Southside Issues Brief: Housing, Workers, City Services, and Public Trust

Southside Issues BriefDistrict 7PlatformHousing StabilityCity ServicesPublic Accountability
Written By Aidan Hill
July (15-24) brought eight developments that matter to Southside, including new Public Works leadership, housing and tenant decisions, worker organizing, a proposed entertainment zone, a care-first crisis response model, Telegraph site standards, and proposed open-government protections. Together, they show where Berkeley is acting and where District 7 still needs clear responsibilities, timelines, and public results.

New Public Works Leadership Must Produce Visible Southside Results

What's going on

The City Council voted on July 14 to confirm James "Jamie" Parks as Berkeley's next Director of Public Works, and Berkeleyside reported the appointment on July 15. Parks is scheduled to begin August 17 at an annual salary of $270,000. The department oversees street paving, city facilities, trash and recycling, and other services residents depend on every day. The appointment comes as Berkeley prepares to repair more than 60 miles of streets over five years and carry out new traffic-safety work funded by the 2024 parcel tax.

What this means

Southside residents experience Public Works through the condition of sidewalks, streetlights, crossings, gutters, trash collection, construction zones, and the City's response to service requests. A change in leadership matters only if residents can see faster repairs, clearer responsibility, and fewer unresolved problems on their blocks.

What I'll do

I will request a Southside service baseline within the director's first 90 days. It should show open and completed 311 requests, average response times, streetlight failures, sidewalk and ADA barriers, paving schedules, recurring trash locations, and construction-related access problems. Quarterly updates should show what was fixed, what remains open, which department or contractor is responsible, and the expected completion date.

Pathway

The Council can place these expectations in the Public Works work plan, budget reporting, and the City Manager's performance goals for the department. The Transportation and Infrastructure Commission can review the measures, while Public Works can publish the results through the City's existing service-request and capital-project systems. District 7 office hours and neighborhood walks can be used to verify whether the data matches conditions on the street.

Amoeba Project Clears Landmark Review With Mural Conditions

What's going on

On July 16, the City posted the formal record of the Landmarks Preservation Commission's June 4 decision on 2455 Telegraph Avenue, the home of Amoeba Music. The Commission approved the structural alteration permit 9-0. The permit covers preservation of the Telegraph and Haste facades and A People's History of Telegraph Avenue, demolition of the remainder of the Amoeba building and the building at 2506 Haste Street, and incorporation of the preserved facades into a proposed eight-story, 85,000-square-foot mixed-use project. The proposal includes 68 homes, seven of them for very-low-income households, and a 7,200-square-foot ground-floor space for Amoeba.

This is the landmark structural-alteration approval, not the project's full land-use approval. The associated use permit remains pending, and the landmark decision can be appealed through July 28. At its July 22 meeting, the Civic Arts Commission voted without opposition to send the Zoning Adjustments Board a staff determination that preserving the mural qualifies in principle as publicly accessible on-site art. Final public-art credit still requires a full restoration and maintenance plan, an itemized eligible-cost budget, confirmation of continued public visibility, and another Civic Arts review before demolition.

What this means

This is a major proposed change at one of Southside's best-known corners. The public record now contains commitments residents can follow through the remaining approvals and any construction: preserve the mural in place, protect public visibility, retain Amoeba on Telegraph, and provide seven very-low-income homes. Those obligations should remain visible as the project moves from drawings to permits, inspections, and occupancy.

What I'll do

I will seek one public project ledger showing each major commitment and its status. It should cover the affordable homes, mural protection and access, Amoeba's ground-floor space, construction impacts on Haste and Telegraph, sidewalk access, loading, and the expected sequence of work. Public art and cultural history should remain visible and protected throughout the project.

Pathway

The Council can refer the reporting request to the City Manager, Planning and Development, Public Works, and the Civic Arts program. The Zoning Adjustments Board and City staff can connect the ledger to permit conditions, required inspections, construction-management plans, affordable-housing compliance, and the mural maintenance and access plan. Updates should be posted at major milestones so neighbors do not have to reconstruct the project from separate commission packets.

