartment construction. Ethnically, West Berkeley was 46% Black in ~960,. more so in 1970 ( Census errors invalidate West Berkeley's statistic~ in that year). The West Berkeley N eigh_borhood Plan proposed in 1967 called for creation of service facilities such as the West Berkeley Senior Center and placem~rit of traffic diverters. Much ~f. the plan was rea~ized. . . . .

This era was architecturally dominated by "modernist" ideas. Stylistically, build- ings were radically simplified in _the effort to achie_ve the pure functionality much· valued Physical Form Element
122
in this era. One notable indus­
_trial buil~ing is Takara Sake's· off
4th & Addison, built for Chai-
• lenge Butter&: Cream in 194 7 in_
streamline moderne style. Other
industrial building examples
fron:i the period include the rein­
forced concrete buiidings ·on the
Colgate site, construc_ted be­
tween 1946 and 1960. The un­
usual round building occupied
by Berkeley Equipment Rental
(2747 San Pablo· Ave., near
Grayson) was buihin 1952 as a
Mel's Drive.In. Allston House at
2121 7th (near Addison) is a
1967 publicly·assisted (but pri­
vately owned) apartment house.

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6. 1979-_· _ - Contemporary
Restructuring and Resurgence
The most recent phase of
West Berkeley's history has been
. marked by major changes in the
natme of the area, although many
continuities remain. This "period"
brings us to the circumstances which
generated the need for the_ West
Berkeley Plan. The manufacturing
base has shrunk, though'it remains
substantial with many strong firms ..

New commercial areas, largely ca­
tering to regional shoppers arriving
by Freeway, have developed. West
Berkeley has increasingly gained an
image as a desirable place to live,
with predictable effects on housing
prices. In this context, unsubsi-.
dized housing development has
• largely shifted to owner-occupied
housing, although some live-work
rental units have been created.

Clearly, the "history" of this period
is not over-the West Berkeley Plan
itself will be a part of it.

Changing political, social,
and economic conditions changed
the directions of City policy. In
1979 (and again in 1982) the City
Council amended the West Berkeley
Redevelopment Plan from a strictly
industrial to a mixed-use orienta-
tion. New low income housing was built, and most remaining historic housing in the Redevelopment Area was rehabilitated, although not without generating new industrial­ residential issues. This era's .issues increasingly became how vacated industrial sites should be reused, 'rather than what non-manufacturing areas should be designated for industrial expansion. Indeed, the mid-l 980's reuse of the large former Durkee Foods site near 7th &: Heinz primarily for office and laboratory uses pointed up the need for area­ wide planning policies, and led to the initiation of this West Berkeley Plan.

The volume of new building in the last 15 years has not been as large as in the preceding decades. Perhaps future historians will judge it to be of higher quality­ certainly contemporary architects have had more complex, decorative, and historically . Physical Fonn Element
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WEST BERKELEY PLAN
minded inte:ntions than their _immediate predecessors. One notable public building is 198l's West Berkeley Senior Center. San Pablo Avenue received a rare infusion-of new _retail space with the deve~opment of a gourmet food "mini-mall".at the comer of Cedar.

Industrial developmenrhas been relatively limited, though a number of companies have added to their facilities. Two major examples have been Pacific Steel Casting's Plant #3 (1979) at 2nd & Camelia, and a research and development facility at Miles (1985). Much of the period's architectural activity has been in the reuse of old buildings at sites such as 4th St. Ceritei-( 4th no~th of He~rst), Parker Plaza (9th & Parker), in the remaining Durkee Bu.ilding (He,inz w~~t o~ 7th). and Acme Bakery at 9th & Pardee. • • . '
By historical standards, there has been relatively litde residential building in this period. PubJicly 'assist~d housing and live-work have been the leading forms. Live-work '. ' - '+ •
spaces_ were initially-created by conversion of industrial buildings, but are increasingly ~reated through new ~onstruc~ion. There have also be!!n a few conventional residential co:ndominiums built.

This Element how looks at.what the juxtaposition of these variegated bulldings, the streets they are on; and the open spaces between them have made as the physical form of ~ontemporary West Berkeley.

Major Historic Documentation
Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association
State Historic Resources Inventory (unpublished, Berkeley, 1979) Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association
. Discovering West Berkeley-A Self-Guided Tour (Berkeley, 1987) Warren Campbell. . •
Berkeley Downzones the Flatlands (Syracuse, 1973)
Warren Campbell • • • •
Berkeley Initiates a Master Plan (Syracuse, 1973)
City of Berkeley, Planning Department
Historical Trends in_ Population and Housing Characteristics, Berkeley, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970 (Berkeley, 1972)
Lawrence Crouchett, Lonnie G. Burke III, Martha Kendall Winnacker V~ions Toward To~orrow-The History of the East Bay Afro-American Community, 1852-1977 (Oakland, 1989)
KarenJorgenson-Ismaqi •
• A History of West Berkeley (Berkeley, 1983)
Harriet Nathan&: Stanley Scott, 'editors .
· .. Experiment and Change in Berkeley, Essays on City Politics, 1950 to 1975 (Berkeley, 1978) George Pettit ...

Berkeley: A History (Oakland, 1977)
W.J. Rorabaugh • • ' ·'
Berkeley at W?r (New .York, 1989)
Sanborn Map Company
Berkeley Fire Insurance Maps (Chicago, 1903, 1911, 1929) United States. Bureau of the Census
194;0 Census of Population and Housing (Washington)
United States Bureau of the Census •
Census of Manufactures, Census of Manufacturing (various years/1899 to 1987) James Vai;ice . . ., .

Geography and Urban Evolu_tion in the Bay Area (Berkeley, ~964) Mark Wilson with photographs by Monica Lee ' • • • •
A Living Legacy:-HistoricArc4itecture of the East Bay (S\ln Franc~co, 1987) • Charles Wollenberg • . • . • •
Vista College Berkeley history lectures, 1988'
Writers Project ofthe Works Projects Administration
Berkeley-The First 75 Years (Berkeley, 1941)
Physical Fann.Element
124
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Figure 4-1: West Berkeley Landmarks
NORTH

WATERFRONT
PARK
\
\
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/ 1~
1 ~r··-JrtT711H ~ ' _, J - -- i;1tMi.--L" ,__ ~ [i r,r··-1 ,411 ' I ' -, 'r' II IL~
°'i·I · ±i: P 0!e0 1:l! c5 lz m. !)>!
O! g Ji:i ~ µl • ~ • ITI H ~ ~
:0. !-iil:t tz P:.i:1.,:;;
-::.-"--......:::::=~:-;qfr_e.i,i!!:--=rc:.. J ci ,-- ---, ~ f 1'7, , ,-, m l\
1 0°H~:iHH(
Legend

1. California Ink Company

2. Neihaus House

3. Grace Baptist Church

4. Delaware Street Historic District

5. Bowen's Inn/Higgins District

6. St. Procopius Church

7. Kawneer Manufacturing Co.

8. Berkeley Monthly Bldg./
Pfister Knitting Co./Halliday

9. Hay"'ood House

10. Silvia House

11. Davis Harmes House

12. West Berkeley Macaroni Factory

13. Durkee Famous Foods Plant

14. Manasse Block Tannery Co.

15. Ghego House

16. Church of the Good Shepherd

17. H.j. Heinz Co., Plant

18. Fullen Market Bldg.

19. Miles/Cutter Laboratories (Bldg. 12)

20. Weisbrod Bldg. (Guys Drugs)

21. Berkeley Municipal Incinerator

22. Charles A. Brown House

23. Finn Hall

24. Svendermann Bldg.
* National Register Property
I (
1 ri::B~ ~ITTl]~ Li ' l lff.r ••••••••• 1 r·········1 r····· .... ; ~HftNNtK'IPiY.······1 ,·········1>-r·· ~I( g [ I I. 11 l
1 JI II 1IJ'! ii 1,, \ ~ 1 "l L ......... c l:,: ''"""°"'1* . ··1 ;~.:·:::::..-0'::::.

