Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) AT EL CERRITO PLAZA BART


BACKGROUND


Assembly Bill 2923 San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District: Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)
On September 30, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 2923 to allow for development streamlining and TOD standards for BART located property within ½ mile of stations in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties. This legislation is intended to create new housing opportunities near transit in order to support California’s housing and climate crisis. BART’s systemwide goal is to produce 20,000 homes with 35% earmarked as affordable on its properties by 2040.

A brochure describing AB 2923 and how it affects BART’s TOD Program may be downloaded here.

You can also view BART’s Transit-Oriented Development Work Plan here.

For additional information, please visit https://www.bart.gov/about/business/tod/ab2923

El Cerrito Plaza BART Station



In 2019, BART kicked off a series of community engagement and City Council meetings to discuss TOD at El Cerrito Plaza Station. The preliminary community input received was used to develop TOD Goals & Objectives as the guiding vision for El Cerrito Plaza Station.In January 2020 the BART Board of Directors authorized staff to proceed with the next phase of this project which included a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to identify a development team that was released in July 2020. On November 19, 2020 the BART Board selected the development team - Holliday Development, Related California and Satellite Affordable Housing Associates (SAHA) - to advance development at El Cerrito Plaza BART and entered into a Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA). This project will integrate community benefits and amenities for El Cerrito including affordable housing, public open space and art, and multimodal transportation infrastructure improvements. During the predevelopment process, the development team and City will study the feasibility of including a new library at the site (City Council Resolution 2016-68 and Resolution 2019-66). BART also received State and Federal grant funding to study/identify parking and transportation strategies to enhance station access in addition to the parking studies undertaken by the City. With both a developer on board and grant funding to continue to work on parking and circulation, City staff and BART will host numerous community engagement and input opportunities.

An opportunity for a new community library at the El Cerrito Plaza Station Transit-Oriented Development is also being explored as part of this process and more details will be made available at www.el-cerrito.org/Library. 

The City and BART are also continuously updating a list of Frequently Asked Questions here.

To learn more, please visit BART’s website at www.bart.gov/about/business/tod/el-cerrito-plaza.


San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan
The San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan (Plan), adopted by the City Council in 2014, fosters new housing opportunities in Priority Development Areas connected to transit and commercial uses. The Plan encourages high-density, mixed-use multi-family housing projects that will include affordable and market rate housing units as well as new commercial/retail space. Projects in the Plan area that are centered around the two BART stations (Transit oriented Higher-Intensity Mixed Use district) are permitted to build up-to 65’ by right and other areas up-to 55’ by right with reduced parking requirements. There are some exceptions that could allow up-to 85’ or 65’ if project qualifies under the State Density Bonus Program. For information about Specific Plan projects, visit our major projects page at www.el-cerrito.org/MajorProjects.

The City is currently working to update components of the Plan. To learn more about this effort and how you can participate, please visit www.el-cerrito.org/SPASPCurrent.

The selected development team will design a project that aligns with the City’s San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan, Climate Action Plan, Affordable Housing Strategy and Economic Development Plan, TOD Goals and Objectives, and AB2923.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

BART’s Berkeley-El Cerrito Corridor Access Plan (BECCAP) 

Online Open House starts April 20 – May 18, 2022 – View Flyer Here

BART has launched its second online open house and survey, found at bartberkeleyelcerritocap.participate.online/, to seek community feedback for future access strategies to and from BART and other transit along the corridor between El Cerrito Plaza and Ashby stations. This is an important follow up to the first online open house in summer 2021, which provided an opportunity for community members to learn about the Berkeley-El Cerrito Corridor Access Plan (The Corridor Access Plan) and to provide input on their access needs.

This second online open house will give BART riders and community members the ability to provide input on identified strategies for getting to and from BART or other transit in the future. The Corridor Access Plan will help BART and its partner cities ensure riders can access BART when housing is built on the El Cerrito Plaza, North Berkeley, and Ashby BART parking lots.

At this online open house, visitors can move between the virtual “rooms” to learn more about the Corridor Access Plan and its relationship with other efforts. Topics covered include 1) timelines for the transit-oriented developments (TODs), 2) community input received so far, 3) BART rider parking at the stations, 4) ideas for future access strategies, and 5) concepts for how to better manage on-street parking around the stations. Background information can be found at the first online open house, a link to which is found in the “Welcome” section. Visitors can fill out a survey to provide input on possible strategies for station and neighborhood access through May 18.
 
