City Council Special Meeting eAgenda March 25, 2021

AGENDA

BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Thursday, March 25, 2021

6:00 P.M.

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 MEETING WILL BE CONDUCTED EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH VIDEOCONFERENCE AND TELECONFERENCE

Pursuant to Section 3 of Executive Order N-29-20, issued by Governor Newsom on March 17, 2020, this meeting of the City Council will be conducted exclusively through teleconference and Zoom videoconference. Please be advised that pursuant to the Executive Order and the Shelter-in-Place Order, and to ensure the health and safety of the public by limiting human contact that could spread the COVID-19 virus, there will not be a physical meeting location available.

Live audio is available on KPFB Radio 89.3. Live captioned broadcasts of Council Meetings are available on Cable B-TV (Channel 33) and via internet accessible video stream at http://www.cityofberkeley.info/CalendarEventWebcastMain.aspx.

To access the meeting remotely: Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, or Android device: Please use this URL https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82133233284. If you do not wish for your name to appear on the screen, then use the drop down menu and click on "rename" to rename yourself to be anonymous. To request to speak, use the “raise hand” icon by rolling over the bottom of the screen.

To join by phone: Dial 1-669-900-9128 or 1-877-853-5257 (Toll Free) and enter Meeting ID: 821 3323 3284. If you wish to comment during the public comment portion of the agenda, Press *9 and wait to be recognized by the Chair.

To submit an e-mail comment during the meeting to be read aloud during public comment, email clerk@cityofberkeley.info with the Subject Line in this format: “PUBLIC COMMENT ITEM ##.” Please observe a 150 word limit. Time limits on public comments will apply. Written comments will be entered into the public record.

Please be mindful that the teleconference will be recorded as any Council meeting is recorded, and all other rules of procedure and decorum will apply for Council meetings conducted by teleconference or videoconference.

This meeting will be conducted in accordance with the Brown Act, Government Code Section 54953. Any member of the public may attend this meeting. Questions regarding this matter may be addressed to Mark Numainville, City Clerk, (510) 981-6900. The City Council may take action related to any subject listed on the Agenda. Meetings will adjourn at 11:00 p.m. - any items outstanding at that time will be carried over to a date/time to be specified.

Preliminary Matters

Roll Call:

Action Calendar

The public may comment on each item listed on the agenda for action as the item is taken up. For items moved to the Action Calendar from the Consent Calendar or Information Calendar, persons who spoke on the item during the Consent Calendar public comment period may speak again at the time the matter is taken up during the Action Calendar.

The Presiding Officer will request that persons wishing to speak use the "raise hand" function to determine the number of persons interested in speaking at that time. Up to ten (10) speakers may speak for two minutes. If there are more than ten persons interested in speaking, the Presiding Officer may limit the public comment for all speakers to one minute per speaker. The Presiding Officer may, with the consent of persons representing both sides of an issue, allocate a block of time to each side to present their issue.

Action items may be reordered at the discretion of the Chair with the consent of Council.

Action Calendar – New Business

Initiation of Public Process and Zoning Concepts for 2023-2031 Housing Element Update
Revised Material (Supp 3)
From: Councilmember Droste (Author), Mayor Arreguin (Author), Councilmember Kesarwani (Author), Councilmember Taplin (Author)
Recommendation: Refer to the City Manager and Planning Commission to initiate an inclusive 18 month public process to develop the state-mandated update to the Housing Element of the Berkeley’s General Plan and forward the following key principles and zoning concepts for consideration to achieve equitable and sustainable housing and compliance with new Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) requirements.
Financial Implications: See report
Contact: Lori Droste, Councilmember, District 8, (510) 981-7180

