Livable Berkeley's Twelve Goals for Downtown

Stimulated by recent UC Berkeley intentions to develop additional projects on land between Oxford Street and Shattuck Avenue, the City of Berkeley has adopted a process which will update the 1990 Downtown Plan to improve its relevance for the decade ahead. The city and UCB have jointly engaged a professional planner to coordinate this effort, and the city has established a citizens' committee, the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee or DAPAC, to produce recommendations in 2007.

Livable Berkeley has three members on the DAPAC and isactively involved in this effort. In early 2006, we adopted "Twelve Goals for Downtown Berkeley," a document whose values we are asking the city to adopt to guide the new downtown plan. Those twelve goals appear below. Look at the "Previous Posts" section to the lower right of this page to see an index of the goals, and click to go to any one of them.

We welcome and encourage comments and discussion on any of these goals. Please add your input by clicking on the COMMENTS button below any post in the list and typing into the popup field. You can be anonymous if you wish.

Alternatively, send your input to info@livableberkeley.com if you wish us to pay personal attention.

1. Create A New Heart.

Create a more intensely urban Downtown that reflects the stature and progressivism of Berkeley, celebrates the home of the University of California, and serves all Berkeleyans as the heart of our city.

2. Develop an Urban Center and a Multi-Generational Neighborhood.

Create new shopping and services areas, substantial office, research and start-up space for University and private sector uses, and lots more housing to achieve a dense, vibrant neighborhood of committed residents of all ages living in market rate and affordable ownership housing.

3. Make Downtown a Day and Night Destination

Encourage night-time and late hour uses such as arts, entertainment, dining and evening shopping to make Downtown a safe 24-hour activity center destination.

4. Build an Economic Engine for Social Change

Achieve a thriving Downtown economy that will be a major source of dependable new revenue to support special housing and programs to serve the needs of the homeless, addicted and mentally ill now living on our streets.

5. Harness the Power of UC.

Leverage University growth and private sector spin-offs to serve City needs and integrate appropriate University-related uses and their population into mixed use projects.

6. Restore Shattuck as a Grand Multi-Modal Boulevard

Support bus rapid transit (BRT) with exclusive bus lanes in the downtown and leverage investment in BRT and the BART station in the redesign of Shattuck Avenue as a pedestrian friendly environment.

7. Adopt Progressive Parking and Transportation Solutions

Create a unified transportation and parking plan that incorporates City and University needs in a shared system with two main goals: to maximize resources, and to reduce single occupancy commute traffic. Approaches could include demand-response service, an organized ride-share and car share program, special transit service, employee transit subsidies and other joint programs.

Accept traffic congestion from new development as part of an urban Downtown and a necessary incentive to encourage use of public transit, bicycling and walking.

Eliminate parking requirements for new projects but create a small number of aggregated parking areas, funded by development fees, to support new retail areas.

Allow the University to meet its parking needs with the following constraints:
• All off campus parking should be located west of Ellsworth.
• Parking should be located mid-block behind other uses or as part of mixed use projects.
• New parking should be available equally for shared University and public use.
• Parking fees for all day commute parking should be equivalent to private sector rates and be the same for University and community users.

8. Honor Old and Support New

Support the historic character of Downtown streets established by the height and scale of notable larger buildings such as the Shattuck Hotel, Wells Fargo, Barker and Studio Buildings by encouraging primarily 4-6 story buildings at the street wall. Achieve greater density with taller towers setback in selected locations and taller mixed use buildings to replace the 1 and 2 story commercial buildings with limited architectural integrity.

9. Create Usable Green Public Spaces

Create great anchor green spaces flanking an intense Downtown- a restored Civic Center Park at King and Center and a shared Campus-Community Park east of Oxford Street that could include a day-lighted north fork of Strawberry Creek.

10. Celebrate Architectural Variety

Encourage excellence in architecture and support new design approaches to commercial and mixed use buildings to achieve a Downtown with a variety of architectural styles.

11. Capture Berkeley’s Wealth

Attract the spending and tax dollars of Berkeley’s workforce and residents with attractive new retail and service areas. Target increased accessibility for hill dwellers and others outside of walking and biking range.

12. Motivate Private Property Owners

Encourage owners to redevelop underutilized properties in the Downtown by identifying specific areas where new development will be supported and expedited.