U(JJ ~ ll 1
1 _J_I[:
/Hz , ; ' O: .. ,·~-ft 1····· .. ···1r··········, r-
/ /•! \U ! 1"! . ::u1 I 11 1 i I I \ / :El . !i " !· i c .... \i ) ! ►\ ! I 1 i ! 1 ___ j L .... J I"" l /i / '. I ···-·-·-····-···-···-····= ·:cAflt:.Eror--1 ··-····, :
• Locally Designated Landmark._u.._.i,,.. _____ .;;;;.. __ .-io..._ _______ ....:, Physical Form Element
125

WEST BERKELEY PLAN
B. West Berkeley's Places-An Overview of Subareas and Strategic 'Locales The various land uses, scales of building, street grids, histories, and levels of traffic, and density of tree cover indifferent subareas of West Berkeley give them distinctly different urban design characters. These existing conditions form the context for both . public and private development of buildings, street improvements, and other construc­ tions. This analysis now highlights some of the major conditions and issues throughout West Berkeley by looking at 5 types of areas. Obviously, there are internal differences within the areas-this section seeks to capture the major features and issues in each. It is acknow.ledged that, b.ecause the conscious shaping of all of West Berkeley .as a physical unit is a relatively new activity, and because this Plan divides West Berkeley in a new way, there remains much ;nalytical work to be done for these areas. The 5 major area types are:
• 1. Commercial, nodes-Areas of commercial concentration such as 4th & Hearst, : University & San P~blo

2. Entry Corridors-such as the University Ave. gateway and other Freeway exits

3. Mixed use/Residential -districts along 5th St. and around Grayson St.

4. Industrial areas-general industrial districts (the Manufacturing and Mixed Manufacturing Districts) and the Mixed Use/Light Industrial districts. . '

5. Residential Core-The districts with.Resident~al (R) zoning.

This section describes existing physical conditions and suggests problems or issues, a;nd opportunities for physical action in various of the subareas of West Berkeley.

Because of the large size of West Berkeley and the many distinct areaswithin it (described below), this section does not attempt to describe existing physical conditions across the whole ofWes·t Berkeley. However, the Gqals and rolicies section does develop concepts to link all of West Berkeley together as a physical unit ( without losing subarea· distinctive­ ness). These concepts are based on the issues and opportunities identified for specific areas in this section of the Element.

1. Commercial Nodes
The commercial. nodes-:-the concentrated 'retail dis.fricts and those locations which could become such-:-are undoubtedly special places within West Berkeley. A commercial node is defined as a commercial area small enough for people t~ c~mfortably walk around in (thus we treat University.at 4th and at San Pablo as 2 separate nodes). The nodes sei::ve as places where West Berkeley residents· gat~er, ~-nd which. attract non­ residents to the community. For many people, they symbolize the physical ch~racter of West Berkeley. Developing concentrated, compact commercial districts serves;both the Plan's land use goals-creating a district that can be served by transit ~nd centralized parking, preventing retail from sprawling into areas needed by industrial uses-and physical goals such as creating areas enjor.able for people-to walk around in. In addition, most of the commercialnodes have important historic elements, giving them the.potential to be places where large numbers of people can learn of West Berkeley's history. The commercial nodes are thus deserving of special attention in cbf ting an urban design concept for West Berkeley. •
Physical Form Element
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Figure 4-2: Physical Form Subareas of West Berkeley
I
(----•• --··-· -·-·-·· -·· --····-\, .·
' \
\
Industrial Areas
Mixed Use/Residential Areas
Commercial Nodes
Residential Core
Entry Corridors
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127

WEST BERKELEY PLAN
One proposal this Element makes-building off the Preferred Land Use Con­ cept-for all nodes is to require retail as the ground floor use in the nodes, allowing a variety of upper story uses. This requirement will strengthen the nodes and prevent the intrusion of uses (e.g. a monolithic office building) which break up the node's streetlife. a. San Pablo & University
San Pablo and University is the crossroads of West Berkeley-where its 2 busiest streets, its 2 busiest bus lines come together. Yet the blocks around this busy intersection also form the one true neighborhood-oriented commercial district in West Berkeley.· (although many stores also attract a regional clientele). Developed initially in the early 20th Century trolley era, the district has of ten suffered difficulty competing and social problems in the automobile age.

There are no precise borders to the district, since commercial zoning stretches in both directions for blocks along San Pablo and University. Uninterrupted retail stores reach north along San Pablo to Hearst, south to Addison and just past, east perhaps 1/2 block along University (to the West Berkeley Library) and west to about 9th St. (Freight & Salvage is an outlying "retail" site on Addison east of San Pablo). Within the area one finds a small general grocery, groceries specialized by ethnicity, groceries specialized by type of food sold (cheese, canned goods), a post office, a drug store, a bank and a check cashing company, low-priced restaurants and thrift stores, as well as a stationery store and an artists supply store. The University to Addison block of San Pablo has continuous 1 to 2 story retail frontage, is the heart of the neighborhood serving business district, and clearly attracts the most pedestrian traffic. Property owners have made little attempt to highlight the distinctive brick and wood facades, even on the landmark drug store at the southeast corner of University and San Pablo. Scattered properties have upper story Physical Fonn Element
128
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uses-an apartment building at 1970 San Pablo, upstairs offices on University between 9th and 10th, but these are relatively rare.

Perhaps nowhere else in West Berkeley is the physical gap between the real and the ideal more clear. Yet the challenge for redesigning the district will be to make it physically more pleasant, without driving away the low-moderate income clientele it largely serves. One recent important interior improvement was made by the bulk grocer Smart & Final, which removed the false ceiling covering the magnificent l 920's theatre ceiling of what was then the Rialto Theatre. Developing further appropriate approaches for the area will take careful analysis, but some preliminary ideas can be suggested.

Plugging the "hole" at the northeast comer of University & San Pablo (left by the vacation of the Chevron station and the scuba shop) with a strong, street oriented building is a clear priority. As of August, 1993, retail development has been approved for the site, but construction is projected to proceed in phases. Encouraging new housing through methods such as modified parking requirements will be important at this node.1 Slowing traffic on these major arterials will be difficult, but if any methods (through additional. traffic signals or other means) could be found, it would no doubt improve the "ambience" of the area. Improved bus shelters-perhaps with historical or artistic posters-would be very valuable at this main transfer point. Facade improvement projects could be quite important here. Billboards which loom over the intersection could perhaps be removed. 1 It is instructive to note that virtually none of the mixed-use retail/residential buildings anywhere on San Pablo Avenue meet current parking standards, and that they could not be built if they had to meet them. Some provide no parking whatsoever. In other cases, parking falls well below current requirements. For example, 2501-07 San Pablo (illustrated above), the brick-faced building built in 1925 at the southeast comer of San Pablo & Dwight has 6 residential units above a restaurant and 2 storefronts, totalling some 4,700 commercial square feet. The site currently has 4 parking spaces in the rear, and could probably accommodate a total of 6 if an on-site shed were demolished. However, current parking requirements would require that 15 spaces be provided.

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b. 4th & University/Hearst
The 4th & University/Hearst commercial area sits at Oceanview's historic center, but has been substantially renewed in recent years. Although the area is functionally an "island", largely surrounded by industrial uses, it is internally a quite pedestrian friendly shopping area. Its mix of old and new buildings, small and large shops, many with comfortable "street furniture", has proven very attractive to shoppers and diners from throughout the East Bay.

Lo~ationally, retail and restaurant uses of various typei are strongly present along both sides of 4th St. from the former right-of-way of Delaware St. (and just beyond) across University Ave. to Addison St. The West Berkeley Plan seeks to also "loop" the retail district down Addison St., past tourist attracting Takara Sake, and across the railroad tracks to the entrance to Aquatic Park. In addition, the Truitt & White lumber sales complex along 2nd St. between University and (old) Delaware seems linked to 4th St. economically.

Each main retail block of 4th St. has a different commercial and physical character. The Delaware-Hearst block is largely taken up by a complex of small boutiques, restaurants, and home goods stores, with offices above them. The 2 story stucco-sided buildings are a carefully designed blend of rehabilitated and new structures. The neo­ classically styled Ghego House on this block, built by the politically prominent Heywood family in 1877, has been rehabilitated for retail and ~ousing use.

The next Hearst-University block is.almost totally do~inated by the centenarian Spenger's Restaurant on one side, its full block parking lot on the othe·r (with the modern Nature Company occupying one comer). Although Speng~r's has several building styles-as the complex has been expanded over'.the decades:.._and entrances, it is a large scale use: listed as one of the 10 largest rest~urants in America. To the west of this block, at the 3rd St. railroad track & University, is "the shelter s·tructure· currently serving as ' j -
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Berkeley's train station, and terminus for 3 bus routes (and soon to be a ·stop on the Gateway employee shuttle). The City is seeking funds to improve, and ultimately replace the train station.

