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Purpose of the Task Force
To pursue implementation of City policies regarding housing, economic revitalization and environmental sustainability as they relate
to potential transit-oriented development at the West parking lot of the Ashby BART station, the Berkeley City Council on December
13, 2005 authorized the South Berkeley Neighborhood Development Corporation to convene a Task Force to conduct a public
planning process.
Council’s original charge to the Task Force was to convene community meetings to identify the basic elements of a potential
development at the site and to make recommendations to the City Council that could be the basis for Council’s choosing a
developer. Once a developer was chosen, extensive public participation would be sought to design a project at the site which
would meet community needs for housing near transit, especially affordable housing for public sector employees, local jobs and
neighborhood economic revitalization. This public visioning and participation process was to be funded by a grant from Caltrans
which had been applied for by the City and the South Berkeley Neighborhood Development Corporation.
Caltrans did not fund the public process, and on July 25, 2006, the Berkeley City Council re-affirmed the purpose and direction of the
Task Force, providing seed money for the Task Force to develop another public process which could lead to funding applications in
2007.
The Work Program
Council’s July resolution asked the Task Force to “(1) prepare a budget and work plan for implementing a wide outreach effort in
the community to develop a vision, goals, objectives and criteria consistent with previously adopted Council policy to be used for a
planning grant application; (2) that the criteria include objectives and criteria for location of the flea market in furtherance of Council
policies should a feasible development plan ultimately be prepared for the parking lot; (3) that this outreach effort include BART as a
full partner; and (4) that outreach and visioning occur by August, 2007 to allow time for the City to apply for grants by October 2007
that would support a more extensive plan development and implementation effort.”
A copy of the proposed Work Program and Budget, along with many documents developed during the Task Force’s meetings with
neighborhood groups, are available by clicking below.