Michael Wallman for Berkeley City Council, District 8

Our community requires residential spaces designed for long-term family vitality, rather than transient occupancy. This necessitates sensible three- to four-story scale developments within residential neighborhoods situated away from downtown and major transit corridors, such as specific stretches of San Pablo Avenue.

While I do not claim to have every answer or a total grasp of every complex zoning regulation, the data I have examined is deeply concerning:

• Berkeley continues to fall short of its targets for both low-income and middle-income housing.
• A significant majority of new units are rentals, eroding the traditional role of property as a tool for local wealth generation.
• Development is heavily skewed toward one-bedroom and studio apartments rather than family-sized homes.
• Parking mandates have been removed, and essential spaces are frequently excluded to cut development costs.

My approach to delivering new housing relies on several core initiatives:

1. 1Establish open, organized housing datasets to ensure complete policy transparency. Informed decision-making requires verified metrics covering constructed, active, and proposed units, categorized by bedroom count, parking, outdoor spaces, tenure type, and proximity to essential services or transit.
2. 2Streamline red tape for resident-led developments across our approximately 20,000 single-family parcels, driving organic, neighborhood-scale expansion instead of relying exclusively on high-density downtown models.
3. 3Conduct a thorough council retrospective to identify structural barriers causing stagnant corridor development and stalled projects (like downtown), establishing clear key performance indicators and actionable target objectives.
4. 4Implement policy frameworks like Community Benefit Programs to facilitate thoughtful density while preserving neighborhood character and architectural standards.
5. 5Protect historic districts and significant structures. As a resident in a contributing property within the Panoramic Hill Historic District, I remain committed to expanding historic designations that safeguard the architectural fabric defining our city.
6. 6Cultivate closer partnerships with commercial stakeholders and advocate for mixed-use, mixed-income builders to prevent isolating neighborhoods by income tiers.

My perspective is straightforward: unless the city makes direct investments in truly affordable housing, partners effectively with developers, and helps homeowners scale their own properties, Berkeley will be defined by massive, dormitory-style blocks that fail our community.

After an uplands neighborhood association meeting, a resident voiced frustration over dangerous traffic district-wide. Walking my children across Claremont Avenue to John Muir Elementary, I have long wondered why an active school zone lacks a proper signal.

Watching the Star Market intersection next morning confirmed these concerns. Commuters speed down Claremont on mobile devices while cyclists struggle to navigate.

To address these challenges effectively, I propose the following short-term and long-term strategic initiatives:

1. 1Sustained Speed Enforcement: Partner directly with the Berkeley Police Department to institute persistent, continuous traffic control throughout the Claremont corridor rather than relying on brief, sporadic operations.
2. 2Cyclist Priority Safeguards: Install explicit street signage and high-visibility pavement markings to formally designate the right lane as a dedicated right-of-way for cyclists.
3. 3Timely Infrastructure Repairs: Although major repaving and restriping initiatives remain tied to the forthcoming underground bypass project, deteriorating roadway conditions may demand immediate attention regardless of timeline delays.
4. 4Utility Undergrounding Coordination: Engage promptly with PG&E and EBMUD to evaluate placing power and communications lines subterranean, guaranteeing that necessary conduit installation proceeds alongside the bypass construction.
5. 5Illumination Upgrades: Modernize and upgrade street lighting across Claremont Avenue and surrounding Uplands residential areas.
6. 6Data-Driven Traffic Analysis: Launch a comprehensive metric collection framework analyzing pedestrian activity, vehicle counts, and parking usage—highlighted by an Origin-Destination study—while evaluating adjacent arterial routes to assess neighborhood impacts from potential capacity reductions on Claremont.

Due to its close proximity to Cal, District 8 is particularly impacted by the university's decisions. Cal is the 800-pound gorilla in the room—a complex maze of bureaucracy and regulations, much like the city itself. For many residents, it remains a love-hate relationship.

• Our housing crisis in Berkeley was driven in part by increasing student admissions without a corresponding, joint housing plan created alongside the city.
• The University continues to push development deep into Strawberry Canyon, constructing stadiums illuminated for modern broadcast athletics. No public transit, nor meaningful pedestrian infrastructure exist in these locations.
• Financing the stadium project has created a severe debt burden.
• The University continues to concentrate parking on Bancroft Way, where its new structure, opened in September 2026, funnels roughly 600 cars onto a street already narrowed by Class 4 bike corridors and dedicated bus lanes—a combination that predictably creates severe traffic bottlenecks for District 8.
• Under the UC Berkeley–City of Berkeley Settlement Agreement, the University pays the City about $4.75 million this year ($4.1 million in 2021, rising 3% annually) — roughly one-seventh of the more than $32 million the University of Michigan provided Ann Arbor in fiscal year 2025.

We need a representative who works closely with the University while steadfastly defending the best interests of Berkeley and, above all, District 8 residents.