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The City Council voted to oppose an initiative that would further limit the size of buildings, angering a number of Berkeley citizens that say Berkeley’s buildings are too tall and too dense. 

The height initiative, which will be on the city’s November ballot, calls for restricting building heights to three stories in residential neighborhoods and five stories downtown. Currently, buildings can be as tall as five stories in residential neighborhoods and seven downtown. 

The petition-driven initiative, which was written by Berkeley Party members Howie Muir and Martha Nicoloff, recently made the ballot. 

According to the initiative, buildings higher than three stories in residential neighborhoods block sunlight and views, increase traffic and overburden the city’s already decrepit sewer system. 

Opponents of the restricting initiative, though, say it would undermine the city’s goal to help ease the regional housing shortage.  

The city hopes to build 6,700 new housing units during the next 40 years. But according to a Department of Planning and Development report, if voters pass the initiative, the city’s potential for new housing could be reduced by as much as 66 percent. 

The council voted 8-0, with Councilmember Dona Spring abstaining, to approve a resolution opposing the height initiative. Councilmember Maudelle Shirek authored the resolution. 

About 20 height initiative supporters raised yellow placards during the council meeting Tuesday that read “We vote,” and “Hear the appeals,” referring to appeals filed against three proposed multi-unit developments that council was deliberating. [See story on this page.] 

Councilmember Linda Maio opposed the appeals and the height initiative because Berkeley needs more housing, she said. 

“I’m opposing this initiative because it’s too restrictive,” Maio said. “When I first moved to Berkeley [in 1970], there were more people living here than there are now. We need to build more affordable housing for working people like librarians, teachers and clerical staff.” 

Muir was on vacation and unavailable for comment and Nicoloff could not be reached Wednesday. 

Initiative supporters are also concerned that developers are getting incentives to build taller buildings from city planners, City Council and the Zoning Adjustments Board. The incentives, they claim, are not consistent with the city’s General Plan or the California Environmental Quality Act. 

Berkeley resident Douglas Press said the city public process is unfair. He unsuccessfully appealed the approval of a four-story, 35-unit development at 2700 San Pablo Ave. at Tuesday’s meeting. 

“Planning staff issued their analysis of our appeal on Friday and we were not even allowed to respond to their findings in writing,” he said. “It’s this type of summary approval by the Zoning Adjustments Board and the City Council that is creating support for the Height Initiative.” 

Mayor Shirley Dean sympathized with neighbors who feel that their neighborhoods are being over-developed, but agreed that the height initiative is “too blunt of a tool.” 

“Voting for housing is a difficult thing to do when people don’t want it in their neighborhood,” she said. “I hope that we will use this opportunity to discuss our [planning] process.” 

City Manager Weldon Rucker said the city’s unclear development guidelines often result in city staff being unfairly blamed for confusion in the process by angry neighbors and anti-growth factions. 

“Berkeley is a very challenging place to work,” Rucker said, gesturing toward a 4,500-page stack of reports that city staff prepared for Tuesday’s meeting. “Staff ends up becoming scapegoats because we are not dealing with this issue as a community.” 

He suggested that it’s time “to take a little time out” and figure exactly what type of development is needed and how to regulate it.