Tenant Defense Is Keeping Berkeley Residents Housed

What's going on

At the July 16 Rent Stabilization Board meeting, the East Bay Community Law Center and Eviction Defense Center presented their annual program report. During the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the providers reported assisting 354 Berkeley matters across their service levels, a 17.6% increase from the prior year. They assisted 120 Berkeley unlawful-detainer matters, an 8.1% increase. The report also records $106,261.68 in rent waived for Berkeley tenants, $15,000 in move-out payments, tenant workshops and legal counseling, and representation involving habitability, disability accommodation, subsidized housing, and Rent Board petitions.

The report places those services in a larger context. Berkeley had 233 unlawful-detainer filings in 2025, representing 4% of Alameda County filings while Berkeley accounts for approximately 7% of the county's population.

What this means

Tenant protection becomes real when residents can reach an attorney, understand a notice, document unsafe conditions, request an accommodation, and resolve a case before losing their home. The reported outcomes show that legal assistance and case management are producing measurable benefits for Berkeley renters.

What I'll do

I will support stable funding for tenant legal services and require regular reporting on matters served, tenancies preserved, financial relief obtained, referral times, and unmet demand. Southside renters should also have recurring, accessible opportunities to receive legal information near where they live, including evening or remote options for students, workers, disabled residents, and people facing an urgent notice.

Pathway

The Council and Rent Stabilization Board can review service contracts and funding during their budget processes, set outcome-reporting requirements, and request outreach plans that identify where services are reaching tenants. The Rent Board can coordinate workshops and referrals with legal providers, tenant organizations, UC student services, affordable-housing operators, and disability-service organizations.

A Southside Entertainment Zone Needs Neighborhood Rules

What's going on

Berkeleyside reported on July 17 that Berkeley is developing entertainment-zone rules for five commercial areas, including Southside. The proposed Southside area covers about two blocks of Durant Avenue and one block of Telegraph Avenue between Durant and Channing Way. During approved times or events, participating businesses could sell alcoholic drinks to go for consumption inside the zone. State law prohibits the zones from operating between midnight and 10 a.m. The Council referred the ordinance for drafting in March, and the final rules still have to return for approval.

What this means

Street events and a recurring night market could bring customers to Telegraph and create more reasons to spend time in Southside. The details will decide whether the result supports the whole corridor. Operating hours, sanitation, bathrooms, noise, disability access, late-night transportation, worker safety, and the mix of alcohol and non-alcohol programming all need to be settled before the zone opens.

What I'll do

I will require the final Southside plan to identify operating hours, responsible organizers, sanitation and restroom service, accessibility, worker protections, transit and safe-route planning, complaint response, and a public evaluation schedule. Programming should include music, art, food, and neighborhood events that do not require alcohol to participate. I will not support an open-ended zone without enforceable operating rules and a way for nearby residents, workers, and merchants to measure its effects.

Pathway

The City Attorney will draft the ordinance while the City Manager works with merchants on zone-management plans. Before adoption, the Council can require a Southside public meeting, written operating standards, cost estimates, an assigned City department, and a limited first-year authorization. Staff can report attendance, participating businesses, incidents, sanitation complaints, accessibility problems, nearby sales activity, and enforcement costs before the program is renewed or expanded.

Graduate Hotel Workers Are Asking for a Fair Union Vote

What's going on

Workers and supporters gathered outside the Graduate by Hilton hotel at 2600 Durant Avenue on July 17. Berkeleyside reported on July 21 that workers had filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to organize with Unite Here Local 2. A union representative said a majority of the hotel's approximately 40 non-management employees supported the petition, and an election was scheduled for July 31. Workers interviewed by Berkeleyside described understaffing, low pay, expensive health coverage, and concern about treatment on the job.

What this means

The people who clean rooms, staff the front desk, and keep Southside hospitality businesses operating are part of the neighborhood. Their ability to afford health care and live near their work affects service quality, household stability, and whether local employment actually supports a life in Berkeley.

What I'll do

I support the workers' right to decide freely whether to form a union, without threats, retaliation, or interference. I will also support clear City outreach about Berkeley's wage and labor standards so workers know where to report local violations. When the City spends public money or enters business relationships, labor practices should be part of the public record.

Pathway

The National Labor Relations Board, not the City Council, administers the union election. The Council can still ask the Labor Commission and City staff to strengthen worker-rights education, publish enforcement and complaint information, review labor standards attached to City contracts, and identify any City purchasing or event relationships with local hotels. Council action must respect federal labor law and the workers' independent choice.

