Berkeley BART stations eye housing
City officials expect projects to provide up to 3,600 new units
Residential buildings could rise up to 12 stories and deliver a combined 3,600 homes at two Berkeley BART stations after officials embraced the changes early Friday.
After a 6½-hour meeting, the Berkeley City Council voted unanimously for seven-story buildings — which could rise to 12 stories with a state density bonus —at the North Berkeley and Ashby BART stations. The vote also endorsed up to 2,400 homes, but with the state incentive that could turn into up to 3,600 units at the two stations.
The meeting sets the guidelines for what can be built at the stations. The type of buildings and total number of units at each station won’t be determined until a developer is selected and the design process begins. If the council hadn’t endorsed the plan, a state law would have kicked in, which would have permitted the same number of units and the same height.
The council also certified the environmental review and approved a requirement that a minimum of 35% of the units be affordable. The city also OKed an agreement with BART that includes a project timeline to select a developer over the next year and design standards.
Mayor Jesse Arreguín, who introduced the motion that was passed, said in a statement that the council took an important step toward a “truly community-based vision for the future of these two important sites” that will create affordable homes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
BART will start the process of finding a developer for the North Berkeley BART Station in July. The city and BART are still negotiating some key aspects of the Ashby BART Station, including where the historic flea market will be relocated, but expect to launch the developer selection process within the next year.
The city expects that construction at both stations could begin in 2025 and be completed in 2030. City staff said they expect the development to bring 5,424 residents and 465 jobs to the city.
The decisions come less than two months after the Berkeley Planning Commission voted to recommend that the City Council allow for 12-story buildings at the BART stations. With the state density bonus, that would have allowed for 18-story buildings. But the taller building heights were vigorously opposed by many neighbors.
Council Member Rashi Kesarwani, who represents the district that includes the North Berkeley BART Station, told The Chronicle the idea of building housing at BART just four years ago was “unimaginable” because of neighborhood opposition. She said many of her constituents now back housing and it’s been “gratifying” to “bring what I hope to be a very positive change to the neighborhood.”
Vice Mayor Kate Harrison called the BART housing lots a “significant opportunity” for affordable housing but said officials should acknowledge that the land on which the Ashby station project would be built was taken by BART using eminent domain and “painfully displaced a vibrant African American neighborhood.”
During the meeting, a number of residents urged the council to vote for the sevenstory height maximum, saying that taller buildings would destroy the “neighborhood character” of the low-rise areas around the stations. The potential high-rise buildings were described as “monstrous,” “a monstrosity” and a “giant monolith.”
Many speakers called for 100% affordable housing at the stations.
Paul Lee talked about the historical displacement of Black residents along Ashby and Sacramento streets when the station was built.
Through tears, Lee said that the Ashby Station robbed Black residents of generational wealth, referring to how property was taken using eminent domain.
“While this historic wrong can’t be righted, you have the opportunity to do what your predecessors failed to do, something that can give hope to those who have been cheated,” Lee said.
Others asked the council to instead allow for up to 12 stories of housing, saying that it would create more homes during a “housing crisis” and would reduce homelessness. Supporters of taller buildings also said the urgency of the housing crisis and building as many units as possible trumped any concerns about “neighborhood character.”
Several speakers challenged residents who said that a highrise would contribute to climate change. Studies have shown that building housing near transit can cut down on climate change.
Prior to the vote, BART board President Rebecca Saltzman said she uses both stations and “every time I walk through those seas of parking spots, I think about what we could have there in the future.”
“I know that together we’ll be able to produce transformative projects at both stations that will help us address our housing and climate crises,” Saltzman said. “I also know we have a lot of work to do in the future together, so we’re going to continue to be partners on these projects.”