To the south, past a rather discouraging passage under the University Ave. viaduct, is the University-Addison block of generally mid-sized stores and restaurants set amidst parking lots. The west side houses the stucco box of Brennan's, a decades old bar and-along the train track-the Mission Revival style China Station restaurant, built in 1913 as Southern Pacific's Berkeley mainline station.

Despite the success of the area, physical improvements here are possible and useful. One example is a revived train station. With the current expansion of rail service on the Sanjose-Sacramento corridor, his possible to build a new train station which will be an anchor and itself a gateway to West Berkeley. The Redevelopment Agency is planning to highlight a pedestrian path from the district up 5,th St. to Cedar, to more closely link the area to surrounding residential uses. There is little travel between 4th St. and the Delaware St. Historic District, only one block, where commercial activity has been much lower. Signs for historic buildings and sites would help highlight the past of this oldest of West Berkeley districts. The area is close to the Waterfront and Marina, but it is very difficult to reach them except by car, since the pedestrian/bicycle path is circuitous and even dangerous.
c. 7th & Ashby
The 7th & Ashby area is the newest, and perhaps most unconventional, commer­ cial node in West Berkeley. Dominated by just 2 major retailers (Whole Earth Access and Weatherford BMW) with Ashby Lumber just across Ashby Ave., the area has begun to attract smaller retailers-and is linked to San Pablo & Ashby by the massive Heinz I
Building. Retailing here functions not in the purpose built structures found on San Pablo Ave. or even 4th St., but in converted industrial buildings-creating such unusual features as an auto dealership with vast high ceilings. 7th & Ashby to date has provided little in the way of amenities, and has indeed lacked even such usual basics as sidewalks (with public rights of way normally used for sidewalks devoted to parking here). ,Nonetheless, with its strategic location, and despite traffic problems worse than those experienced at any other West Berkeley node, the area seems poised for future growth.

Functionally, the borders of the 7th & Ashby commercial area is still being determined. The West Berkeley Plan defines the commercial district as extending from roughly 9th St. on the east to the 3rd St. railroad tracks on the west, from Anthony St. on the north to Ashby Ave. on the south (not all of that area is designated commercial). The building materials merchants south of Ashby Ave. (such as Macbeath Hardwood) identify themselves as primarily wholesalers, and thus preferred to be in the more appropriate Light Industrial district, though there is presumably some relationship with such businesses as Orchard Supply Hardware north of Ashby. The "Durkee" Aquatic Park office complex is on the fringe of the retail district. • Since 7th & Ashby is now, in name and in fact, a commercial district, it should be appropriately equipped as one, and no longer viewed as an industrial area. Analysis is beginning to see if consolidated parking is need for the area, and where such parking Physical Form Element
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should be if needed. A-traffic signal is being installed at 7th &,Anthony, with another planned at 9th & Ashb,y, to improve traffic circulation in the area. Pedestrian movement across 7th St. at Potter-typically from one part of Whole Earth Access to another-must be improved. Basic side~alks thro~gh the area-to encourage pedestrians to walk from one place to another_ (and "external" destinations s~ch as t~e Heinz Buil_ding)-_ must be created. In another vein, a historic marker for Camp Ashby---,,the all-Black World War II ' 1 • • • '
training cam~would be appropriate._.
d. Other San Pablo Ave. nodes
Along San Pablo Ave., the intersections of Gilman St., Dwight Way, and Ashby Ave. are commercial nodes-,-to some·extent actual nodes, to some extent potential ones.

Each of these major streets has a bus line serving it, has commercially designated area to the_ west of San Pablo Ave. (although none to the east beyond the 100 ·foot· wide commercial zone.) and has existing commercial uses and buildings. Gilman and Ashby have-freeway exit traffic. Dwight is close to the concentrated office-based employme-nt along 9th St. of Parker Plaza and Fantasy Records. In the context of the San Pablo Ave. "strip,." each already represents an upwelling of retail stores amidst generally non-'retail uses (although.the distinction is .least clear at Gilman). Ashby and Dwight are far.from competing retail p.odes (with 7th & Ashby apparently complementing San Pablo), while Gilman has a small one east of Santa Fe Avenue. These nodes are thus_ good sites to encourage further retail, housing, and office use.
_ The node~ extend roughly 1 block ?-~~th and south of their main intersection on San Pablo, an? 1 to 2 short blocks ~est on the east-west street. The precis~ _configuratiol}­ varies-:--at Dwight, for example, continuous r~tail frontage extends almpst 2 blocks south on the west side of San Pablo Ave., bl1.t is block~d almost immediately to the north by aut~ __ repair and residential buildings withou~ com~
-mercial uses. The Ashby node arguably ex:
tends_ across the Heinz buildi_ng towards the
7th~ Ashby concentration. Uses at the l}-Odes
vary-Dwight and Gilma~ _haye several res-
, taurants, Ashby and Gilman now have drug
-stores, qilman has enterJaii:iment uses_ of vari­
ous kinds. None ~ave a fol\ range of neighbor­
hood se~ng uses-for exa~ple none has. a
full line grocery store of any size (though
Gilmai-1.does currently have_a· fish market and
Dwig~t a produce mar~et); .
, , Many of the same_. measures whicti
could aid University & San Pablo could aid
these nascent nodes as well. f.acade improve.::
ment -programs, improved street furnit~re,
and improve~ linkages to their retai~ "water­
sheds" (tl}rough means such as routes planted
• _ with _''.signature" trees) would ai9 these dis-
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tricts as well. Gilman and Ashby are likely to provide the most opportunities for positive • new developments, while Dwight has the most buildings which already coritribute.

2. West Berkeley's Entry Corridors
The points of entry and the passages leading from them (by road or other means) into a city or an area are critical in establishing a locality's identity. These gateways and entry corridors are the first sight a visitor arriving in the city sees. They are areas of transition, places which communities use to highlight their identity. Doing so can build community pride and strengthen community image, which perhaps can be translated into retail sales and other economic activity in the community. The ways communities mark their gateways are various-San Leandro has built a monumental gateway structure at the entrance to the city on East 14th St., while Oakland has erected oversized Welcome to Oakland signs ( with the City's logo) at various entry points. The Lorin District signs and historic African-American figures banners on Adeline St. mark both a gateway and a commercial area. The multilingual "Welcome" banners which were hung on University Ave. are in part a gateway-marking effort. In the 1920's, San Pablo Ave. just north of University sported a gateway arch, with arrows pointing east towards Downtown Berkeley and west towards "Industrial District".

This section discusses West Berkeley's major entry corridors, which also serve as the entrances into Berkeley as a whole, and how they might be improved. The i.deas expressed on specific actions to improve the corridors are preliminary, and are expected to change.
a. University Ave.-The Major Gateway
University Ave. has almost always been the primary western gateway into West Berkeley and Berkeley. With the viaduct over the railroad tracks giving one an aerial view of central West Berkeley, it is easy to gain a sense of entry on University Ave. With a railroad station, University is the only western gateway for the non-motorized traveler.

University leads into old Oceanview, to the University & San Pablo node, and beyond through central Berkeley.

University as a gateway clearly divides at 6th St., the westernmost intersection where overpass users can turn off into West Berkeley (the viaduct "touches down" just east of 5th St.). East of 6th, University Ave. becomes one of the denser commercial stretches in West Berkeley, with a new 2 story "shopping center" between 7th and 8th on the north side, a large scale motel on the south side of that block, and the UA Homes (residential hotel) between 9th and 10th, among other uses leading to the. San Pablo commercial node. Beyond San Pablo, development on the street thins out, although there is not the sharp "industrial" to single family residential transition found on Gilman and Ashby.

University is clearly the aesthetically strongest of the 3 major gateway streets.

Strengthening the streetwall of buildings as additional properties redevelop is one design consideration. Coordinated tree planting could also reinforce University's image. If the historic San Pablo/University gateway were restored it would point out University's gateway role, although less grandiose signage could also serve this purpose.

