The city is behind plans to turn parking lots around the North Berkeley BART station into much-needed housing.

Berkeley, California, wants to be proactive about transit-oriented development around the Bay Area Rapid Transit station in North Berkeley, reports Jared Brey. Last year the state passed legislation requiring BART to develop height and density guidelines by 2022 for its land adjacent to stations, and this month the Berkeley city council voted to establish a memorandum of understanding with the agency about future planning.
City leaders would like to see less height along with less parking and more density. Some community members are also calling for 100 percent of the units to be affordable housing, but that would be a difficult outcome to achieve. “The site could end up being built out with hundreds of new housing units, at least a portion of which will be affordable for low-income residents,” says Brey.
The fact that the Berkeley community is supporting the planning process for the North Berkeley BART station is very positive, say BART representatives and city officials. “More developers are able to work with BART on transit-oriented projects than they were when the TOD program launched in the 1990s, [Abby] Thorne-Lyman [of BART] says. Land has gotten more valuable and the housing shortage has gotten worse. But BART’s standards for affordability and open space are high,” notes Brey.
FULL STORY: Berkeley, California, Plans for a Transit-Oriented Future

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie