Ashby and North Berkeley BART Station Planning

Planning is underway to re-imagine the Ashby and North Berkeley BART stations as vibrant places that include housing, open space and community amenities. Both sites are owned by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART). The City of Berkeley is working with BART to develop zoning and site planning parameters for the station areas that reflect a shared community vision. After the zoning is complete, BART, as the property owner, will choose the developer and oversee construction of any projects at their stations.

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On Thursday, June 2, 2022, the Berkeley City Council will hold a public hearing to:

• Adopt the R-BMU (Residential-BART Mixed Use) zoning district
• Amend the General Plan and General Plan map
• Adopt the City and BART Joint Vision and Priorities (JVP) for Transit-Oriented Development at the Ashby and North Berkeley BART Stations
• Certify the Final Environmental Impact Report
• Adopt a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the City and BART regarding North Berkeley and Ashby Transit-Oriented Development

Please find the June 2, 2022 meeting agenda here. Agendas and agenda-related materials will be posted here and on the City Council Agenda page. Please subscribe to our mailing list, above, to be notified when they are available.

Project Background

In September 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 2923, state legislation that affects zoning requirements on existing BART-owned property within 1/2 mile of stations in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco Counties.  Cities and counties have until July 1,2022 to rezone BART's property to conform with the standards established in AB 2923.

The current zoning at the North Berkeley and Ashby BART stations does not comply with AB 2923, so the City of Berkeley must develop new zoning for these stations.  Zoning sets rules for the range of what is allowed and/or required on a particular piece of property (e.g. maximums building size/height/density; parking and open space requirements; allowed uses).  

Changes in zoning require the approval of the City Council.  The City Planning Commission must first make a recommendation to the City Council about any changes to zoning before the City Council can act.

The City of Berkeley is working closely with BART to develop zoning and site planning parameters that meet the requirements of AB 2923, the goals of the City and the community, and the goals of BART as the property owner.  The City and BART have agreed upon a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that establishes a framework for development of the Ashby and North Berkeley BART stations, including a community advisory process and other community engagement; milestones and a timeline to develop zoning that complies with AB 2923; solicitation of developer(s); and further studies/planning for the two station areas.

As outlined in the MOU, the planning effort moving forward will build upon separate community engagement efforts that have been underway for several years relating to the Ashby and North Berkeley BART stations, and other adopted plans and policies of the City and of BART.

As part of this station planning effort, the City Council has created a Community Advisory Group (CAG) to provide input to the City Planning Commission.

The first phase of planning for the Ashby and North Berkeley station areas will ultimately result in new zoning language added to the Berkeley Municipal Code.  Development of new zoning will also require environmental review and the preparation of an Environmental Impact Report.