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b. Ashpy Ave.-Southepi; Entry
• Ashby Ave. is an increasingly important route, especially into West Berkeley. Yet, other than glimpses of Aquatic Park and dramatic buildings like W~atherford BMW and the Heinz Building (sharing space with some undistinguished ones}, there is little to highlight this gateway into the city: There is no landscaping along the street, have never be~n any banners, and are many buildings which turn their backs to the street. Ashby has the longest route· across Berkeley of the 3 entry streets, and connects to other regional routes. Yet much of West Berkeley Ashby is in an underpass (from the railroad tracks to just west of 7th St.), limiting its power as a portal there.

The only entry corridor with different' land use 'districts on hs northern and southern sides, Ashby presents unusual problems in developing a coherent character.

Ashby p;obably presents more difficulties bec~use it is not part of the oldest street grid of West Berkeley, but was extended in the late 1930's, giving it less time to develop charac'ter, and creating oddly shaped block~.· Despite these • problems of physical • setting and contrasting uses, there is potential for visual and physical iniprovement of the.street. This work should clearly' proceed in conjunction with work in the 7th &: Ashby district. c. Gilman St.-Industrial Entry Corridor
. . . . .

Gilman St. is an important r.oute into West Berkeley for the Manufacturing District, and a la~ge p~rt of the Light Iru:lustrial district\ as well as for North B~rkeley generally. The West Berkeley Plan's land use concept designates Gilma? St. west of lOt_h primarily for industrial (and secondarily for office) uses. Likely· to become more important iri the future, with the development of the University's 12 acres of Harrison lands, Gilman must be recognized as a key industrial/corridor. The Gilman Freeway exits, unlike University or Ashby deposit. the driver .at street level, in a somewhat confused intersection. Crossing the tracks is followed by the landmark and visuaJly distinctive Tannery complex. This "gate" is the entry to "West Berkeley:" It is followed by a series. of generally industrial buildings which-in their utilitarian lack of obvious effort to appeal to passers by~may seem monotonous, but actually vary in materials used, height, roofline, window treatment, and other aspects. At San Pablo Ave., one passes from·the industrial zone to an area of small houses ..

How can Gilman be improved as an entry corridor, while recognizing that it is to remain an industrial corridor? Many of the answers may simply involved improved design of both private sites and the public-right-of-way. New buildings can come forward ori their properties to strengthen the "street wall" of buildings where it exists and shape a new one where it does not. This can be done without a loss of industrial utility (as the many existing "street-holding" industrial buildings demonstrate). Buildings need not·be retail sites to "turn their faces"-their doors and windows-to Gilman St. They need not present a blank wall or parking lot on Gilman, as some of the newer buildings east of 6th St. do. Even. industrial buildings can at least ip part '.'turn their faces" t,o. Gilman St. r_ather than side streets or parking lots. Gilman may be a situation where greater. de;ign uniformity­ similar setbacks, heights, landscaping, etc.-may improv~ the image of the street, since present diversity is not perceived positively.

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3. The Mixed Use/Residential Districts
The Mixed Use/Residential districts are among the most urbanistically and historicallyinteresting and complex in West Berkeley. They consist primarily of a highly unusual mix of moderately scaled light industrial uses {with occasional larger scale plants) .with residential ones: Their complexity is the product of successive periods of predominantly residential development, followed by mostly industrial development, and most recently residential and live/work development again. Once thought of as among the city's least desirable locales, these areas are becoming increasingly sought after. This complexity, along with the renewed sense of desirability of the area, means that the area requires particular ·sensitivity in new development (see Goal D).

Most of the area designated Mixed Use/Residential (MUIR) is within the existing Special Industrial (SI) district, a fact which has shaped its development. The MUIR district stretches from Camelia St. to Dwight Way (interrupted by University Avenue's commer­ cial zone), from 4th St. or the 4th/ 5th mid block line to 6th St (covering all or part of 23 blocks here). Between Camelia and Dwight, 5th St. is the one street almost entirely zoned Mixed Use/Residential and best reflects its character. The other MUIR district takes in all or part of 12 square blocks between 7th and the San Pablo commercial strip, Carleton and Heinz St. 's (currently zoned M). The portion of the MUIR between University and Cedar St. is in the West Berkeley Redevelopment Area.

The area is characterized by intense of lots in the context of modestly scaled development. Buildings-especially industrial buildings-typically cover most of their (usually rather small) lot, with no or minimal front yards. Even many ho~ses have essentially no front yard or only a few feet of setback. Building heights are most commonly 1 and :i stories, although such structures as De Soto, Libby Labs, and some large houses are taller. Most blocks have a mix of uses and periods of building such that no single building style predominates. Exceptions are the Victorian buildings that have been regathered on the Delaware Street Historic District on Delaware St. between 5th and 6th Physical Form Element
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St. (though these have modem housing behind them) and small groups of Victorian/ Edw~rdian houses in locations such as Camelia St. near 5th.

The ar~a's physical character is gen_erally perceived as pleasant, !~ough opportu­ nities for improvemer;it rtmain. In the Redevelopment Area (as noted above), 5th St. is -, scheduled to be impro,ved as a strengthened peq.~strian axis to the 4th S~. commercial area, with installation of missingsidew;il~s and intensified tree planting. The pedestrianization . . . . ~ ' . .. . . . of the street is also gesigned to. buffer t~e effects of thos~ ''heavier" industries whose properties span the blockfrom 4th to-5th St. The area als~ abuts heavy industry along 7th St., and wh,ile its scale is much lower than west of 7th St., few actual residents are on or ' ~ r • ' ' •
near 7th St. The physical form of new development-especially live-work buH_din'gs-is an important conce~n in _the are~. While residents have access to J_ames Kenney Park, Aquatic Park, and San Pablo Park, there is no public open space within the area itself.

Development of such a space seems unlikely, but added tree planting (many blocks have few or no trees) a!ld new acces~es to Aquatic Park at Channing and Heinz ·woul~ improve la~dscaping and ~pen space ·c;,;iditions there. • • •• • • . - • • • • . - . I • • .

4. Industrial Districts
...

Despite the changes of recent years, most of West BerkeleY'.s economically active . . . . . . . ~ '
area continues to be in districts which are predominantly industrial. The West Berkeley Plan designates two general industrial districts-the Manufacturing District in _the north and the Mixed Manufacturing district in the south. It also designates much of the area as Mixed Use/Light Industrial (gree~)-co~ering light industrial areas from Harrison St. near Albany to Folger St. near Emeryville._ Most of these industrial ar~as are not_ seen or used by peop_le 'Yho do not work or do bu!>iness there, although 7t~ St., Ashby J\ye., and Gilman St: are major str~ets which pass through or alongside them. '. ;, . ..

The_ industrial di_st~~cts illustrate almost the full range, of 20th Century industrial development-:-in building and lot size, building age, m;iterials used, building/roof shape -and height. Landscaping and setbacks are almost universally absent, although some of the larger sites (such as Miles) and a few of the newer sites (such as General Parametrics at 9th &: Gilman) devote much of their land to parking. The Mixed Manufacturing district is dominated by large, multi-building sites (Miles, Colgate, Temescal), whose develop­ ment was initiated in the early 20th Century. 4th St. south of University is typified bypost­ War concrete "warehouse;, type structures, though there are exceptions (e.g. the 1910 brick building-now used for auto repair,:_at 4th&: Dwight). Tall metal "sheds" for working metals are common around Gilman.St. in the Manufacturing district. Industrial area landmarks include the Kawneer building at 8th & Parker, the City's original garbage incinerator near 2nd & Harrison, and the Durkee Building on 7th St. west-of Heinz.

Ironically, West Berkeley's only open creek-Codornices Creek-edges the industrial area.

Usefulness has generally been the chief design criterion in these areas, as is appropriate in districts whose primary users are workers and people doing business there.

Thus, new buildings (and building rehabilitations) here should first of all be functional for the businesses and comfortable for th_eir employees. However, there are instances Physical Form Element
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where building decisions in these areas can affect the broader public. The "edges" of these districts-such as Dwight Way, 7th St., Heinz St. are places where they meet less intense ones-buildings and sites should be landscaped and scaled accordingly. Particular care is required where general industrial districts meet areas which are wholly or partially residential (see Goal 4). The role of Gilman St. and Ashby Ave. as corridors thro~gh and along the districts has been noted. Tree planting and landscaping along these edges and corridors provides far more benefit to the general public than it does on streets interior to the general manufacturing districts (Manufacturing and Mixed Manufacturing) al­ though such interior plantings would presumably be seen as amenities by area workers.

