After three and a half years of planning, the Berkeley City Council approved a plan Tuesday outlining the next two decades of development in the city's Downtown area.

The council voted 7-2 to amend the city's general plan to include a new Downtown Area Plan, which regulates the construction of new buildings in the area encompassed by Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Dwight Way, Hearst Avenue and Oxford Street.

The goals of the plan are to encourage sustainability, economic growth and the creation of a higher density residential area.

An update of a 1990 version of the document, the Downtown Area Plan imposes height limits on new buildings in the area and sets energy efficiency and sustainability standards. The plan also requires the development of more affordable housing.

One of the most controversial aspects of the plan was the height maximums for structures in the Downtown area.

During the public comment session, some Berkeley residents expressed concern that higher buildings would alter the city's character and cast large shadows in the Downtown.

Ultimately the council settled on a limit of two 100-foot buildings and four 120-foot buildings, as well as buildings 180 to 225 feet in height. The council also approved the option of constructing two UC Berkeley buildings, each with heights of up to 120 feet.

Another contentious piece of the plan was the issue of affordable housing. Councilmember Kriss Worthington, one of two councilmembers to vote against the plan, said he was worried that UC Berkeley employees would not be able to afford housing in the Downtown.

The process of revising the Downtown Area Plan began in 2005, when the council created a 21-member Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee in response to UC Berkeley's 2020 Long Range Development Plan. The university appointed four non-voting members to the committee.

According to Dan Marks, city director of planning and development, the period of time spent drafting the plan was relatively short.

"For complex planning processes for significant portions of a city, where public engagement is as important as it is in Berkeley, three and a half years is very, very quick, in my view," he said. "Other planning processes in Berkeley have taken much, much longer."

Marks credited the quick planning to UC Berkeley's funding for a city planner working full time on the plan, as well as to the campus's deadline.

Mayor Tom Bates explained that he thought the length of the process was necessary because many people felt strongly about the topic.

"It was a really open, fair process," Bates said.

Councilmember Jesse Arreguin chose to abstain from the vote to certify the environmental impact report and voted against passing the plan.

Arreguin, a former member of the Downtown Area Plan Advisory Committee, did not agree with Bates.

"It's not a good process," he said. "And I think the citizens of Berkeley will notice that when it's put on the ballot."

If enough signatures are collected, the plan may be put on the ballot for the next general election.

During the meeting, Worthington proposed that the plan be divided into two sections: the parts with council consensus and the more controversial parts, so the ideas with significant

support would be protected if a referendum vote nullified the plan.

"I think (a referendum) is pretty guaranteed, since different groups are unhappy about different things," Worthington said.

However, during the meeting, Bates called Worthington's idea "the worst of all worlds," and in an interview disagreed that a referendum was likely.

"I don't think a referendum will be successful," he said. "I don't think it will qualify, and if it qualifies I think it will be defeated."

Despite the lack of consensus, Marks was pleased with the plan's passing.

"To gain seven votes from the council in Berkeley is, we think, a significant achievement, and we're very pleased with seven votes," he said.

Tags: BERKELEY CITY COUNCIL