Emeryville planning commission approves winter shelter at 4300 San Pablo

The Emeryville Planning Commission unanimously approved a conditional use permit Oct. 23 to allow Dorothy Day House to operate the Berkeley Emergency Storm Shelter at 4300 San Pablo Avenue for the upcoming winter season.

The permit authorizes a seasonal, 24-hour shelter that will use existing portable structures and a shower trailer on the former recreation center site to provide services for up to 25 participants at once. Dorothy Day House will staff the site at all times with two to three employees; meals will be delivered to the loading zone on 40th Street and no on-site cooking is planned.

City planning staff outlined the site's entitlement history and operational details at the hearing. Staff said entitlements remain in place for a 68-unit, 100% affordable intergenerational housing project previously approved administratively in December 2022, and that EAH (the entitled developer) does not anticipate breaking ground before fall 2026. The city council approved a license agreement with Dorothy Day House for use of the site on Sept. 16, 2025, staff said.

Rashon Atkins, program director for Dorothy Day House, told the commission the shelter's seasonal model prioritizes engagement with participants and partner agencies to move people into permanent housing. "We have 99 percent of people that come through this particular shelter that do not return to the street at the end of this ... operational season," Atkins said, describing outreach and wraparound services provided at the shelter.

Staff said the shelter will enroll participants on-site in coordination with the Alameda County coordinated entry system, operate between November and April, and maintain storage for waste and recycling behind a security fence on the east side of the building. The proposal does not change building height or floor area, and no on-site parking is provided; staff noted a maximum parking requirement calculation of 14 spaces for comparable uses, and that four City Hall parking spaces are licensed to Dorothy Day House under the council-approved agreement.

Commissioners asked whether recent state law changes intended to streamline shelter approvals could make the project ministerial rather than subject to a use permit. Staff said the city's zoning code currently requires a use permit for this site and that staff would confirm whether ministerial processing would apply to future proposals once the zoning updates required by the housing element are completed.

Commissioner Chafe moved to approve the conditional use permit; Commissioner Gould seconded. The motion passed on a roll-call vote: Chafe, Gould, Martinez, Rivera, Small, Henley and Chair Wax all voting "aye."

The commission closed the public hearing after no members of the public offered comment.

The approval permits Dorothy Day House to operate the emergency shelter under the conditions of approval adopted by staff and reflected in the planning record. Details including staffing levels, meal delivery, the use of portables and the shower trailer, and coordination with county intake systems were described during the hearing and are recorded in the staff report and meeting transcript.