Berkeley Studied a Care-First Model for 911 Crisis Calls

What's going on

On July 23, Berkeley's Community Health Commission heard from Dr. Amy Barden, chief of Seattle's CARE Department. CARE combines 911 operations with community crisis responders and behavioral-health specialists who answer appropriate emergency calls. Berkeley's draft meeting minutes confirm that the presentation occurred. The Commission also listed a proposal to resume Berkeley's BEAR program as a future agenda item.

What this means

Berkeley does not need to design care-first crisis response without examples. Seattle's structure shows how dispatch, behavioral-health staff, and public-safety departments can be organized so the response matches the call. For Southside, that matters when someone needs help in a residence, on Telegraph, or in public space and an armed response is not necessary.

What I'll do

I support mobile crisis response and a care-first local crisis system. Berkeley should restore dependable non-police response capacity, define which calls can be routed to trained crisis responders, and publish response times, call types, outcomes, referrals, repeat contacts, injuries, and occasions when police support was requested. Residents should know what service exists, when it operates, and how to reach it.

Pathway

The Council can direct Health, Housing and Community Services to return with an operating and budget plan developed with dispatch, Fire, Police, Alameda County behavioral-health partners, workers, and people who have used crisis services. The Community Health Commission can review the model. Funding decisions should specify staffing, coverage hours, training, clinical supervision, data safeguards, and quarterly public reporting before service resumes or expands.

Open Government Rules Should Keep Public Business Public

What's going on

At its July 16 meeting, Berkeley's Open Government Commission considered possible revisions to the Open Government Ordinance. The working draft would extend livestreaming, recording, captioning, and archiving requirements to all City boards and commissions by June 30, 2027. It also proposes a public portal for records requests and responses, and rules to preserve City business conducted through personal accounts or messaging services that can automatically delete messages.

What this means

Residents should not need free evenings, specialized knowledge, or repeated records requests to learn how a public decision was made. Recorded and captioned commission meetings make participation more accessible. Preserving official communications also protects the public record while carefully written privacy and safety exceptions can protect residents whose personal information should not be exposed.

What I'll do

I support the direction of these reforms. City business should be conducted through systems that preserve records, commission meetings should be available remotely and archived, and public-records requests should have visible status and response information. Final rules should include narrow protections for personal privacy, safety, and legally confidential information, with a written explanation when material is withheld from the public portal.

Pathway

The Open Government Commission can complete recommendations after public review. The City Attorney should then prepare ordinance language, while staff identify equipment, captioning, storage, security, and personnel costs. The Council can adopt a phased implementation schedule with a public progress report before the June 2027 deadline.

New Commercial-Site Standards Explicitly Include Telegraph

Tags: City Services, Telegraph Avenue, local business, public art, sidewalks, commercial vacancies, development accountability

What's going on

On July 16, the City posted a proposal scheduled for Council consideration on July 28. It would direct staff to develop performance standards for commercial properties left demolished, partially demolished, or partially constructed without documented near-term progress. The proposal explicitly names the Telegraph Avenue Commercial District. Possible interim measures include temporary landscaping, community uses, creative fencing, murals, and green walls. It also asks staff to examine permit revocation procedures and to define unmitigated prolonged commercial vacancy as a factor in declaring a property blighted.

What this means

Construction financing and project schedules can change, but the surrounding block still has to function. Clear interim standards can keep sidewalks passable, support nearby businesses, create room for art and temporary activity, and establish responsibility while a site is inactive.

What I'll do

I support the proposal's core direction. I will make sure the staff package includes clear timelines, a responsible department, public status information, accessibility and sanitation requirements, and a process for temporary community-serving uses. Telegraph should be one of the first corridors assessed because the proposal names it and active construction is reshaping several Southside blocks.

Pathway

If Council approves the referral, the City Manager can return with proposed standards and any needed code changes. Planning and Development, Economic Development, Public Works, and the City Attorney can define the enforcement process, identify which permits and sites are covered, and establish notice and compliance steps. A public list should show each covered site, its current status, required interim measures, responsible party, and next review date.

Aidan Hill

Candidate for Berkeley City Council District 7, working for a cleaner, safer, more accountable Southside with housing, public space, and neighborhood needs at the center.

https://aidanhill.vote
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