Development on major sites of an acre or more in these districts are key in shaping the overall character of their districts and West Berkeley, and should thus aim for both internal coherence arid integration with the broader fabric of West Berkeley{see Goal S).

Policies towards older buildings in these districts, particularly in the relatively small general manufacturing districts ( where non-industrial uses are deliberately limited) can present painful choices. City policy seeks to maintain historic buildings, and most historic industrial structures have been preserved in recent decades. What is termed "adaptive reuse" of buildings (i.e. change of use from industrial to another use) is often possible, particularly in the Mixed Use/Light Industrial zone-although this must be balanced against the district's central purpose of maintaining light manufacturing sites.

In other cases there is market demand to reuse older industrial buildings for iridustrial purposes. The City should certainly support the reuse of existing industrial buildings for manufacturing and other industrial purposes, and should explore how such reuse can be encouraged. However, there are cases, particularly on "heavier" industrial sites, where buildings have become obsolete for industrial purposes. In some cases, buildings may be moved (if sites and users are available), in other cases they are too fragile to survive a move.

In these cases, there may be no choice but demolitions if the industrial use of the site is to be maintained.

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5; The Residential Core
The core resi~ential areas of West Berkeley have been physicaliy quite stable·, even as they have struggled with the social problems of po\'.erty, crime, and drugs. • The core areas are built up almost exdusively wi_th singl~ family and small multi-fa~i!y buildings, ~~th the occasional church, or the even more· occasional corner grocery breaking the pa~tem. Alon~ "':ith ~he evidence of poverty·, thrre is much evideI1ce of care f~r. the environment.

Tµe residenti;:il core,·area covers some 60 _square blocks (some only partially) between Camelia and Dwight, 6th St. and San Paqlo. The University and Sl:!n Pablo Ave. commercial frontages are in com~ercial zoning districts,, although the uses there obviously influence the character of the blocks they are on. Ge~erally zoned R- lA (limited 2 family), portions of the blocks north and sout4 ofUniver~ity are zoned for multi-family construction, al~hough opportu.nities to_~o so are limited. •• • • • • The residential core can be subdivided f,or analysis in differ~nt ways. Apartment buildings are almost exclusively concentrated in the blocks between Delaware St. _and ~wightWay (except for a cluster around 7_th & Camelia), although even in this area there are large numbers of single family horn.es. Thus these blocks tend to mix. early 20th Century single and 2 story homes, with 2~3 story mid-20th Century apartments, although apartments are somewhat more common towards the corners than at mid-block. · The historically oldest parts cif the residential core are the areas between roughly Addison St.' and Delaware St.; although the blocks surrounding Channing Way_also saw significant development in the 1880's and 1890's. The area developed last is that north of Cedar St.; which was largely built up with cottages and bungalows· in the 1920's and l 930's. Major landmarks of the area include the Niehaus House at 7th & Channing, built Physical Fonn Element
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in 1889 by the owner of West Berkeley's then leading planing mill (and currently abandoned, along with 10 attached apartments). Two strong Gothic style churches on Hearst are Church of the Good Shepherd at 9th St. (1878) and Saint Procopius' Church (buih as Westminster Presbyterian Church at 8th Si. However, much of the historical/ architectural significance of structures here comes from groupings of houses, rather than from individual structures.

A full block of open space, as well as a recreation center, exists in the northern residential area at James Kenney Park (7th to 8th, Delaware to Virginia)-bought by the City before it was developed. The southern area has no such large park, but has . . playground equipment and playing fields at Columbus School, and a mini-park (G.

Florence Park) on 10th between Addison and Allston. In recent years, both desire for additional open space, and concern about the crime and drug activity that sometimes occur there have been expressed by neighborhood residents.

There has been little physical change in recent years in the residential core, and there is little reason to expect much in upcoming years. One reason for this is that most of the area is built close to or more densely than the density permitted by current zoning.

Some of the apartments were poorly built in the l 950's and 60's and will require rehabilitation to maintain them as affordable housing stock-such work provides an opportunity to improve some of their aesthetic qualities as well. Similar conditions exist in some units occupied by elderly homeowners. While some blocks have magnificent stands of trees, others are relatively barren, tree planting could beautify these blocks through community based effort.

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III. AN URBAN DESIGN VISION FOR WEST BERKELEY
What -threads together ·this Element's proposals for various areas-its goals and • policies, its implementation'measures is an urban design vision for West Berkeley. It is not a vision of stasis-of keeping all buildings and sites exactly as they are, and assuming that nothing ever need be changed or removed. Nor it is a vision of clearance~[ recklessly blasting away existing buildings or existing uses in search of what is believed to be "modern." It is rather a vision of conservation, creativity, and integrated develop­ ment-of maintaining West Berkeley's historic, architectural, and use character(s) while welcoming suitable new- development (which can sometimes be formally innovative development). West Berkeley's rich past has given it a wealth of historical and architec­ tural resources ~hich should be preserved, its future should give it ·buildings and places that will be landmarks for future generations ..

I
The urban design vision seeks to link the many diverse elements of West Berkeley various areas of West Berkeley. A resident, a worker, a visitor should .know when she passes from the Commercial to the Mixed Use/Resid~ntial to the Manufacturing district.

Yet there should be features which link this large and diverse collection of places together and give it a sense of overall "West Berkeley" identity. Some of the niost important linking features (which are discussed in greater detail in the Goals and Policies Section) are:
• Enhancement of commercial nodes and corddors: The commercial nodes and corridors are the places in West Berkeley used by the most people: It is important to improve the visual character and physicai layout cif key coinmer~ cial corridors, and encourage nodal development along these corridors. • Entry Corridors: The entry corridors are important in setting the tone for West Berkeley. Defining the image and character for the city's major gateway­ University Ave.-and for the other entry corridors which lead into West Berkeley-Ashby Ave., and Gilman St., and the northern and southern ends of San Pablo A venue is a major urban design task.
• Greening of the Streets: Trees provide green relief amidst the concrete and asphalt of West Berkeley. Expanding street tree planting to additional streets in West Berkeley will further this task. Street tree planting can be designed to address specific needs or conditions, such as enhancing residential areas, visually connecting residential and commercial areas, framing views, or im­ proving the visual appearance of commercial streets and major roadways. • Connections to existing public parks: West Berkeley's open spaces resources are not used to their fullest extent. Improving the pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular access to existing public parks, especially to the Marina area and Aquatic Park, will help West Berkeleyans (and Berkeley residents generally) enjoy their parks and will also help link the area together.

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IV. GOALS AND POLICIES
Urban Design Goals and Policies for West Berkeley
Rationale:

See the Urban Design Vision for West Berkeley above, for the overall rationale tying together these goals.

Goal 1
Preserve and enhance the vital commercial corridors, particularly San Pablo and University Ave., with intensification of commercial and mixed-use development at key intersections or "nodes".

Policies for nodes

1.1 Encourage nodal development, to intensify commercial at major intersections along commercial streets. Nodal development should be encouraged at and arourid the intersections of: San Pablo at University, San Pablo at Dwight Way, San Pablo at Gilman, San Pablo at Ashby, 4th and University/Hearst, and Ashby at Seventh.

1.2 Provide consolidated parking as needed to serve commercial nodes, and encourage . concentrated rather than dispersed parking.

1.3 Focus pedestrian improvements at nodes, including cross walks, adequate sidewalks, night lighting, transit stops, telephones, disabled accessibility improvements, consoH­ dated newsracks, public clocks and other features.

1.4 Require retail as the ground level use in nodes, with residential or office uses above the ground floor.

1.5 Encourage neighborhood-serving retail business to locate at these nodes.

Policies for commercial corridors, including nodes

1.6 Develop standards and incentives for facade and signage improvements along the commercial corridors. Ericourage,signage and facade design to improve the appearance of the street, and to minimize the appearance of strip commercial development. Signage and facade design should be urban instead of suburban in character, and pedestrian in scale. This can be done through the design of signs, building materials, storefront windows, and other exterior f ea tu res.

1. 7 Insure that new construction along the corridors m~intains and strengthens the urban character of the street by locating new buildings at the front property line to reinforce the streetwall; locating parking at the side or rear of the lot, and designing street facades and ground level doors and windows to include elements of pedestrian scale and three-· dimensional interest.

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1.8 Develop incentives to encourage new construction to be 2-4 stories in height (and to • • • I
incorporate residential and office uses above the ground floor) along these corridors, especially at nodes.

