The Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) of one of the nation's most progressive cities has chosen a very conservative approach to new housing projects.
"The third time turned out not to be the charm for a proposed co-living project at Shattuck and Ashby avenues is South Berkeley," reports Kate Darby Rauch. "The debate-sparking project was rejected by the city’s Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) last month — its third time before the board in a year."
The project would have added 23 units and commercial space within a half mile from the Ashby BART station. The development did not include car parking for the residences, but did include 48 bike parking spots and spaces for a ground floor coffee shop. The project would have triggered a payment of $37,000 per unit to the city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
According to Darby Rauch, the ZAB decided against the project, citing concerns about a lack of vehicle drop off area, height and massing, and concerns that the co-housing arrangement of the development was "gaming" the city's affordable housing ordinance.
According to another post critical of the decision, the South Shattuck Plan, which sets land use regulations for the area, "specifically calls for pedestrian-scale mixed infill development on underdeveloped lots." That post suggests the city isn't following its own plans.
Due to the failure of the proposed project, the current use of the project will persist: a gas station, and car repair and smog testing shops.
FULL STORY: Co-housing project for South Berkeley voted down by zoning board
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