Berkeley Hills neighbors organize against proposed housing development at site with high landslide, fire risk | Housing

Neighbors in the Berkeley Hills are organizing against a proposed housing development at the former site of Oxford Elementary School, alleging the project misuses state housing laws, poses safety concerns in a high-risk landslide and fire zone and that the demolition would threaten the health of children at a nearby preschool.

Some neighbors have shared their concerns with city officials, who they say have been “generally unresponsive,” leaving them feeling ignored. Children’s Community Center preschool leadership also said that they have contacted the city Planning and Development Department regarding the project and have received no response so far.

Oxford Elementary was relocated from 1130 Oxford Ave. to University Avenue in 2020 after a 2019 report found that the former site was at risk of landslides. The report placed the site in the Keith Avenue landslide complex, an area with an increased landslide risk during earthquakes.

The city of Berkeley is currently reviewing a use permit for the application for the demolition of the former Oxford Elementary School, according to Berkeley Planning and Development Department land use planning manager Anne Hersch.

“The applications are under review for completeness and once they are deemed complete, the project will be scheduled for a public hearing,” Hersch said in an email.

Project developer Panoramic Interests purchased the property from the Berkeley Unified School District for $3 million in October 2025.

Panoramic Interests is seeking to build 32 three-story homes of approximately 1,515 square feet, according to a permit filed in December 2025.

The permit is a preliminary application filed under Senate Bill 330, which aims to create affordable housing in California. However, the permit specifies that the development will create no “very-low-income” housing.

At a meeting, Panoramic Interests owner Patrick Kennedy said each home will cost an estimated $1.3 million to $1.5 million and that there will be no affordable housing built at the site, according to neighbors Derek Abbassi and Dennis Fantin.

“I think what all of our neighbors really want to make clear is that we’re not NIMBYs, and that we actually support the idea of housing being built there,” Abbassi said, using an acronym that stands for “not in my backyard.” “But if there’s going to be this streamlined approach that poses increased safety risks to us, that’s the part that we find more alarming.”

Project developers are trying to qualify for the Starter Home Revitalization Act, according to a letter from the developer’s attorney to an associate city planner obtained by Fantin through a Public Records Act request. If the project qualifies under the act, it would bypass environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act and the need for public hearings.

In order to qualify for the Starter Home Revitalization Act, the project must include 10 or fewer parcels and the housing development must contain 10 or fewer residential units. However, in the application for the development, a map shows that the developers intend to divide the lot into eight parcels with four units per parcel, for a total of 32 units.

Hersch said the city is currently reviewing a request to subdivide the map, but according to some neighbors, that plan constitutes a misuse of the Starter Home Revitalization Act.

“It seems that (the developer is) being very creative with bad-faith tactics to exploit the laws to his advantage,” Abbassi said.

Neighbors expressed worries that the demolition of the former Oxford Elementary School could release hazardous materials like asbestos or lead dust, threatening the health of preschool students directly across the street at Children’s Community Center.

The Children’s Community Center board co-chairs said in an email that the health and safety of their children, families and staff are their highest priority in regard to this proposed development.

 “We will continue monitoring the proposed development and demolition closely to ensure that all appropriate health, safety, and environmental mitigation protocols are strictly maintained throughout every phase of the project,” the board co-chairs said in an email.

Panoramic Interests and District 5 Councilmember Shoshana O’Keefe, who represents the Berkeley Hills and North Berkeley neighborhoods, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The planning department did not provide comment on how they plan to address the neighbors’ concerns.