1.9 Encourage conservation and active utilization of existing buildings_which contribute positively to the character of the streetscape.

1.10 Encourage infill buildings on vacant and low intensity use sites along these corrido~s.

Residential and/or office uses should be encouraged, where appropriate.

1.11 Develop incentives to encourage housing along these corridors, such as a reduction in parking and other site development standards.

Goal2
Use the interrelationship between the urban design and transportation goals to improve accessibility between jobs, homes, commercial, recreation and education·al centers to minimize dependence on the autpmobile.; (~lso see goals in Transporta~ion Element.) Policies

2.1 Coordinate transit routes and transit improvements with the·com~ercial nodes, to provide transit in key areas, and to integrate. the. transit so as to reinforce pedestrian circulation and support the design and functio~ of the node.

2.2 Improve transit amenities at bus stop locations by providing bus.shelters, improved bus signage, ~aps, telephonei and ben~hes, and other transit improvements as needed. . . ..

2.3 Evaluate construction of one or more consolidated parking lots or parking structure·s, to _be located in West Berkeley with good access to the freeway and to mass transtt, and the train station, to be used for West Berkeley businesses, and pursue their development if they are needed/ Seek to integrate the design of these structures with their areas as much as possible. •

2.4 Take aggressive action to ~evelop an adequate train station in W~st,Berkeley, near University Avenue, for commuter and long-distance train service.

2.5 Encourage consolidated locati~ns for shared parking facilities, whe~e several differ~nt uses would share parking i_n a consolidated location. • • •

2.6 Promote bicycle usage by providing adequate, safe bicycle lanes tµroughout West Berkeley, which connect to the existing network of bike paths in Berkeley and connect to parks, schools and commercial areas.

2. 7 Provide adequate sidewalks and other forms of pedestrian,conn:ections to nodes and key locations throughout West Berkeley.

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Goal3
Visually improve the University Ave. gateway and the other entry corridors into West Berkeley, so as to provide a positive image as one enters Berkeley. In addition to the University Ave. gateway, the entry corridors into West Berkeley are Ashby Ave. and Gilman St., and the northern and southern ends of San Pablo Ave.

Policies.

3.1 Explore ways to improve the visual character of these entry corridors, to highlight the . sense of place and image of Berkeley along these corridors.

3.2 Encourage new construction and renovation of existing buildings (those that contribute significantly to the streetscape) and restoration of historic structures to address in a positive manner their location along an entry corridor. New buildings should generally be placed along the front property line to strengthen the urban character of streets, and maintain or strengthen the "streetwall" of buildings along these corridors, while parking should be placed at the side or rear of the lot. Signage and facade design . (off ea tures such as doors and windows) should be urban instead of suburban in character, providing visual interest while remaining appropriate to the use(s) of the building.

3.3 Encourage landscaping and screening of existing parking along these entry corridors, adjacent to the streets (in the right-of-way) and on private property.

3.4 Consider special lighting on the gateway corridors to enhance them at night.

3.5 Encourage high-quality, urban style, cohesive signage along these streets. Monument signs with appropriate bases are encouraged, instead of pole signs. Remove both ground level and building-mounted billboards whenever possible.

3.6 Support and reinforce University Ave .. as the primary gateway to West Berkeley and Berkeley generally. Explore reconstruction and replication of the historic gateway structure which was located on San Pablo Ave., near University Ave. Assure that any changes to the University Ave. viaduct are consistent with the street's role as gateway.

Goal4
Development in locations where there is a juxtaposition of uses and building scales - particularly when concentrations of residential uses are adjacent to more intense uses - should be sensitive to the character of both the less intense and the more intense uses. This will be particularly important in the Mixed Use/Residential zone and on the "edges" where industrial zones (especially general manufacturing zones) meet zones which permit residen­ tial uses.

Policies

4.1 Developments in such "edge" locations should seek to minimize-to the greatest degree possible-abrupt changes of building scale.

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4.2 Developments in these locations should use tools such as increased building setbacks or upper story stepbacks, landscaping, and other means to reduce the impacts of differences in scale, style, and site plan.

4.3 Developments in these iocations should be generally respectful of· existing architec­ tural styles in their location, but need not simply imitate these styles.· Goal5
Development on major sites of 1 acre or more should be both internally cohesive and sensitively designed on the site's publicly used edges.

Policies

5.1 Development on major sites should use building scale, architecture, building placement, landscaping, and other site elements to create the sense of a, cohesive development which is integrated with its surroundings.

5.2 Such major projects should-to the greatest degree possible-reinforce the existing street pattern, developn:,ent pattef!1, and overall fabric of an area, rather than being isolated from these patterns. •

5.3 Major developments should-to the gre~test degree possible--:-be compatible with existing development on the edges of their sites, particularly on those edges which are heavily used by the public. • •
Histo~ic Pre~ervation Goals and Policies for West Berkeley Rationale:

Historic preservation is a:q integral part of the West Berkeley Plan. Much of West Berkeley's distinctiveness is in its history. The Planseeks to preserve both the physical forms-the buil~ings-history has bequeathed the area, and the substan­ tive activities which h_ave historically qccu~red in West Berkeley. Conserving the greatest possible number of historic buildings is part of the Plan's overall approach of working to conserve and improve the existing fabric of West Berkeley. Taken together, Goals 6, 7, and 8 set out a policy framework for a broad historic preservation approach in West Berkeley. The goals call for greater education on West Berkeley's built and human heritage, and on historic preservation (Goal 6). They seek to ide_ntify-under clearly understood criteria-and designate the historic structures ofWest Berkeley (Goal 7). They encourage maintenance and appropriate rehabilitation of historic buildings (Goal 8).

The West Berkeley Plan's historic preservation approach encourage the City to support preservation of buildings whenever possible, in the framework of other pl~nning policies. In addition, the Plan seeks to integrate new development into the older, existing fabric (see especially Policy 7. 4). This Element's goals and policies are fqrmulated within the context of the Plan ~nd its Land U~e Concept, which seek to preserv~ the longstanding Physical Form Element
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use character of several residential and industrial districts. This Physical Form Element­ with its historic preservation goals and policies-proposes a wholistic approach to design and preservation in the context of a Plan which seeks such approaches generally.

Goal 6
Develop and disseminate an understanding and appreciation of West Berkeley's heritage.

Policies

6.1 The City should develop criteria to identify and designate heritage areas-particularly strong concentrations of historically and architecturally significant buildings-in West Berkeley and educate the public about these areas, If the residents come to support doing so, the City should formulate guidelines for development in these areas.

6.2 The City should support preservation efforts by private organizations in West Berkeley .

6.3 The City should innovate programs to educate the public concerning West Berkeley's architectural, ethnic and industrial history.

Goal 7
Preserve West Berkeley's existing architectural and historic resources in the context of the district goals, permitted uses, and other goals of the West Berkeley Plan. Seek to develop the . built environment as a whole in a way consistent with this Goal.

Policies
7 .1 The City should review each of the 112 West Berkeley buildings on the State Historic Resources Inventory (SHRI) and the Landmarks Preservation Commission Priority List for Landmark Designation. Designations should be according to criteria which are clear, • specific, understood and supported by the community and reflect the balance of preservation and other goals in the West Berkeley Plan.

7.2 The City should facilitate the completion of the West Berkeley Historical Survey and designate further landmarks in accordance with the findings of this Survey. Designations should be according to (new or existing) criteria which are clear, specific, understood and supported by the community and reflect the balance of preservation and other goals in the West Berkeley Plan.

7.3 To improve the economic feasibility of preserving historic buildings, the City should creatively use the tools which the West Berkeley Plan Preferred Land Use Concept provides, and should explore the possibilities for changes in development standards, fees, or placement of uses, without, however, violating Plan policies, district purposes, or district permitted uses. In situations where a whole building cannot be preserved, preservation of facades should be explored. In very exceptional cases, where all Variance Physical Form Element
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findings can be made-with particular reference to the Finding that the variance not be detrimental to people working in the neighborhood or to property in the neighborhood- allow use Variances. •

7. 4 The City should encourage infill development to be sensitive to the character and scale of existing development in areas which are architecturally or historically coh~sive.

7.5 The City should encourage· the Unive~sity of California-particularly if the University acquires any additional buildings in West Berkeley-to preserve and maintain these buildings to the greatest possible degree.

