Weigh in on Berkeley’s disaster readiness, environmental justice at Saturday workshop

by Alex N. Gecan

Jan. 31, 2025, 12:26 p.m.Jan. 31, 2025, 12:28 p.m.

Berkeley is holding a community workshop to get feedback from Berkeleyans on climate resilience, air pollution, disaster preparedness and environmental justice.

The workshop is part of a years-long and approximately $850,000 process of updating the city’s General Plan, a policy document meant to guide city planning, development and infrastructure decisions. It is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the South Berkeley Senior Center at 2939 Ellis St.

The Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation gave Berkeley a $497,042 grant in 2023 to update the General Plan’s safety element and develop an environmental justice element, both required by state law, according to a Jan. 17 memo to the City Council from City Manager Paul Buddenhagen. Another $352,000 will come from leftover General Fund revenues from prior fiscal years.

“The project aims to ensure everyone in Berkeley is safe and healthy, with a focus on communities most affected by environmental justice and climate related issues,” Buddenhagen wrote.

Among other things, city planners are tasked with taking into account the effects of rising sea level and groundwater and how, or if, they might interact with any hazardous materials that may be stored underground in Berkeley.

In January 2024 the city signed a $215,042, two-year contract with the health- and environment-focused nonprofit Ecology Center to set up a community engagement process for the two General Plan elements.

Three months later the city also signed a $634,000 contract with Oakland-based Rincon Consultants to work on both General Plan elements, and also to conduct an analysis of groundwater rise and toxic substances, train city workers on hazardous railway material and a number of other climate- and safety-related tasks. The city has hired Rinconseveral times before on environment and planning matters.