Extra

Berkeley Zoning Board Considers 1500 San Pablo Avenue

Toni Mester
Tuesday May 10, 2016 - 02:17:00 PM

The Zoning Adjustments Board meets on Thursday May 12 for a public hearing on a controversial 170 unit apartment building at 1500 San Pablo Avenue between Cedar and Jones. The meeting starts at 7 PM at Old City Hall, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way; impacted neighbors as well as West Berkeley residents should attend this important meeting, as the project could set a precedent for San Pablo Avenue development. 

Last year, the permit application for the massive five story building with adjoining town houses elicited a protest petition by Move-on which stated the project was “highly incompatible and would adversely affect the surrounding area” and garnered 87 signatures to date. However, nothing happened until an architect living and working in the neighborhood attended the project’s second design review in December and began to consider ways to lower the top-heavy mass while retaining the number of units, the density bonus calculation, and the developer’s rights to a fair return on investment. The project will provide 15 units available to very low income residents. 

His efforts resulted in the creation of a committee involving other architects and neighborhood activists, who met with City staff and began direct communication with the developer and project architect, which are ongoing. Although the staff report recommends approval, the committee is hopeful that the complexity of the original and alternative plans will result in ZAB voting to continue the public hearing, which would allow for further discussions regarding the proposed modifications. 

Dig It!

The alternative literally rests on a different foundation that increases the excavation and allows for a full floor of residential underground parking and another subgrade floor that includes the commercial parking. The resulting residential garage is easier to navigate and provides more parking spaces than the original proposal. With parking rents “unbundled” from unit rents, any unused parking area could be devoted to other purposes in a flexible arrangement. 

The entire 5th floor residential area would be moved down to the ground levels to become desirable garden apartments, adjoining a courtyard with trees that can be planted in the ground, not in pots. This new garden courtyard would be shared with the townhouses, creating a family friendly space. A reduced fifth floor would be devoted to attractive and shared amenities including a gym and outdoor roof garden and lounges, no longer be squeezed between air conditioning units. 

Lowering and reducing the top floors would create more natural light for the wider central courtyard and the apartments at the bottom of the well, which would be deprived of direct sunlight in the current layout. 

The cost of the additional excavation of 5000 cf. - estimated between $200 to $450K, less than 2% of the total project expenses - would be offset by the simplification of the overall layout and related construction efficiencies. All utilities would be accessible under the commercial spaces. Another cost saving would be reduction of the 5th floor and elimination of construction at the west courtyard. The architects believe that the reduced building volume in their alternative is a better utilization of enclosed space and that their concept would not cost more to build. 

In addition to the architects’ alternative plan, the neighborhood supports the placement of traffic bollards on Jones Street that would direct traffic exiting the project away from adjacent neighborhoods and onto San Pablo Ave. 

We urge you to support the proposed modifications by attending the ZAB meeting. 

 


Toni Toni Mester is a resident of West Berkeley.