Goal 8
Preserve West Berkeley's afchitecturall~ and historically' valuable buildings.

Policies

8.1 The City should encourage building maintenance and rehabilitation in West Berkeley and if possible offer financial incentives or assistari<;e. ,-

8.2 The City should encourage the sensitive reuse of existing buildings in West Berkeley and offer incentives such as permit-streamlining and other assistance.

Open Space Goals and Policies for West Berkeley
Rationale:

West Berkeley has the advantage of being ari urban district which sits adjacent to major open space resources-Aquatic Park, the Marina, the Waterfront. West Berkeley's residential population-largely low income, many with children, many living iri apart­ men.ts-is precisely that which most needs public open space. In this sontext, the Plan . seeks to develop a broad vision for ope~ space as well. The existi_ng parks in vy~st Berkeley-Aquatic Park,James Kenney Park, G. FJoren~e Park_..:are clearly a central part of'the open space str~tegy. So is Colul!lbus School, with its adjacent playground and park space. The parks outside West Berkeley which West Berkeley residents can most easily . ' '
access-especially the parks currently being developed on the Waterfront-are also ·_ vis~al and functional open space resources for West Berkeley and are therefore discussed generally. The bicycle lanes and sidewalks which allow non-vehicular access to the parks, and even the row's of trees which do (or could) link neighborhoods to them are also open space resources. Tree plantings also give ·character to many West Berkeley neighbor­ hoods, especially residential neighborhoods, and provide environmental relief. Formally, the Aquatic Park Master Plan is incorpo~ated into the W~st Berkeley Plan by reference.

Goal 9
Provide an accessible, aesthetically-pleasing network of green spaces and corridors-that is functional J or varied types of users-to visually and physically· link-parks, creeks, and shoreli~e to residential and ·commercial, and light industrial areas.· Physicql Form Element
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Policies

9.1 Promote extensive tree planting along major streets in West Berkeley, by individuals and organizations in West Berkeley. Focus on long-lived and drought-resistant trees:
9 .2 Develop pathways and protected lanes for bikes which link to the existing bicycle lanes in Berkeley and link to parks, commercial areas, and community facilities.

9.3 Provide sidewalks for pedestrians which provide adequate, safe access to parks.

9.4 If community residents are supportive at the time opportunities arise, acquire additional neighborhood parks if possible, especially south of University Avenue.

9.5 Promote the utilization of school playgrounds as neighborhood serving parks, to the • extent consistent with their functions for schools.

9.6 Upgrade facilities, maintenance, and security in existing neighborhood parks to improve utilization.

9. 7 Encourage early implementation of the Aquatic Park Master Plan, especially improv­ ing access to the Park for pedestrians and bicycles.

9.8 Design the sound wall along 1-80 to allow views toward Berkeley and from Berkeley toward San Francisco, if feasible, while still buffering the noise of the freeway from Aquatic Park.
9 .. 9 Improve physical and visual access to the Marina area, to Aquatic Park, and to shoreline parks.

9.10 Improve the visual character of Berkeley as seen from the Freeway-in a manner suitable for the adjacent industrial districts and parks-with additional landscaping and controlled signage.

9.11 lmprove the usability of and access to Codomices Creek and explore opportunities for uncovering other creeks in the area.

9.12 Encourage the retention of existing trees in front yards in residential areas in West Berkeley.

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V. IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES
A. Urban D~sign Implementation Measures
Note! Piease see the Transportation Element foi implementation measures related to transportation projects and programs, such as those outlined under Goal 2. • Activities Already Underway

1.1 Redevelopment Area Public Improvements-Improve sidewalks; street trees, and streets within_ the Redevelopment Project Area, with the goal of linking area residents to the 4th St. commercial district. The project is underway, with some side~alkwork and wells for tree planting having been done. • • • ·: • •
Goals and'Policies Implemented: Goal 2, Policy 2. 7; Goal 8, Policy 8.2; Goal 9, Policy 9.1 •
Responsibility: Berkeley Redevelopment Agency with City ~lanning Depart­ ment
Funding Sources: Redevelopment Tax Increment
.1.2 SoundwallDesigri and Construction Monitoring-Work with CAL TRANS io assu~e 'I
that the soundwall planned along Aquatic Park-to buffer it· from the Freeway-is constructed in a timely and aesthetically pleasing manner. The City Council has conceptually approved this activity.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 9, Policies 9.7, 9.8 Responsibi{ity: City Planning Department with Public Works (Traffic • Engineering) •• -
Funding Sources: CALTRANS •.

1.3 News rack Ordinance-Explore the feasibility-given both aesthetic and First Amend­ ment concerns--of an Ordinance regulating the placement and design of news racks.

Implement the Ordinance in commercial districts which have newsrack congestion. The City Council has requested that such an Ordinance be developed.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policy 1.3
Responsibility: Finance Department (License and Collections) Funding Sources: Existing operating funds.

1.4 Train Station Design Concept (see Transportation Element for description) City has applied for state funding to upgrade existing facility.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 2, Policy 2.4
Responsibility: City Planning Department, with Redevelopment Agency Funding Sources: Capital funds from state rail bonds.

1.5 Facade Improvement Program-Seek funding to develop a facade and signage improvement program, particular for commercial streets such as San Pablo Ave., perhaps similar to programs which have operated in South Berkeley. Funds for this program on Physical Fonn Element
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University Ave. have been set aside by the City Council. This program could operate in conjunction with overall small business assistance programs.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policies 1.6, 1.9; Goal 8, Policies

8.1,8.2
• Responsibility: Community Development Department with City Planning Department
Funding Sources: None currently identified. Possible sources include Re.devel­ opment Tax Increment (in Redevelopment Areas), Economic Develop­ ment Administration, State Historic Preservation Office (see item 2.1) Other Recommended Urban Design Activities
Studies and Plans

1.6 4th St. Area Strategic Plan-Develop a Strategic Plan for the 4th & Hearst/University commercial node. This Plan should provide an economic development strategy linked various elements planned for the district, including consolidated parking, an improved train station and additional retail stores. It should also discuss how these elements should fit together physically, relate to existing uses, and to other new facilities, such as possible new access to the Marina/Waterfront.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policies 1.1, 1.2, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.10; Goal 2, Policies 2.1-2.5
Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding Sources: Not yet identified. Redevelopment Tax Increment may fund partially.

1. 7 Development of Design Guidelines for various areas-Develop design guidelines to provide direction to builders, and to provide a framework of policies for implementation of the Design Review Ordinance in various locations. Treat San Pablo A ve.-,---especially commercial nodes-as the first priority locale for these guidelines.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policies 1.1, 1.4, 1.6-1.11; Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding Sources: Not yet identified.

1.8 Gateway Improvement Studies-Study the gateway and entry corridors, to assess how their character might be best highlighted.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 3, Policies 3.1-3.6 Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding Sources: Not yet identified.

1.9 1-80 Corridor Visual Improvement Study-Develop a plan to improve the appear­ ance of the Freeway (especially north of University Ave.) from West Berkeley, and West Berkeley from the Freeway, recognizing the industrial character of the area ..

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 9, Policy 9.10
Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding Sources: Not yet identified, possible partial funding from Redevelop­ ment Tax Increment.

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1.10 Billboard Amortization_;_Analyze the legal framework for, and assess the cos·t of, removing billboards from San Pablo Ave., and possibly other locations.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policy 1.6
Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding So~rces: Not yet identified.

Ordinance and Regulatory Changes-Urban Design
. ,,. ...- .
1 ~ i 1 Zoning Ordinan~es Change~· for an~ between Nodes-Amend the Zoning Ordi­ nance to require ground floor uses on commercial street frontage in West Berkeley be retail and to provide incentives for residential/retail construction. Explore whether there are appropriate locations between commercial nodes where San Pablo Ave. could be zoned exclusively for residential use, without creating extensive non-conformities. . . . . . .

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policies 1.1, 1.4, 1.8 Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding Sources: Part of West Berkeley Plan Zoning Ordinance revision. i.12 Sign Ordinance Amendm~nts-Amend the Citywide sigri Ordinance so that it is ( . ~ .
consistent with current design review policies on permissible and appropriate signs.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policy 1.6
Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding Sources: Not yet identified
Ongoing Activities

1.13 Review of Major Public Improyements-'-Review the design impacts of any major public improvement projects.(e.g. changes to major streets) to assure that they support West Berkeley Plan design goals.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, multiple policies Responsibility: City Planning Department, Public Works Departipent.

