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The Public Commons For Everyone Initiative  

On Tuesday, March 13,  the City Council considered and approved a package of referrals to the City Manager entitled the “Public Commons for Everyone Initiative.”   Sponsored by Mayor Tom Bates, this package is designed to address some of the challenges to the viability of our small businesses expressed by merchants and patrons of our commercial districts: crowded and dirty sidewalks and inappropriate or threatening street behavior.   I supported this measure because I see it as a necessary step in providing long overdue environmental and behavioral standards for our common areas. 

Our office has received countless e-mails regarding the frustration and helplessness in witnessing some of our treasured businesses close their doors. Granted, there can be many reasons why a small business doesn’t succeed --  internet sales, complex zoning regulations, parking, regional economic trends – but the welcoming  ambiance of the public space, or lack of it, consistently appears as a high priority for expected City attention. 

We have also received numerous complaints about increasingly aggressive panhandling on Solano Avenue and North Shattuck.  In fact, some critics of the North Shattuck Plaza proposal cited expanded public space as detrimental to the community because it would only attract vagrants and panhandlers, thereby alienating pedestrian shoppers.  There is an assumption that the City does not have the tools, or the will, to deal with this challenge.

The Mayor's “Public Commons for Everyone Initiative,” asked staff to develop:

·        expanded enforcement tools for the police, in regards to keeping sidewalks clear and accessible, with a policy of diverting offenders into social services before issuing citations.

·        inclusion of all Berkeley commercial districts, including Solano and North Shattuck, in ordinances that regulate street behavior.  (Currently local regulations apply only to Telegraph and the downtown.)

·        an assessment of and baseline for sidewalk cleaning.

·        a public awareness program to divert individuals’ street donations to organizations that provide direct services for the homeless.  

On June 12, 2007, the City Council approved the first steps in the  City Manager's specific response to PCEI, including:

• Restricting smoking in public areas in commercial zones;

• Installing better directional signage to public restrooms;

• Developing prohibitions and increased fines for public urination and defecation;

• Providing for strict enforcement of existing laws effecting the quality of life in public spaces and parks; and

• Reducing warning provisions associated with regulation prohibiting lying on the sidewalk.

Please call the office if you have questions, comments or suggestions.   Consider sending an e-mail to All City Council by way of the City Clerk’s address, pmeans@ci.berkeley.ca.us or a letter to All Council c/o City Clerk, 2180 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704

Laurie Capitelli

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