20050430alert

Dear Neighbors,

It has been more than six years since initial meetings were held between Congregation Beth El (CBE) and the neighborhood to discuss the proposed synagogue at 1301 Oxford Street. One of the key components of the Agreement reached in 2001 between Congregation Beth El, the City of Berkeley, and our neighborhood (LOCCNA) was for Beth El to develop a parking management plan. The parking impact on the neighborhood will be huge. Conservative estimates are that on more than 50 days per year (e.g., at least once per week) additional off-street parking arrangements will be required to handle events of 150 people or more.

Beth El's most recent draft parking plan that was presented to the neighborhood committee on March 28 failed to meet the conditions of approval contained in the Agreement they signed. The neighborhood is now preparing to take action and we need your help!

Upcoming neighborhood meeting

The CBE Steering Committee will finalize their parking management plan at its next meeting during the second week of May. We do not expect to see substantive changes from the second draft. As soon as we receive their final parking plan we will call a neighborhood meeting (date/time to be determined).

Neighborhood actions that we will discuss at the meeting include:

• • Meeting with City of Berkeley to discuss enforcement of the Use Permit Conditions of Approval

  • Letter writing and media campaign

  • New yard signs to show neighborhood support and solidarity

What does their proposed Parking Plan say?

• • It states that the events covered by the plan "do not include religious services." This would effectively exclude most, if not all, large events.

  • For resolution of grievances with the neighborhood and enforcement policy for congregants, their plan includes the following:

    • "If a neighbor has a concern or complaint related to traffic or parking, the neighbor shall first notify the Congregation's Executive Director."

      • For a second infraction, "parent will receive a $25 fine that must be paid [to Beth El] within two weeks to continue enrollment."

  • For events expected to have more than 150 people in attendance, the full text from the plan is as follows:

    • "The invitations/notices about such events shall warn people of parking shortages, emphasize neighborhood courtesy, and encourage attendees to walk, carpool, or be dropped off on site."

  • In addition, "Beth El will also periodically remind members not to

• • 1. double park,

    2. park in a red zone,

    3. block a neighbor's driveway,

    4. even "just for a minute or two," or

    5. make U-turns."

THIS IS NOT A PARKING MANAGEMENT PLAN!

With construction proceeding rapidly, Beth El is anticipating occupancy of the project by the end of the summer 2005. According to the Use Permit granted by the City of Berkeley, Beth El is required to develop a parking management plan that meets the conditions of approval prior to being issued an occupancy permit. We are deeply troubled that the compromise Agreement between LOCCNA and Beth El that many of us worked so hard on is in danger of being ignored by Beth El. Our ability to ensure that CBE honors its obligation under the Use Permit Conditions of Approval will have important long-term impacts on the quality of life in our neighborhood.

What you can do

• • We urge you to attend the upcoming neighborhood meeting (to be announced).

  • Check out the various relevant documents on the LOCCNA website, http://loccna.katz.com , including :

    • • CBE's draft Parking Management Plan

      • LOCCNA's written response to the draft parking plan

      • Use Permit Conditions of Approval

      • Agreement Between LOCCNA and CBE

  • Send us your comments to either:

  • Alan Gould

  • or:

  • LOCCNA Neighborhood Committee

  • 1256 Spruce Street

  • Berkeley, CA 94709

  • Request to be added to our e-mail list for occasional updates on important upcoming neighborhood events by e-mailing

  • Alan Gould.

  • Contact your City Council representative and Mayor Tom Bates with your comments:

    • • Laurie Capitelli (District 5): lcapitelli{at}ci.berkeley.ca.us ; 510-981-7150

      • Betty Olds (District 6): bolds{at}ci.berkeley.ca.us ; 510-981-7160

      • Mayor Tom Bates:

      • mayor{at}ci.berkeley.ca.us ; 510-981-7100

Stay tuned for more updates,

--LOCCNA

Brief chronology of the Beth El project

Over 6 years ago the first meetings were held between CBE and the neighborhood, ostensibly to receive input from the neighbors about their concerns regarding this large (over 31,000 ft 2 ) project proposed for an historic site in Berkeley adjacent to Live Oak Park, with Codornices Creek running through it, and located in the middle of an older, congested residential neighborhood with well-known parking problems. It was during these early exchanges that we organized ourselves as part of the Live Oak Codornices Creek Neighborhood Association (LOCCNA) to coordinate our efforts to publicly voice the neighborhood's concerns in a variety of ways, including the City of Berkeley's public hearing process for the proposed project.

In September 2001, a mediation agreement was reached between CBE, LOCCNA, and several environmental organizations. This agreement was made a part of the Use Permit granted by the City of Berkeley to Beth El. In the agreement, LOCCNA and the other groups agreed not to attempt to block the project, and Beth El agreed to make some substantial changes to the project and to perform certain other tasks. Some of the key points are:

1. An undeveloped "green space" corridor will be maintained on the northern part of the property adjacent to Berryman Path. Under the initial plan, this area would have been a parking lot.

2. Beth El will create and implement a parking management plan for all events of 150 people or more. The plan must meet certain specific criteria.

3. Beth El and LOCCNA have created standing "neighborhood" and "creek" committees to discuss and hopefully resolve issues of concern.

4. A formal dispute resolution system has been created.

Of note since the agreement was signed, Harry Pollack, lead negotiator for CBE during the lengthy discussions between the City, Beth El, and LOCCNA, was appointed as the Chairman of the Planning Commission for the City of Berkeley.

In August 2004, CBE submitted its first draft of the Parking Management Plan. At that time, the LOCCNA neighborhood committee met with CBE to express its concerns that the plan did not meet the Use Permit Conditions of Approval for the project. After waiting 7 months for CBE to revise their original draft, on March 28, 2005, CBE submitted the second draft of their Parking Management Plan for review by the LOCCNA neighborhood committee. Beth El's latest draft is even worse than the first one in terms of its compliance with the conditions of approval.

The LOCCNA neighborhood committee submitted a formal response to CBE, in which we reminded them that the Use Permit Conditions of Approval for the project requires that effective parking techniques be employed for ALL EVENTS OF 150 PEOPLE OR MORE (see last page of this alert or the LOCCNA website) . Most recently, on April 19, the neighborhood committees for both LOCCNA and Beth El met to discuss the March 28 draft.