Funding Sources: Project Funding
B. Historic Preservation Implementation Measures
Activities Already Underway

2.1 Designation as Certified Local Government-Apply to State Historic Preservation Office for certification as a Certified Local Government. Gives City greater role in applications for National Register of Historic Places, can make City eligible for funding sources.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 1, Policy 1.9; Goal 5, Policy 5.2, Goal 8, • Policy 8.1
Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding Sources: No funding required for application, however, designation • may require City expenditure to undertake historic surveys-funding sources not yet identified.

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Priority for Initiating Action

2.2 Completion of West Berkeley Historic Survey-Assist Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association in the completion of the West Berkeley Historic Buildings Survey.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 5, Policy 5.2
Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding Sources: Not yet identified
Other Recommended Activities

2.3 Research for Landmark Designation on State Historic Resources Inventory buildings-As a priority for West Berkeley landmark designation, research and review information on the 112 buildings on the Inventory, and determine which should be designated as landmarks.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 5, Policy 5.1
Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding Sources: Staff time from Landmarks staff. Interns and volunteers· possible source of additional assistance.
· 2.4 Historic signs program-Install signs at historic buildings and sites, particularly those in commercial nodes.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 4, Policies 4.2, 4.3 Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding Sources: Not yet identified

2.5 Elementary educational program-Work with Berkeley Unified School District to develop programs for students on Berkeley architectural and social history, to comple­ ment existing curricula and raise student awareness of Berkeley history.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 4, Policies 4.1, 4.3 Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding Sources: Not yet identified

2.6 Heritage Area Designation-'-Designate appropriate areas as Heritage Areas. Develop guidelines for rehabilitation and new construction within them if and when residents support such an effort.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 4, Policy 4 .1; Goal 6, Policy 6.3 Responsibility: City Planning Department
Funding Sources: Not yet identified
C. Open Space Implementation Measures (see also Aquatic Park Master Plan) Activities Already Underway

3.1 Codomices Creek Regulation and Improvement-Work with the University of California and private developers on its site and others which abut Codornices Creek to assure thatthe City's Creek Ordinance regulating developm~nt along creeks is respected, Physical Form Element
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and to gain improvements to the Creek and adjoining properties:

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 9, Policy 9.11
Responsibility: City Planning Department, University of CaHfornia, private developers • •
Funding Sources: Private developers, as part of site deveJopments .. · Priority for Initiating Action

3.2 Tree Planting Program-Facilitate the planting of trees in residential areas, ~long major traffic corridors, in areas needing additional identity highlighting, and in other appropriate locations. Wo.rk with neighborhood and civic organizations-through the provision of t.echnical assistance, information, and other means-churches, businesses, ~nd other interested parties to implement planting. Trees used in various locations should be carefully selected for appropriateness, and should not impair security efforts.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal 8, Policies 8.1, 8.2; Goal 9, Policy 9.1, 9.10 •
Responsibility: Community Development Department with City Planning Department
Funding Sources: Ongoing City program, Redevelopment Tax Increment, private foundations • • •
Other Recommended Activities

3.3 Aquatic Park Access Improvements: Improve access to Aquatic Park, both at existing entrances (such as Addison St.) and recommended new entrances, such as Channing Way an~ Heinz St. Work with parties such as the Southern Pacific 11ailroad to overcome obstacles to creating crossings across the railroad.

Goals and Po~icies Implemented: Goal 9, Policy 9.7
Responsibility: Public Works (Parks/Marina) wit~ Public Works/rraffic Engineering and City Planning •
Funding Sources: Not yet identified

3.4 Other Aquatic Park Master Plan Improvements-Implement the other recommen­ dations of the Aquatic Park Master Plan including creation of a children's play area, improvement. of the bird/wildlife refuge, introduction of concessions, expansion of marshes, and other actions.

Goals and Policies. Implemented:

Responsibility: Public Works (Parks/Marina)
Funding Sources: Not yet identified.·

3.5 Neighborhood park Improvements/addition~Plan and seek fupding to improve facilities and services at neighborhood parks, including parks on School District land, particularly G. Florence Park If opportunities and funding arise, develop additional neighborhood parks, particularly south of University Ave., paying careful attention to residents concern about security problems in parks.

Goals and Policies Implemented: Goal I, Policies 9.4-9.6 Responsibility: Public Works (Parks/Marina), Berkeley Unified School Distric·t Funding Sources: Not·yet identified · •
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TRANSPORTATION
I. STRATEGIC STATEMENT
As West Berkeley grows and evolves, its need for efficient and environmentally sound transportation increases. Intensification of land uses--the conversion of formerly industrial sites to other uses--has strained the West Berkeley street and road system.

Traffic congestion has become a serious problem along some streets and at some major intersections. Parking is adequate in many areas, but newly developed commercial and retail areas are beginning to experience shortages. The level of transit ridership in West Berkeley is lower than other parts of the City, reflecting both the historical ease of parking there and the relatively poor transit service. As an area with a high rate of solo commuting, the West Berkeley industrial and commercial area contributes more than its "share" to automobile generated air pollution.

This Element, in conjunction with the Land Use and Environmental Quality Elements, presents a strategy for maintaining and improving both the efficiency and environmental soundness of transportation in West Berkeley. The Element foresees a West Berkeley where the automobile is less dominant. The Element seeks a balance between the moderate growth policies of the Preferred Land Use Concept and the City's long term goals to limit street expansion and to accommodate growth through expanded transit use and other non-automobile transportation. The Economic Development Element's goal of increasing the proportion of Berkeley • resident workers would if successful also reduce the proportion of single occupant auto drivers. This Transporta­ tion Element seeks:
• First of all to reduce the use of single occupant automobiles, with improve­ ments in public transit and private transit like employer shuttles, bike routes, and pedestrian access. This is both a transportation and an air quality strategy. • Minimize traffic congestion without creating the incentive for additional auto travel.
• Sensitively improve the street system to reduce congestion and to accommo­ date current traffic patterns and changes in land use patterns. • Transportation Element
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• Protect local residential streets from through traffic. • Maintain adequate parking consistent with the goal of reducing commuting by automobile.

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II. BACKGROUND
The goals and policies in this element are best understood in the context of the current transpo:rtation situation in West Berkeley. This section discusses the circulation system, including both streets and other transportation networks, the travel patterns of West Berkeley commuters, traffic growth and the causes of congestion, and anticipated changes which will have an impact on the West Berk~ley transportation system. This. section also discusses the concept of "Level of Service", one of the principal ways the City and community can keep track of changes in the transportation system.

Figure 5-1: Existing Street Classifications \--7lif"fTTr-ii""~---"ii""---,r,"' tlr; 'i I • l · 11 1:
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\ • City of Berkeley ~lennlng O:partrnent-October. 1993 , L Transportation Element
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A. The West Berkeley Circulation Network
West Berkeley has the most varied drculation system of any area of the city.

Within the limits of West Berkeley are a major freeway, two state highways, major and minor local streets, a rail line carrying both freight and passengers, as well as many local spurs, sidewalks and bikeways. In addition to automobiles, the street sys.tern serves a substantial volume of truck traffic, buses and transit vans. The numbers of pedestrians and bicyclists, although small compared to other sections of town; are growing as West Berkeley changes. •• • • •
Streets and Roads
West Berkeley's roadways are classified as follows:

Freeways-Interstate 80,
Major streets-San Pablo Ave., Gilman St., University Ave., Ashby Ave., Dwight Way:

Collectors-Eastshore Hwy., 4th St., 6th-7th-Hollis, Cedar St., and Hearst­ Delaware
Local streets-remaining streets.

The Freeway, major streets, and collectors are mapped on Figure 1. In addition to their status as major streets in the City's classification system, San Pablo Ave. and Ashby Ave. are both designated State Highways. San Pablo is State Route 123, Ashby is State Route 13. Because they are State Highways, the California Department of Transportation ( Caltrans). controls many key decisions affecting these streets, such as the installation of signals and crosswalks. As state highways, the state pays for the maintenance and improvement of 123 and 13. The removal of Ashby from the State Highway system was a stated goal of the City's 1977 Master Plan and is currently the subject of a feasibility study to determine the long term costs and benefits to the City.

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