By Emilie Raguso, Berkeleyside, January 27, 2021
“A unanimous vote by Berkeley City Council eliminated the city’s age-old parking parking requirements which, in many areas of town, required the creation of one-off street parking spots for each new housing unit.
“Most new housing projects in Berkeley will no longer have to build off-street parking.
“The city did put limits in place about how much parking developers can build in transit-rich areas without requesting special permission from the city.
“A recent staff analysis found that nearly 50 percent of the existing off-street parking spots in housing projects around the city sit empty, meaning that much more parking has been built in Berkeley than the city actually needs.
“Officials, staff and members of the public alike spoke strongly in support of the reform package, which also puts new requirements in place for transit-related amenities (PDF), such as transit passes and off-street bike parking.
“With 60 percent of Berkeley’s greenhouse gases resulting from transportation, staff and elected officials said, the city must embrace bold policies designed to change behavior and city infrastructure if it hopes to see real change.”
Read the full article here. (~3 min.)