1333 Sixth Street - City of Berkeley
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Z O N I N G
A D J U S T M E N T S
B O A R D
S t a f f R e p o r t
FOR BOARD ACTION
APRIL 22, 2021
1333 Sixth Street
Use Permit #ZP2019-0191 to change the use of less than 25% of the gross
floor area within an existing 17,220 square-foot, one-story industrial
building from material recovery enterprise to auto repair and service,
located in a newly established new tenant space, thereby converting one
tenant space into two tenant spaces.
I. Background
A. Land Use Designations:
• General Plan: M - Manufacturing
• Zoning: MU-LI –Mixed-Use Light Industrial District
B. Zoning Permits Required:
• Use Permit to establish an automobile repair and service use, pursuant to Berkeley
Municipal Code (BMC) Section 23E.80.030.
• Administrative Use Permit to change the use of less than 20,000 square feet and
less than 25% of the gross floor area used for material recovery enterprise to auto
repair and service use, pursuant to BMC Section 23E.80.045.C.
C. CEQA Recommendation: It is staff’s recommendation to ZAB that the project is
Categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) of the CEQA
Guidelines. The determination is made by ZAB.
D. Parties Involved:
• Applicant Carter Leung, Studio KDA, Berkeley
• Property Owner Jonathan Yi, 2037 Durant Avenue, Berkeley
1947 Center Street, Second Floor, Berkeley, CA 94704 Tel: 510.981.7410 TDD: 510.981.7474 Fax: 510.981.7420
E-mail: zab@cityofberkeley.info
ZONING ADJUSTMENTS BOARD 1333 SIXTH STREET
APRIL 22, 2021 Page 2 of 12
Figure 1: Vicinity Map
MU-LI
Project
Site
M
R-1(A)
MU-R
Legend
MU-LI: Mixed-Use Light Industrial District
M: Manufacturing District
MU-R: Mixed-Use Residential District
R-1A: Limited Two-Family Residential District
File:G:\LANDUSE\Projects by Address\Sixth\1333-1335\ZP2019-0191\DOCUMENT FINALS\2021-04-22_ZAB_Staff Report_1333 Sixth.docxZONING ADJUSTMENTS BOARD 1333 SIXTH STREET
APRIL 22, 2021 Page 3 of 12
Figure 3: Site Plan
Bus Yard, 1314 Seventh Street
Seventh Street
Sixth Street
Camelia Street
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ZONING ADJUSTMENTS BOARD 1333 SIXTH STREET
APRIL 22, 2021 Page 5 of 12
Table 1: Land Use Information
Zoning General Plan
Location Existing Use
District Designation
Material Recovery Enterprise 1
Subject Property
(MRE) (vacant)
North BUSD Bus Depot
Private Parking Lot (Picante MU-LI Manufacturing
South
Surrounding Restaurant)
Properties East Warehouse/Office
Food Service Establishment
West
(Picante Restaurant)
Table 2: Special Characteristics
Applies to
Characteristic Explanation
Project?
Affordable Child Care Fee
& Affordable Housing Fee The project does not include the creation of new commercial
for qualifying non- No space. Therefore, the project is not subject to the fees
residential projects resolutions.
(Per Resolutions 66,618-N.S. &
66,617-N.S.)
Affordable Housing
Mitigations for rental The project does not include dwelling units and therefore is not
No
housing projects subject to the City’s Affordable Housing Mitigation Fee.
(Per BMC Section 22.20.065)
The project is not proposing alcohol sales or service with this
Alcohol Sales/Service No
permit.
Creeks No creek or culvert, as defined by BMC Chapter 17.08,
No
(Per BMC Section 17.08.045) exists on or within 30’ of the site.
Density Bonus The project is not proposing to utilize State Density Bonus
No
(Per Gov’t Code Chapter 65915) regulations.
Natural Gas Prohibition This project does not propose to construct a new building, and
No
(Per BMC Section 12.80.020) therefore is not subject to the Natural Gas Prohibition.
Historic Resources The project would not demolish or substantially change the
(Per Gov’t Code §15064.5 or No existing building. Therefore, a Historic Resource Evaluation is not
BMC Chapter 3.24) required.
