Mercury News/Bay Area News Group – by Katy Murphy / December 8, 2017
BERKELEY — Responding to growing concerns about the lack of affordable housing for low-income residents, Berkeley is inching toward a solution that would dramatically speed up approvals for subsidized housing developments.
In a departure from its famous embrace of civic engagement for matters large and small, the Berkeley City Council late Tuesday unanimously directed the city’s planning commission to rewrite the rules so projects meeting Berkeley’s zoning requirements will be automatically issued permits — without any public hearings.