UPDATE, Wednesday: Berkeley City Council voted to deny the appeal allowing the new apartment project to move forward.
Berkeley City Council will consider a zoning appeal at its meeting Tuesday to decide whether a proposed six-story apartment on the 2000 block of Durant Avenue near Shattuck Avenue will be built on the current site of a church and an adjacent lot.
The Zoning Adjustments Board approved the proposed apartment complex, called “The Durant,” in March, but the project has been met with concerns that it will negatively impact the well-being of nearby residents, such as seniors who live in an adjacent senior living facility.
The building will include 78 one-, two- and three-bedroom units in a six-story building and will be geared toward students. Some residents of Stuart Pratt Manor, the low-income senior residence nearby, have raised concerns about possible loss of sunlight on the eastern side of their building, noise from the demolition and construction process and the addition of more than 100 new student residents to an already traffic-congested area.
Appellant Stephen Stine, an attorney who has advocated for the senior community and whose mother resides at Stuart Pratt Manor, has argued against the construction of The Durant since it was initially presented to the city in 2012.
“Our goals (at the hearing) are to have the city reject the project, downzone the property to the three-story height limit that was promised in the Downtown Area Plan and, at the very least, to order extensive design changes to minimize the shadowing on the Stuart Pratt senior home,” Stine said.
Councilmember Jesse Arreguin, who represents District 4, which includes the proposed site, said that while the building proposal does not violate any city laws, he would not support the project at the appeal hearing and would abstain.
“The project does meet the city building requirements,” Arreguin said. ”A six-story building is not out of scale at that location, in my opinion. However, I can’t vote for the project because of the concerns of my constituents.”
According to Arreguin, prior to the March approval, the city worked with the building developer and community members to make alterations and reach an agreeable plan.
“The developer has made a number of design changes, such as having the balconies not directly face the windows in the neighboring property,” Arreguin said. “(The design changes) still have not satisfied some of the residents opposed.”
Suzanne Cayenne, a resident of Stuart Pratt Manor who is opposed to the construction, said her quality of life would still be disturbed if the city approves The Durant.
“As old people, we need quiet,” Cayenne said. “Young people are in the mating season of life and make a lot of noise since they don’t need as much sleep.”
City Council members will vote Tuesday evening to either dismiss the appeal or remand the decision to the Zoning Adjustments Board so that the project can undergo further design changes aiming to decrease its impact on Stuart Pratt Manor.