Housing Accountability Act No
(Govt. Code 65589.5(j))
1
Material Recovery Enterprise: A business that diverts discarded materials from a number of waste streams
including but not limited to the Transfer Station, drop-off, pick-up and curbside collection. Such facilities must
clean, sort, repair and/or process these materials and offer them for reuse and/or recycling through wholesale
and/or retail sales, including bulk sales. The retail component of these facilities is limited to the sale of items
recovered from the waste stream. No new items may be offered for sale at these facilities. Material Recovery
Enterprises do not include flea markets, automobile wrecking establishments, manufacturer’s outlet stores
(factory second stores), consignment shops, second-hand stores, antique stores or any store which offers only
used furniture, clothing and/or household items.
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Table 2: Special Characteristics
Applies to
Characteristic Explanation
Project?
Housing Crisis Act of 2019
(SB330) This project does not a housing development project. Therefore,
the provisions of SB330 and the HAA do not apply. Further, there
Rent Controlled Units are no rent-controlled units on the property.
(Per BMC Chapter 13.76)
Residential Preferred
Parking (RPP) No The project does not propose to construct any dwelling units.
(Per BMC Chapter 14.72)
Seismic Hazards Mapping The site is located within an area susceptible to liquefaction as
Act No shown on the State Seismic Hazard Zones map. However, the
(Per State Hazards Mapping Act) project would not alter the existing building.
Although the project site is not located within the City’s
Soil/Groundwater Environmental Management Area, the site is not on the Cortese
No List (an annually updated list of hazardous materials sites).
Contamination
Further, no ground-disturbing activities would occur as part of the
project.
The site is on Sixth Street, between Gilman and Camelia Streets.
Gilman Street is serviced by AC Transit Line 12. Additionally, the
project site is located five blocks west of San Pablo Avenue, a
Transit and Bicycle Access Yes transit corridor served by multiple AC Transit lines. In addition, the
site is located near a Bike Way and Bike Boulevard, which runs
east/west along Camelia and Gilman Streets, as well as on Fifth
and Eighth Streets (north/south).
Table 3: Project Chronology
Date Action
November 27, 2019 Application submitted
December 20, 2019 Application deemed incomplete
January 2020 – Applicant revised proposed project to satisfy replacement of protected use
October 2020 requirements in MU-LI district
October 28, 2020 Revised application materials submitted
November 18, 2020 Application deemed incomplete
November 2020 – Applicant worked with Traffic Engineer regarding parking requirements for auto
March 2021 repair and service use
March 9, 2021 Revised application materials submitted
March 11, 2021 Application deemed complete
April 8, 2021 Public hearing notices mailed/posted
April 22, 2021 ZAB Hearing
File:G:\LANDUSE\Projects by Address\Sixth\1333-1335\ZP2019-0191\DOCUMENT FINALS\2021-04-22_ZAB_Staff Report_1333 Sixth.docxZONING ADJUSTMENTS BOARD 1333 SIXTH STREET
APRIL 22, 2021 Page 7 of 12
Table 4: Development Standards
MU-LI Standards Existing Proposed Permitted/Required
BMC Sections 23E.80.070-.080
Lot Area (sq. ft.) 18,000 No change n/a
Gross Floor Area (sq. ft.) 17,220 No change
Tenant #1
17,220 12,925 12,915 min.1
(Material Recovery Enterprise)
Tenant #2
n/a 4,295 4,305 max.1
(Auto Repair and Service)
FAR 0.96 No change 2.0 max.
Average 23’-0” No change 45’ max.
Building
Maximum 23’-0” No change n/a
Height
Stories 1 No change n/a
Front
0’ No change 0’
(Sixth Street)
Building Rear 0’ No change 0’
Setbacks
Right Side 0’ No change 0’
Left Side 14’ No change 0’
Lot Coverage (%) 95.6 No change n/a
Usable Open Space (sq. ft.) --- --- n/a
Automobile 0 No change 02
Parking
Bicycle 0 No change 0
1
Per BMC Section 23E.80.045.C, The Zoning Officer may issue an Administrative Use Permit to change the use of less than 20,000
square feet of floor area used for Material Recovery Enterprise, manufacturing, warehousing, or wholesale trade as long as the area
converted is less than 25% of the space used for those purposes.
