Features

Planning commissioners will conduct their third hearing Wednesday on plans to build a second Berkeley Bowl near the heavily traveled intersection of Ashby Avenue and Ninth Street. 

The proposal, which calls for two buildings totaling 91,060 square feet, has roused opposition from area residents who fear the additional traffic the store will generate, the loss of parking spaces on nearby streets and the loss of Mixed Use-Light Industrial [MU-LI] land in West Berkeley. 

The project’s architecture has earned the praise of the city’s Design Review Committee and city planning staff have prepared a mitigated negative declaration on the project which finds that potential adverse impacts can be fully addressed without the need for an environmental impact report. 

Before the project can be moved forward, planning commissioners must first rezone the site from MU-LI to Avenue Commercial and amend the West Berkeley Plan, which calls for retention of all MU-LI-zoned property. 

Planning commissioners held hearings on Dec. 15, Jan. 12 and Jan. 26—the last session producing two hours of public comments, mostly negative. 

One of the most frequently raised concerns is that the intrusion of more commercial uses into the neighborhood will drive up rents, driving out the substantial community of artists who live and work in the area. 

West Berkeley is home to the city’s largest concentration of working artists and craftspeople, many of whom fear that economic pressures will drive them out of the city. 

Other residents welcome the opportunity to buy groceries in their own neighborhood. 

The 2.3-acre site at 920 Heinz Ave. currently houses vacant buildings and an asphalt business. 

Berkeley Bowl owner Glen Yasuda has testified that if he is denied the opportunity to build at the site, he will scout out another West Berkeley location and try again. 

A traffic engineering study estimated that the store would generate an additional 3,800 vehicle trips to the neighborhood, most concentrated on Ashby and San Pablo avenues. 

The proposal has drawn the concern of officials of the Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley—more commonly known as the French School—who fear that the additional traffic generated on Heinz Avenue may pose a safety threat to the 503 students who regularly attend class there. 

Wednesday’s meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the North Berkeley Senior Center at 1901 Hearst Ave. 

Planning commissioners will also hold another in their ongoing discussions of proposed changes to the city Landmarks Preservation Ordinance and the accompanying changes to the city Zoning Ordinance. 

ZAB Postponed  

Because Thursday is a non-working day for city officials (a cost-cutting measure to help close the city’s budget gap), the Zoning Adjustments Board meeting normally scheduled for that date has been postponed until 7 p.m. Monday. 

ZAB meets in the second floor City Council chambers in the old city hall building at 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way.