Berkeley council advances 'missing middle' housing ordinance after hours of public comment

The Berkeley City Council adopted the second reading of the "missing middle" housing ordinance as part of the consent calendar on July 8, after hours of public comment that ranged from calls for more affordable units and environmental safeguards to supporters urging the city to allow more housing types across neighborhoods.

Council members and the city attorney spent time in the meeting explaining procedural questions raised by members of the public. The city attorney told the public that the June 26 special meeting that advanced the ordinance complied with the Brown Act and its 24-hour special-meeting notice provision, and said there was no legal defect in the way the ordinance was noticed for second reading.

The ordinance's sponsor, a council member who described themself as the author of supplemental amendments, said the changes were the result of an iterative process that incorporated public feedback and technical studies, including a solar-access study. "We are listening to the public," the council member said, adding that the ordinance retains inclusionary housing requirements that call for either 20% of units to be affordable to low-income households or payment of an in-lieu fee to fund deed-restricted affordable housing elsewhere.

Opponents at the microphone raised several concerns: that last-minute changes at a specially noticed meeting undercut community input; that the ordinance could exacerbate displacement of lower-income and Black residents in formerly redlined neighborhoods; and that environmental impacts including tree loss, increased impermeable surface area and shading of rooftop solar needed additional study. One speaker said the city should have performed an environmental impact report before passage; others urged an equity impact analysis and caps or mitigation measures.

Supporters, including students, housing advocates and some longtime residents, said the measure would increase housing supply, promote equity by spreading new housing to higher-resource neighborhoods and provide housing types (duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes) that can help first-time buyers and renters. "This is a chance to create homes for families, workers, and longtime residents who want to stay or return," a community organizer said.

Council members defended the ordinance and the outreach process. One council member noted that the city had a limited budget for deeply subsidized housing and said the voters had rejected a funding measure in 2022; the council therefore relied on inclusionary rules and fees to support affordable housing. Another council member pointed to provisions that trigger a review after a set number of projects are built and to a newly added racial equity analysis, saying those checks were intended to monitor impacts.

The ordinance was adopted as part of the consent calendar roll-call vote at the meeting; the clerk read the roll and recorded affirmative votes for the consent calendar "as amended." Council members recorded 'Yes' votes as read by the clerk; the consent calendar was adopted.

What happens next: the ordinance now advances under the city's standard effective-date procedures for ordinances adopted at second reading; council members said staff will monitor outcomes and return with required follow-up reports and the racial equity analysis the council added.

Sources and context: at the meeting the city attorney explained Brown Act notice rules for special meetings; speakers referenced a multi-year public outreach process, a planning commission report, and a June 26 special council meeting that moved the ordinance forward. The council also placed a future mandatory review and impact study mechanism in the ordinance.