Lori Droste

@loridroste.bsky.social

298 Followers 108 Following

I’m into the the 3 Ps—progress, politics, and policy 😉 Happily retired former Berkeley politician

Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers: I am writing to convey my strong support for Berkeley's Middle Housing Ordinance. At present, there is no viable path to broad housing affordability in Berkeley, and only our most affluent residents get to see their children and grandchildren live in Berkeley. Single-family zoning, with its origins in systemic racism, threatens to lock us out of our own community - i.e., exclusionary displacement. The Middle Housing Ordinance puts us on the path to housing justice. However, adopting two essential amendments will help ensure the ordinance has real potential to redress inequities: (1) equalizing density across all residential neighborhoods and (2) raising the limit on dwelling units per acre. As written, the current proposal would allow densities up to 50% higher (6o units per acre) in our historically disinvested neighborhoods than in more affluent areas (which allow 40 units per acre). However, Berkeley's obligation to affirmatively further fair housing means that it should particularly encourage higher densities in its most exclusive single-family neighborhoods. To enable this, potential densities should be the same across all residential neighborhoods (while still maintaining fire safety protections in Very High Wildfire Zones). That means also raising the cap of 40 units per acre. A 40 dwelling unit per acre limit may preclude some building typologies that are characteristic of the Berkeley vernacular, including townhouses and 3-story apartment buildings. Berkeley has thoughtful form-based standards that help to maintain neighborhood character, and there is thus no need to restrict density. We have learned from a decade of serious reforms to accessory dwelling unit (ADU) legislation that it takes time to get it right. We started boldly in 2017 and made incremental reforms thereafter - and are still well below 1,000 ADUs permitted in Berkeley. But Berkeley led, and others followed, and now 20% of California's housing comes …
Dear Mayor and City Councilmembers, As a scholar of racial inequality, segregation, and land use, (1 who also works in Berkeley, I strongly support the adoption of Berkeley's Missing Middle Ordinance, a necessary plan to expand housing at a critical range, and urge you to strengthen it by adopting two important amendments. These changes help ensure the ordinance meets its full potential as a tool for equitable, inclusive growth. Without them, the policy risks falling short of its goals and inadvertently reinforcing the very inequities it seeks to address. 1. Equalize Density Across All Residential Neighborhoods The current proposal allows just 40 units per acre in most areas previously zoned for single-family homes, while permitting up to 60 units per acre in neighborhoods that have experienced redlining and underinvestment. While this disparity may reflect historical zoning, it also risks perpetuating exclusion by continuing to constrain housing growth in wealthier, high-opportunity neighborhoods where children and families can thrive. This inequity could also place the City at odds with California's legal obligation under Government Code § 65583(c)(10) to affirmatively further fair housing. Restricting density in affluent areas shifts new development onto communities that have already faced decades of disinvestment and displacement. Equalizing density across all residential neighborhoods-while maintaining fire safety protections in Very High Wildfire Zones-would: • Ensure that all communities participate in addressing Berkeley's housing needs • Advance racial and economic justice in a measurable, structural way • Distribute housing growth more equitably and reduce displacement risk citywide 2. Consider Raising the Dwelling Units Per Acre Limit Berkeley's emphasis on form-based standards-such as setbacks, height limits, and open space-has advantages in the direction of more predictable and thoughtful housing design. However, capping density at 40 dwelling units per…