Public Comment

The proposed rezoning is a huge public policy decision and should be put on the ballot and all candidates need to make their positions clear. A so-called "community process" is nothing more than a managed process with paid facilitators and a pre-determined outcome, worthy of a fascistic managed democracy/populism. I resent the fact that ambitious politicians looking for a signature issue and backed by newly-"woken" speculators and developers are claiming the moral high ground on a very complex and consequential matter.  

I think it takes a lot of hubris and political ambition to endorse such a change when we are in the midst of an unheard of health and economic crisis the outcome of which is unknown. We have no idea about future demographics, housing needs/costs, local economics. If this rezoning is a good idea, it can await more temporal input about the ongoing health/economic crisis. Those of you who have reservations about the re-zoning should have voted/acted accordingly instead of now reaching out to naysayers to bolster your credentials and reservations. 

Also, I think your recent actions re: converting "generous" Arch Street rental apartments into smaller less livable "units" was a sad example of the future you envision for Berkeley. More people in smaller spaces! More units on which speculators can collect rents! Or "only suitable for students". At some point we will need to shrink the populace' BMI so they can squeeze in.  

I'm for keeping quiet peaceful single family neighborhoods, open to all who can afford it, without ongoing construction chaos and immediate quality of life and environmental detriment. There are admittedly many persons who will be unable to share in this, but that is the way of the world and has never changed. Unlike some present and past City officials, most SFR homeowners don't have a country retreat to escape to.