AB2011 directly affects North Shattuck and Solano Avenue commercial districts

Assembly Bill (AB) 2011, the Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act of 2022, does affect development potential in commercial districts along North Shattuck Avenue and Solano Avenue.

AB 2011 is a significant piece of state legislation that influences these areas by authorizing a streamlined, ministerial approval process for qualifying housing developments.

Here is a detailed breakdown of how AB 2011 affects the commercial districts of North Shattuck Avenue and Solano Avenue:

1. Applicability to Commercial Districts

AB 2011 authorizes a streamlined, ministerial review process for housing development applications that meet specified objective standards, affordability criteria, and site criteria. Crucially, the law applies specifically to sites located "within a zone where office, retail, or parking are a principally permitted use".

The existing zoning for North Shattuck and Solano Avenue meets this general requirement:

• North Shattuck Avenue: The project area includes parcels zoned North Shattuck Commercial (C-NS) and Corridor Commercial (C-C).

• Solano Avenue: The project area includes parcels zoned Solano Commercial (C-SO).

These commercial zones typically permit retail and office uses, making them potential targets for AB 2011-compliant housing projects. Furthermore, the city's Corridors Zoning Update specifically targets these three corridors (Solano, North Shattuck, and College Avenue) to revise standards and encourage new housing production in these high-resource commercial and transit corridors.

2. Legal Mechanisms of AB 2011

AB 2011 facilitates housing development in these districts through two powerful mechanisms:

• Ministerial Review: Projects that comply with AB 2011 standards become a "use by right" and are subject to a streamlined, ministerial review process. Ministerial projects are generally exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which significantly reduces the time, cost, and complexity associated with discretionary review and environmental clearances.

• Use by Right: A "use by right" project does not require a conditional use permit, planned unit development permit, or other discretionary local government review.

This state-level streamlining bypasses the City of Berkeley's typical discretionary review processes, compelling the city to expedite approval for compliant projects in the C-NS and C-SO zones.

3. Impact on Local Planning and Density

AB 2011 directly supports the high-density alternatives being considered in the Corridors Zoning Update for North Shattuck and Solano Avenue by mandating a state pathway for dense housing development.

• Encouraging Density: AB 2011 permits the development proponent to submit an application for multifamily housing development. This encourages vertical, dense housing—which is necessary to meet the goals of the Corridor Plan Alternatives (Alternative 1/Medium Density and Alternative 2/Higher Density). For example, the existing zoning on Solano Avenue permits 2 stories (28 ft), but the proposed alternatives go up to 4 or 5 stories (48 ft or 58 ft) before applying the state density bonus.

• Objective Standards: AB 2011 requires projects to meet objective standards. This aligns with the overall goal of the Corridors Zoning Update project, which is to establish objective development standards in the C-SO and C-NS zones consistent with state housing law to facilitate faster approvals.

4. Commercial Displacement Provisions

AB 2011 includes protections related to existing commercial tenants, which is highly relevant given the community's concern over displacement in the North Shattuck and Solano Avenue districts.

If a project moves forward under AB 2011, the development proponent must:

• Provide written notice of the pending application to each commercial tenant on the parcel when the application is submitted.

• Provide relocation assistance to each eligible commercial tenant located on the site, equivalent to six months’ rent for tenants operating between one and five years, and nine months’ rent for tenants operating between five and ten years.

This is particularly important because Solano Avenue and North Shattuck are defined by locally-owned, brick-and-mortar businesses, and commercial displacement risk is a major community concern in these corridors.

Summary of AB 2011 in Berkeley

The Berkeley Annual Element Progress Report for 2024 shows that AB 2011 is actively being used, specifically citing one large ministerial project application approved under AB 2011 for 739 units at 1750 Sacramento St (North Berkeley BART). Although this specific project is adjacent to the Shattuck corridor but not directly within the North Shattuck project area boundaries (C-NS, C-C), its approval demonstrates the city's process for handling large, ministerial projects under this law.

In conclusion, AB 2011 directly impacts the legal environment for the Solano and North Shattuck commercial districts by giving developers a streamlined, ministerial path to build high-density, affordable housing projects, provided the local commercial zoning allows retail or office as a principally permitted use. The law imposes state requirements that the city must adhere to, forcing local regulations (like the Corridor Zoning Update) to accommodate or explicitly manage this state pressure.

An article by the YIMBY organization analyzing AB2011