{"id":248452,"date":"2026-04-02T13:41:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/248452\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T13:41:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:41:07","slug":"pitch-proposal-seeks-to-bring-5700-housing-units-to-district-8-housing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/248452\/","title":{"rendered":"PITCH proposal seeks to bring 5,700 housing units to District 8 | Housing"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the past several years, Berkeley has incrementally adjusted zoning across its neighborhoods to accommodate state housing requirements<\/a> and address the city\u2019s ongoing housing crisis. A proposal from Councilmember Mark Humbert seeks to create 5,700 more housing units in District 8.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Project to Increase Telegraph and Claremont Housing, or PITCH<\/a>, is Humbert\u2019s latest attempt to help his district make up for the fact that it has \u201ccontributed very little to the city’s recent housing production.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposal, brought before the council in late January, would increase housing capacity on Telegraph between Woolsey and Parker streets, and in the Upper Claremont Avenue area.Currently, PITCH acts as a referral to direct staff to study the proposal. Potential zoning changes in PITCH have not yet been approved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTelegraph is in real need of density so it can become a thriving mixed commercial and residential corridor,\u201d Humbert writes in an FAQ on his website. \u201cIt is a wider street with more developable land, and it has been significantly underserving the community relative to its potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is not an alternative to the Corridor Zoning Update Elmwood proposal<\/a>, which has been highly controversial among the neighborhood\u2019s shop owners, but an additional way for District 8 to contribute housing units to the city. According to Humbert\u2019s proposal, PITCH would rezone the Telegraph Avenue area to allow eight-story buildings, and the Upper Claremont Avenue area to allow four to six stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Currently, the Telegraph Avenue and Upper Claremont Avenue areas allow a maximum of three stories.<\/p>\n

Humbert projects that the Upper Claremont Avenue area, currently auto-oriented by way of its gas station and auto repair shop, could be a site for housing as the city transitions to electric vehicles and other means of transportation. The rezoning would not push out these businesses, but would ensure parcels can be redeveloped if businesses close or move on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Humbert\u2019s other District 8 housing proposal, the upzoning of specific parcels in the Elmwood neighborhood, is projected to bring 130 new housing units to the area, in comparison to PITCH\u2019s potential 5,700.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, rezoning in District 8 is about more than new housing developments \u2014 it is a matter of equity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wealthier neighborhoods, such as the Elmwood, have held on to single-family zoning, largely skirting the major construction projects and high-rises rampant in other neighborhoods.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Actions from the city such as middle-housing upzoning<\/a>, decreases on restrictions on accessory dwelling units<\/a> and now potential upzoning in District 8, are all attempts to address its exclusionary single-family zoning history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBerkeley\u2019s true character has never been about frozen architecture or exclusivity. It has been about opportunity, diversity, and welcoming people from all backgrounds,\u201d Humbert\u2019s FAQ details. \u201cPlanning for housing in high-resource neighborhoods serves those values.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the past several years, Berkeley has incrementally adjusted zoning across its neighborhoods to accommodate state housing requirements…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248453,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[110869,109695,29028,12500,143,145,144,110867,110865,110868,110866],"class_list":{"0":"post-248452","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-corridor-zoning-update","9":"tag-district-8","10":"tag-elmwood","11":"tag-mark-humbert","12":"tag-oakland","13":"tag-oakland-headlines","14":"tag-oakland-news","15":"tag-parker-street","16":"tag-project-to-increase-telegraph-and-claremont-housing","17":"tag-upper-claremont-avenue","18":"tag-woosley-street"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}