After six years and over 30 meetings with community memebers, the Adeline Corridor Plan passed with near unanimous approval.
The plan, which includes 1,500 housing units and commercial space, sets a vision for the area around the Ashby BART station in South Berkeley. It also offers permanent spaces for cultural mainstays like the Ashby Flea Market and the Juneteenth Festival.
The goal of the plan is to build 100% affordable housing at the BART site and 50% affordable housing throughout the Adeline Corridor, which has a history of systemic injustice. In the 1960s, hundreds of Black and Japanese-American residents were displaced to make room for the new transit station.
Councilmember Ben Bartlett ran for office specifically to address this history. At the approval meeting, he said that this conflict inspired a generation of activists, including Mabel Howard and his parents.
The next big step for the planning committee is to secure funding. City meetings to do so will begin in 2021.
