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Developers, commissioners and activists have expressed interest in establishing a shelter in Berkeley for survivors of domestic violence.  

Even with widespread support, proponents have found the creation of a shelter difficult; for several years they’ve struggled with the problem of balancing shelter confidentiality with the public input required by zoning ordinances.  

Now planning commissioners say they are at an impasse. 

The difficulty was brought to the fore because of a failed development project in 1996, when nonprofit developers Resources for Community Development attempted to get loans for a project without disclosing the location. The city determined that the project had to go through a public process and the organization dropped the idea. 

“The whole concept of trying to do housing for survivors is it’s not a publicly known site,” said Dan Sawislak, executive director of Resources for Community Development. “We did not want to go through the process that would disclose the location of the site.” 

“It’s very important to secure confidentiality on the address for the safety of the residents in there,” said Susan Sung, member of the Commission on the Status of Women. “Because of the nature of the population, usually they are being pursued or are in danger of perpetrators.” 

But Sawislak said there needs to be a way for the community to give input. “The reality is that these projects are going to have community scrutiny.”  

Other cities in the Bay Area have found ways to allow sites and maintain confidentiality. Oakland manages to keep confidentiality by being circumspect. Willie Yee, zoning administrator with the city of Oakland, said that when posting public notices about the housing facilities, Oakland lists that there will be a residential care facility for a certain number of residents, without specifically saying who the facility will serve.  

“We talk to the applicants and say they should apply under their own names,” he said. “If you have as the applicant Bay Area Battered Women’s Collaborative it’s a pretty dead giveaway of what it is. It’s not to mislead the public but to insure the safety of the women.” 

Most other shelters seem to get through the zoning process by similar means, avoiding the public hearings that would advertise the location of the shelter. 

“Basically they did not go through a zoning process,” said Planning Commissioner Susan Wengraf.  

Commissioners have been trying to find a way out of the dilemma. The Commission on the Status of Women was working with the Planning Commission to find a way to give special dispensation to battered women’s shelters within the zoning ordinances. Somehow, they want to find a way to avoid posting notices and calling public hearings for battered women’s shelters.  

Deborah Arthur, coordinator of the city’s Domestic Violence Prevention Program, called this attempt a progressive step. “In some ways I think Berkeley is kind of on the cutting edge in trying to be proactive,” she said. “They’ve done the research in calling around the state and there’s not a lot of precedent.” 

Deeming complete confidentiality impossible, commissioners decided to create a special permit that would allow for limited public disclosure – instead of posting the notice on telephone poles, they would send it to close neighbors by mail. To get the special permit, management would need to meet with neighbors before the shelter opened and would have to plan for a well-run facility. 

However, the city attorney, in what planning commissioner Zelda Bronstein described as a “conservative ruling,” called the plan a violation of equal rights, because the city would require special procedures from a targeted group. 

At the crux of zoning problem is the relationship between neighborhoods and the social services the community provides to disadvantaged members. It’s a problem that commissioner’s feel can be overcome. “You can try to facilitate working relationship between the neighbors and a transitional house,” said Bronstein.  

Arthur agreed that building community support around domestic violence issues is possible, and imperative to making a neighborhood amenable to the shelter. 

“We as a community need to support the existence of a transitional house,” said Arthur. “We need to recognize what our role is and educate ourselves about domestic violence: how we can be involved to stop the violence and also challenge perpetrators.” 

There are still people who want to create a shelter in Berkeley, if the zoning question can be addressed satisfactorily. But Bronstein said the city attorney’s opinion has left the planning commissioners with their hands tied.