2
Per BMC Section 23E.28.130.A, no change of use shall be required to meet the off-street parking requirements of either the district or
the chapter unless the structures has been expanded to create new floor area, or in the MU-LI district, the use is changed to one with a
higher numerical standard. The auto repair and service use has a lower parking standard than the previous use, therefore the new use
shall not be required to meet the off-street parking requirements of the district and the chapter. Specifically, the existing MRE use
requires 4 spaces (1 per 1,000 sf (4,295 sf x .0001 = 4)). The proposed auto repair and service use requires 3 spaces per City
Transportation Engineering review.
II. Project Setting
A. Neighborhood/Area Description: The project site is located on Sixth Street in the
Gilman neighborhood, five blocks west of San Pablo Avenue, between Gilman Street
and Camelia Street. The neighborhood is mixed-use light industrial in character, with
a mix of one- to two-story light industrial buildings containing auto repair and service
and warehouse uses, and a few food service establishments in the vicinity. South of
Camelia Street, the area transitions to a low-density residential neighborhood.
The subject property is located approximately one half mile west of San Pablo, which
is a transit corridor served by a number of local bus lines (AC Transit). Additionally,
Eighth Street is a Bike Boulevard.
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APRIL 22, 2021 Page 8 of 12
B. Site Conditions: The 18,000 square-foot project site is a rectangular lot with 144’-2”
of frontage on Sixth Street. The site contains an existing 17,220 square-foot one-story
light industrial building, constructed in 1959 as a factory, which covers virtually the
entire lot, except for a 14-foot set back from the left (north) property line at the rear of
the building (See Figure 2: Site Plan). It is of concrete and brick construction with
several windows on the (west) primary façade where two roll up doors and three entry
doors are located. The interior of the building contains several partition walls and is
vacant. The building was most recently used for material recovery enterprise (MRE)
per an AUP issued August 14, 1991 (AUP#B0804). The building is non-conforming to
the minimum on-site parking requirement, which was allowed to remain non-
conforming under AUP#0804.
III. Project Description
A. Proposed Project: The project would demolish all existing interior partition walls and
construct one new demising wall to create a new, second tenant space within the
existing 17,220 square-foot building. The resulting two tenant spaces would be 4,295
square feet (Tenant #1) and 12,925 square feet (Tenant #2) in size. The project would
change the use of Tenant Space #1 from MRE to auto repair and service. The use of
Tenant Space #2 would remain as existing (MRE). As shown on the Existing and
Proposed Plans (See Figure 3: Floor Plan and Attachment 2, Sheet A101), the newly
created tenant space for auto repair and service would include one workstation, two
restrooms, and two offices for customer service-related activities. Employees would
valet the vehicles into the workstation through an entry-only roll-up door on the south
side of the building and exit through an exit-only roll-up door on the north side of the
building.
The auto repair and service business would operate between the hours of 8:00AM and
5:00PM Monday – Thursday. It is anticipated that a total of 8 employees would be on-
site at one time, and that two customers would be served at one time, with the busiest
hour of operation being 9:00AM. The business anticipates that customers would be
from within the vicinity of the site. As no parking is located on the site for customers or
employees, a valet service would be provided for customers to drop off their vehicles
for servicing.
On the exterior of the building, the project would partially demolish one window and
add one new door on the south end of the primary façade to create a separate,
dedicated pedestrian access to Tenant Space #2. New paint, signage and an awning
would be located along the primary façade; see Design Review summary under
Section IV.B below.
IV. Community Discussion
A. Neighbor/Community Concerns: Prior to submitting this application to the city, the
applicant installed a project yellow poster at the project site. On April 8, 2021, public
hearing notices were mailed to property owners and occupants within 300 feet of the
project site, and to interested neighborhood organizations; the City also posted notices
within the neighborhood in three locations. Prior to the publication of this staff report,
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APRIL 22, 2021 Page 9 of 12
the City received three emails regarding this application (See Attachment 3). These
individuals expressed concerns regarding noise, storage of cars on the street, and
odor coming from the auto repair and service business at 1348 Seventh Street.