 This online open house includes a feature to translate the content into multiple languages. Additional language assistance services can be provided upon request for the online open house and survey.
 
Project staff will host office hours from 5-6 PM via Zoom on the following days:

If you require language translation to attend these office hours, please call 510-464-6752 at least 3 working days in advance. If you require special accommodation to attend these office hours, please email ecpTOD@bart.gov or BerkeleyTOD@bart.gov at least 3 working days in advance

The City also has a dedicated page - www.el-cerrito.org/parkingstudies - where you can learn more about parking studies undertaken at El Cerrito Plaza station.

UPCOMING MEETINGS/OUTREACH
Save the Date!
Design Review Board-Planning Commission Study Session
Date: Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Time: 7:30PM
Location: Virtual, Zoom 
Please join the Planning Commission and Design Review Board to provide your feedback on the project.

BART Pop-Up Open House: Community Survey Available through September 14, 2022
The Development Team in collaboration with the City of El Cerrito and BART is seeking feedback on the updated Transit-Oriented Development design at El Cerrito Plaza BART. A Pop-Up Open House occurred on July 20, 2022 for community members to comment on the updated design concept. This survey is another opportunity for community members to provide feedback on the materials presented at the Open House. For more information, please visit: https://www.elcerritoplazadevelopment.com/


BART owns four parcels constituting 8.3 acres and the site is zoned for 6-8 stories.

Plaza TOD (2)

Links to past meetings and materials


BART Pop-Up Open House
Date: Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Time: 4PM - 6:30PM
Location: El Cerrito Plaza BART Station
Please join us to provide your feedback on the updated transit-oriented development design and to learn more about the project.

English Flyer
Spanish Flyer
Chinese Flyer
Open House Materials



BART Board of Directors Meeting: El Cerrito Plaza TOD Goals & Objectives
Date: Thursday, October 28, 2021
Time: 9AM
Location: BART Board TV – click here
The meeting materials are available here

BART Community Meeting
Date: Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Location: Teleconference – See event flyer
The meeting materials are available here.

City Council and Planning Commission: Joint Study Session
Date: August 17, 2021
Time: 7PM
Location: Teleconference
The meeting materials are available here.

Development Team Introduction and Community Meeting
Date: May 25, 2021
Time: 6:00 - 7:30pm
Location: Teleconference
Click here to view the event flyer.

City Council Presentation
What: BART: El Cerrito Plaza TOD Development
Date: May 4, 2021
Time: 7PM
Location: Teleconference
Click here to view the City Council meeting materials.

BART Board of Directors Meeting
What: El Cerrito Plaza TOD Development
Date: November 19, 2020
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Location: Teleconference
Click here to view the meeting materials.

BART Board of Directors Meeting
What: El Cerrito Plaza TOD Development
Date: January 9, 2020
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Location: 2040 Webster Street, Oakland
Click here to view the meeting materials.

City Council Presentation
What: BART: El Cerrito Plaza TOD Development
Date: November 19, 2019
Time: 7PM
Location: City Council Chambers
Click here to view the City Council meeting materials.

Community Open House #2
BART and City staff will be on hand to answer questions related to the development process and talk about issues related to housing, parking, transportation, and access.
Date: October 3, 2019
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 PM (come by anytime during these hours)
Location: Hana Gardens Senior Center, 10870 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito
Click here to view the event flyer.

Meeting Materials
BART Presentation Boards
San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan Project Slideshow

Community Open House #1
What: BART Open House about El Cerrito Plaza TOD
Date: August 14, 2019
Time: 5 – 7PM
Location: El Cerrito Plaza Station
Click here to view the event flyer and click here to access the meeting materials.

July 27 and July 29, 2019 – San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan Workshops
BART staff participated in two workshops hosted by the City to discuss their Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) goals at El Cerrito Plaza station. You can review this information here.

City Council Presentation
What: BART Plaza Access and TOD Development – Request for Proposal Update
Date: February 5, 2019
Time: 7PM
Location: City Council Chambers
Click here to access the City Council meeting presentation.


QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS
To receive information about this effort, please subscribe to our Community Development E-Newsletter at: www.el-cerrito.org/CommDev. For questions or comments, please contact the Community Development Department at community@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us.