Berkeley is a tolerant and caring community with a long history of providing services to people in need. However, many residents and business owners have made the case that we need additional strategies to address people who are causing problems in neighborhoods and shopping districts. City staff are reporting an increasing number of “service resistant” people in our shopping districts and neighborhoods. In a recent report to the City Council it was reported that 40 of the 60 people on Telegraph identified by mental health workers as in need of assistance refused all services.

To address these issues, the Berkeley City Council approved a preliminary proposal from Mayor Tom Bates to create a comprehensive and integrated new initiative to improve services, provide diversion programs, create clear rules for behavior in all city commercial districts, and improve enforcement.

The proposal, called the “Public Commons for Everyone Initiative,” includes a citywide effort to apply an inter-departmental coordinated approach deploying mental health, social services, economic development, and law enforcement efforts to improve the overall liveability of commercial districts and to create clear avenues for people who need help to receive it. The Initiative builds on Berkeley’s existing programs and borrows many of the successful efforts of other cities – such as Portland, Santa Cruz, and Palo Alto – which have developed safe street programs that provide a combination of services and enforcement as part of an integrated strategy for creating more viable and inviting commercial districts.

Some of the elements of the proposal include:

• Development of a diversion-to-services program that is coupled with Berkeley Police Department enforcement and increased outreach and referral by the Mental Health Mobile Crisis team.

 

• Draft language amending the Berkeley Municipal Code and relevant council resolutions to make regulations and protocols consistent in all Berkeley commercial districts and provide effective legal tools for keeping the sidewalk free from obstruction and addressing behavior that createes problems for others.

 

• Expanding the current ban on smoking within 25 feet of a doorway, vent or bus stop to banning smoking in public areas in all commercial zones of the city.

 

• Improvements in the street cleaning program to ensure that there is a base-line level of sidewalk cleaning throughout the commercial districts.

 

• Opening public restrooms in Civic Center buildings and public parking garages 24 hours a day, and working with UC Berkeley to provide public restrooms at People's Park.

 

• Providing clear authority to the police and other city staff to enforce existing laws.

 

This policy comes after the City has made a substantial investment in our commercial business districts, with a particular emphasis on improving conditions on Telegraph Avenue. Over the course of the fiscal year, the City has allocated $420,000 for additional police, social services, and business improvements for Telegraph and the downtown as well as a $500,000 supplement for economic development efforts citywide.

As with any proposal, there are tradeoffs and concerns that must be discussed and addressed. For example:

• This proposal will require dedicated funding for a period of time. The Mayor has indicated he would like to find a permanent new source of funding for the program, potentially from an increase in parking meter rates.

• Some people have raised potential civil liberties concerns with some of the new rules. While the Mayor has indicated that he would work carefully to address those concerns, the proposal does include new enforcement efforts.

The Mayor's office is seeking feedback on this issue through a variety of community interactions, including public meetings, Council forums, Commission workshops, and other venues. We would like to use the Kitchen Democracy electronic forum to provide another avenue for feedback and thereby include more members of the community in the discussion of this topic.