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I believe that housing is a human right and that treating it as a commodity ensures that not everyone will have a home. For half a century we’ve run a failed “market-based” experiment where needed affordable housing isn’t built, rent control is outlawed and undermined, and market rate housing is out of reach for a large segment of our community.

There are no shortcuts to fixing our housing affordability crisis. Solutions require sustained public investment alternatives, such as Measure O, which counteract displacing market forces, and asking private development to support affordable housing at a reasonable level.

Many of you communicated to the Land Use Committee that the recent "quadplex zoning" upzoning item lacked critical protections against market speculation and an affordability requirement and excluded community input through ministerial approval. Instead of removing community input, I am focused on developing objective standards that provide developers and neighbors with more certainty and reduce appeals, and providing for robust community input into our new Housing Element and General Plan. 

The item’s authors have submitted a new item that asks City Manager and Planning Commission to consider upzoning as part of the 2023-2031 Housing Element Update scheduled action during a special meeting on March 25 at 6:00 p.m. The new item is a relative improvement as it removes ministerial approval and reflects more on affordability. However, in my view, it downplays the profits to be realized through upzoning and places too much of the burden for affordability on you – the residents and businesses – rather than the out-of-town real estate interests that will realize significant profits from additional development without paying their fair share to maintain City infrastructure. 

Rather than support a proposal that doesn’t sufficiently address our affordability and displacement crisis or provide for the public input mandated by the state and our own general plan, I, Councilmembers Hahn, Wengraf and Bartlett have submitted alternative legislation to be heard on March 25. As we set out to plan for ABAG’s latest Regional Housing Needs Allocation, which asks Berkeley to plan for and produce 7,500-9,000 new housing units, we have an opportunity to do things differently. 

The legislation we introduced seeks to: 

• Center Berkeley’s RHNA planning process on achieving broad and protected affordability, to meet the needs of a humane, diverse and inclusive community.
• Ensure democratic participation and public input -- core Berkeley values -- are enshrined in our General Plan and state requirements
• Identify funds to hire culturally competent consultants to undertake a thorough, thoughtful, comprehensive/participatory process to meet the 2023 deadline for amending our Housing Element.

If you agree, you can let our colleagues know that by supporting a robust and meaningful process centered around respect for the people of Berkeley and the legally mandated processes. 

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. 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.  

Sincerely, 

Councilmember Kate Harrison