Initiation of Participatory Planning for Berkeley’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA)
Supplemental material (Supp 2)
From: Councilmember Hahn (Author), Councilmember Harrison (Author), Councilmember Bartlett (Co-Sponsor)
Recommendation:
1. Direct the City manager to initiate and take all steps necessary to launch and complete the City’s housing element update in compliance with all State and City of Berkeley laws, plans, guidelines and regulations, to meet the January 2023 RHNA deadline for submission to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
2. Refer to the City Manager to hire experienced, culturally competent consultants to lead the housing element update and any required California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) processes in collaboration with members of the public, the Planning, Housing Advisory, Homeless and other appropriate Commissions, the City Council, and City staff.
3. Refer to the Budget process the identification and allocation of at least $500,000 in funds necessary to complete the housing element update in a thoughtful, comprehensive, participatory, culturally competent and timely manner.
4. Refer to the City Manager to study and report back to the City Council the following: a. A map of State legislation, with a focus on new legislation adopted since the City’s last housing element update, to clarify the State regulatory landscape in which Berkeley’s current RHNA planning will take place. Legislation mapped should include but not be limited to new laws about ADUs, SB35, and related to planning in high risk fire/earthquake/sea level rise areas. b. An evaluation of the distribution of RHNA-required units at each affordability level, taking into account Berkeley’s current housing pipeline report, the amount of housing in the pipeline at various affordability levels, and City demographics related to income. c. Status of State-level efforts to count group living accommodation (GLA) units/beds towards RHNA requirements.
5. Finalize objective planning standards and updated affordable housing requirements, as previously referred by the City Council, simultaneously with the RHNA planning process.
6. Refer to the City Manager to ensure that the framing of the housing element update reflects core Berkeley values of equity, affordability, and protection of residents from displacement and predatory purchasing, and puts cooperative, land-trust and other social housing concepts, as well as innovative home ownership models, on an equal footing with more traditional market-rate and affordable housing solutions.
Financial Implications: See report
Contact: Sophie Hahn, Councilmember, District 5, (510) 981-7150

Adjournment

I hereby request that the City Clerk of the City of Berkeley cause personal notice to be given to each member of the Berkeley City Council on the time and place of said meeting, forthwith.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand

and caused the official seal of the City of Berkeley to be

affixed on this 18th day of March, 2021.

Jesse Arreguin, Mayor

Public Notice – this Proclamation serves as the official agenda for this meeting.

ATTEST:

Date: March 18, 2021

Mark Numainville, City Clerk

NOTICE CONCERNING YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS: If you object to a decision by the City Council to approve or deny a use permit or variance for a project the following requirements and restrictions apply: 1) No lawsuit challenging a City decision to deny (Code Civ. Proc. §1094.6(b)) or approve (Gov. Code 65009(c)(5)) a use permit or variance may be filed more than 90 days after the date the Notice of Decision of the action of the City Council is mailed. Any lawsuit not filed within that 90-day period will be barred. 2) In any lawsuit that may be filed against a City Council decision to approve or deny a use permit or variance, the issues and evidence will be limited to those raised by you or someone else, orally or in writing, at a public hearing or prior to the close of the last public hearing on the project.

Live captioned broadcasts of Council Meetings are available on Cable B-TV (Channel 33),
via internet accessible video stream at http://www.cityofberkeley.info/CalendarEventWebcastMain.aspx and KPFB Radio 89.3.
Archived indexed video streams are available at http://www.cityofberkeley.info/citycouncil.
Channel 33 rebroadcasts the following Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. and Sunday at 9:00 a.m.

Communications to the City Council are public record and will become part of the City’s electronic records, which are accessible through the City’s website. Please note: e-mail addresses, names, addresses, and other contact information are not required, but if included in any communication to the City Council, will become part of the public record. If you do not want your e-mail address or any other contact information to be made public, you may deliver communications via U.S. Postal Service to the City Clerk Department at 2180 Milvia Street. If you do not want your contact information included in the public record, please do not include that information in your communication. Please contact the City Clerk Department for further information.

Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the City Council regarding any item on this agenda will be posted on the City's website at http://www.cityofberkeley.info.

Agendas and agenda reports may be accessed via the Internet at http://www.cityofberkeley.info/citycouncil

COMMUNICATION ACCESS INFORMATION:

To request a disability-related accommodation(s) to participate in the meeting, including auxiliary aids or services, please contact the Disability Services specialist at (510) 981-6418 (V) or (510) 981-6347 (TDD) at least three business days before the meeting date.