|
West
Berkeley Works!
Ocean
View: How an Industrial Town Became a Neighborhood
Since its
first scratchings as a little settlement called Ocean View, West
Berkeley has had a working-class character. Founded in 1853 as a dock,
hotel, and stagecoach stop alongside the ancient Ohlone shellmound at
the mouth of Strawberry Creek, it quickly expanded into a small
mixed-industrial port town surrounded by farms.
In the
early 1870s the University of California started a second community on
Shattuck Avenue. In 1878 Ocean View merged
with the university town to become Berkeley's industrial and ethnically
diverse neighborhood.
The 1906 earthquake
brought on West Berkeley's first industrial boom. Manufacturers flooded
in, displacing farms, with 37 new factories opening in the first four
months. Many products manufactured here in the following years went to
rebuilding San Francisco. World War II brought on a new industrial
boom, and the post-war changeover to a peacetime economy continued to
feed industrial expansion.
Development
Fads
In the
following decades West Berkeley became the battleground of a series of
development schemes, exploiting booms in different economic sectors. When the manufacturing boom faded by the late
'60s, the primary land use issue became how to re-use industrial sites
vacated by large manufacturers. West
Berkeley had few zoning restrictions, and
property owners could put in almost any use, from heavy industry to
single family homes. There was no
community plan for land use.
Some large
manufacturing buildings were subdivided to provide spaces for light
industries, artisans, and artists, which remained vigorous economic
sectors. The new arts & crafts environment attracted developers who
saw the creative atmosphere as a marketing advantage for office and
retail conversions, which generate higher rents. By the late 1970s and
early '80s, rapid changes swept through West Berkeley. Conversions
drove up rents, and gentrification drove out the very artists and
artisans who had been the attraction.
West Berkeley
Plan
In 1985 the
City Council convened an open-membership committee to write an area
plan to guide change and consider ways of retaining manufacturing and
jobs. Every stakeholder group
participated.
A
consensus among all parties agreed that West
Berkeley was a successful part of the city, so change should be
channeled to prevent harming existing businesses and residents. The non-residential sectors should be zoned to
maintain their diverse, mixed use character. The
key to this goal was the retention and encouragement of industrial uses
through zoning, which would allow industrial, artisan, and artist uses
a land base upon which to incubate and thrive. Without
the zoning protection of the land base, pressure from retail, office
and high end housing would force industry and artisans out of Berkeley.
This pattern of displacement is easy to see in many nearby cities.
Districts
were set up where every existing use could continue, with manufacturing and arts & crafts protected. The Plan
envisioned a lighter industrial economy based on diversity and
environmental sustainability. In 1993 the City Council unanimously
approved the plan, and in 1998 West Berkeley was rezoned.
Plan Prevented
Bust
The
diverse mixed use economy that the Plan maintained was the key factor
in sparing Berkeley from the extreme economic trials of the dot-com
bust experienced by other local cities which did not have the foresight
to have retained a broad economic base, and instead converted
much of their manufacturing districts into offices. The West Berkeley
Plan also understood the role that industry plays in providing living
wage jobs to immigrants, minorities, and the 74 percent of all high
school graduates without college or advanced degrees. A healthy
industrial sector has been an essential factor in maintaining an
economically and racially diverse population in Berkeley.
The Plan has made the city strong.
The
Industrial Future
West
Berkeley still has the vision and the land to grow new sustainable
industries. Lighter and greener industries continue to thrive.
Zero-waste policies have spurred the recycling industry. The industrial
district is a vital community resource, an umbrella sheltering a wide
variety of creativity and diversity. Without zoning protections,
industrial space would disappear, taking away good jobs for people
without advanced degrees, and the contributions of artisans, artists,
and creative start-ups. Without the industrial zone, Berkeley would
lose diversity and vitality.
To create a
diverse and sustainable future, WeBAIC will protect industrial lands in
Berkeley.
West Berkeley Land Use Zoning Plan Details
|
