Jesse Arreguin, Mayor Councilmembers: District 1 – Rashi Kesarwani District 5 – Sophie Hahn District 2 – Terry Taplin District 6 – Susan Wengraf District 3 – Ben Bartlett District 7 – Rigel Robinson District 4 – Kate Harrison District 8 – Lori Droste PUBLIC ADVISORY: THIS…
Development projects often require review from a traffic engineer as part of the project development process. The traffic engineer will evaluate the project’s impact on vehicle traffic and street parking, and ensure off-street parking meets design requirements. You may be required to prepare reports documenting the environmental, traffic, or parking impacts of your project.Impact on driving and…
Projects this policy applies to The public art on private development (or “Percent for Art”) policy applies to:
- new residential projects with five or more units
- new commercial and industrial structures and building additions larger than 10,000 square feet (including city sponsored projects).
Some properties in the City of Berkeley are designated as City Landmarks, Structure of Merit and Historic Districts. These properties exhibit cultural significance due their design or connections to important historical events and/or persons, and shall be…
Berkeley’s green building requirements are helping reduce our community’s dependence on fossil-fuels and create healthier, more resilient buildings. They are designed to transition our community to carbon-free building materials and operation, with requirements for renewable energy and efficient use of energy, water, and building materials.LEED Gold certificationApplies to: New buildings and…
Property owners interested in retrofitting their buildings can get funding support through various programs. Owner-occupied single-family residences and small multifamily buildings (1-4 units) can apply for funding through the Earthquake Brace and Bolt program. Owner-occupied single-family buildings built prior to 2000 may be eligible for the Earthquake Soft-Story Retrofit Program. Commercial…
The Retrofit Grants Program reimburses property owners of eligible building types a portion of their design and/or construction costs. Retrofit grants from the City of Berkeley are available to multi-family homes of 3+ units, non-residential buildings, hotels/motels, and mixed-use buildings. Single-family homes and duplexes are not eligible. You can be reimbursed up to 75% of your design…
Sellers or buyers of buildings used exclusively for residential purposes, or mixed-use buildings with at least two residential units can receive a rebate of their real estate transfer tax for voluntary seismic upgrades. Building sellers or buyers can receive a rebate of up to 1/3 of the City of Berkeley's base 1.5% transfer tax for voluntary seismic upgrades expenses incurred …
Participating in the Building Occupancy Resumption Program will reduce your business inspection delays in the event of a major disaster, such as an earthquake, by enabling owners of private buildings to hire licensed engineers to create post-disaster inspection plans for their buildings. This program works for residential, commercial, industrial, and mixed-use buildings. In the event of an…
Berkeley’s Building Emissions Saving Ordinance (BESO) requires property owners to hire a qualified assessor to conduct an energy assessment and prepare a report about the building’s energy performance and opportunities for improvement. Learn more about the BESO…