Berkeley council trims referral list, preserves West Berkeley parking referral and directs staff to run RRV prioritization

BERKELEY — The City Council on Tuesday approved a motion to remove the majority of items on its referral removal list while retaining several items of ongoing interest and directing staff to run the city’s reweighted-range-voting (RRV) prioritization process and return a final prioritized list on Feb. 10, 2026.

The action followed a short presentation from City Clerk Mark Newmanville explaining RRV, a method in which council members rate referrals on a 0–5 scale, the highest‑scoring referral becomes the top priority and remaining scores are reweighted so council influence is redistributed over successive selections. Newmanville said 53 referrals were on the RRV list, eight had been marked for removal, and staff identified 10 additional referrals with total scores below five for council consideration.

Council member Casarwani moved to remove all items on the removal list except referral 04053 — a proposal to allow West Berkeley residents within two blocks of commercial corridors to opt into a residential preferential parking (RPP) program — and to add the 10 low‑scoring referrals the clerk had listed to the removal list; Council member Humbert seconded the motion. The motion also directed staff to run the RRV algorithm this week and present results on Feb. 10.

"This is something our public works department had brought to the council and I think this is an equity issue," Council member Casarwani said about the West Berkeley RPP item, urging that it remain on the list.

Council member Blackaby said she supported removing most marked items but cautioned that some referrals received low scores only because they fall outside the current timing window — for example, items tied to a 2028 ballot measure — and should not be lost entirely.

Public Works Director Davis confirmed that recommendations tied to traffic‑calming and the Oak/Dots neighborhood had been incorporated into the draft 2025 bike plan, which is in final review and will return to council for comment before adoption.

Among the 10 low‑scoring referrals the clerk read into the record were two companion items on affordable housing for artists (one recommending implementation of strategies from the Berkeley Social Housing Study), a proposal to place an affordable housing bond on the 2028 ballot, a referral to the city attorney concerning Police Accountability Board legal memos, South Side zoning amendments, a study of the city’s discriminatory housing history, a temporary exemption from cannabis taxes, bird‑safe building requirements follow‑up, and a traffic‑calming review for the San Pablo Avenue project at 1201–1205 San Pablo.

Council members debated several friendly amendments. They agreed to retain the 2028 affordable housing bond study, the "no right on red" budget referral, and the Police Accountability Board/ODPA memorandum referral (4222) on the RRV list for tracking. Council also discussed but ultimately did not remove a TOPA/COPA referral that some members said would require substantial funding.

The clerk called the roll on the motion. All members present voted in favor and the motion carried. The clerk said staff would run the RRV algorithm and return the prioritized list at a special meeting on Feb. 10, 2026.

"There were 53 items on the referral list," City Clerk Mark Newmanville said during the presentation, noting that the process is intended to give minority positions more influence over the final ranking.

The council adjourned the special meeting and will reconvene for a regular meeting at 6 p.m. on the scheduled date.

Votes at a glance: motion to remove agreed items, preserve 04053 (West Berkeley RPP), preserve 4240 (2028 affordable housing bond study), preserve 4059 (no right on red referral), and preserve 4222 (PAB/ODPA memo) — passed unanimously; staff directed to run the RRV algorithm and return results Feb. 10, 2026.