B. Design Review: Staff-level design review was conducted for the proposed sign and
awning located on the primary façade. Design Review staff found the changes to be
permissible, and compatible with the light industrial character of the area.
V. Issues and Analysis
A. Findings for Use Permit in MU-LI District: BMC Section 23E.80.030.A allows the
establishment of an auto repair and service use in the MU-LI District with approval of
a Use Permit, subject to the Board making the finding of non-detriment, and the
findings in BMC Section 23E.80.090. In order to approve any Use Permit in the District,
the Board must find that the proposed use would be:
1. Consistent with the purposes of the District;
The project is consistent with the following purposes of the Mixed Use Light
Industrial District (MU-LI):
• Encourage development of mixed use-light industrial area for a range of
compatible uses.
• Encourage development of an area where light manufacturers can operate
free from the economic, physical and social constraints caused by
incompatible uses.
• Encourage the creation and continuation of well paid jobs which do not
require advanced degrees.
• Provide for the continued availability of manufacturing and industrial
buildings for manufacturing uses, especially of larger spaces needed by
medium sized and larger light manufacturers.
• Support the development of businesses which contribute to the
maintenance and improvement of the environment.
• Maintain and improve the quality of the West Berkeley environment, while
allowing the lawful and reasonable operation of light industrial uses.
The project would establish an auto repair and service use in a portion of an
existing light industrial building, located in a neighborhood that has other
light industrial uses, including several auto repair and service businesses in
the vicinity. Further, the project would utilize a site within the MU-LI district
where the business may operate free from the economic, physical and social
constraints caused by incompatible uses found in other Berkeley non-
residential districts that do not allow auto repair and service. The project
would also encourage the creation or continuation of skilled auto repair and
service jobs, which do not require advanced degrees. Finally, the applicant
statement asserts that the business’ operations include reclamation of auto
parts when they are not available from local junkyards and tow companies,
which supports recycling and can in turn contribute to the maintenance and
improvement of the environment.
File:G:\LANDUSE\Projects by Address\Sixth\1333-1335\ZP2019-0191\DOCUMENT FINALS\2021-04-22_ZAB_Staff Report_1333 Sixth.docxZONING ADJUSTMENTS BOARD 1333 SIXTH STREET
APRIL 22, 2021 Page 10 of 12
2. Compatible with the surrounding uses and buildings;
The project would be compatible with the surrounding uses and buildings, as the
proposed use is similar to the existing adjacent uses. As noted in Table 1, the
adjacent uses are a bus yard, parking lot and warehouse. While Picante
restaurant is located across Sixth Street, the restaurant is located between a
surface parking lot and a construction products manufacturing facility (Cemex
concrete plant). Other auto repair and service uses in the vicinity include
Hustead’s auto body directly adjacent to and south of the subject property and
Don’s Tire Service at the southwest corner of Gilman Street and Sixth Street. As
the proposed auto repair and service tenant space is relatively small in size
compared to surrounding uses, it would not disrupt operations of such uses.
3. Consistent with the adopted West Berkeley Plan;
The project would be consistent with the West Berkeley Plan, as it would
contribute to the full range of land uses and economic activities envisioned in the
Plan.
4. Be unlikely, under reasonably foreseeable circumstances, to either induce a
substantial change of use in buildings in the District from manufacturing,
wholesale trade or warehousing uses;
The project would change the use of up to 25%, or 4,295 square feet, of 17,220
square feet of existing space most recently used for MRE to auto repair and
service. As the project would result in a relatively small change in the amount of
existing MRE space, and would maintain an industrial use within the building, the
project would be unlikely to, under reasonably foreseeable circumstances, induce
a substantial change of use in buildings in the MU-LI district from manufacturing,
wholesale trade or warehousing uses.
5. Be designed in such a manner to be supportive of the light industrial character of
the district. Such physical compatibility shall include materials used; facade
treatments; landscaping; lighting; type, size and placement of awnings, windows
and signs; and all other externally visible aspects of the design of the building
and site; and
The proposed project is a change of use within an existing building. The
proposed auto repair and service establishment would include new signage and
an awning on the Sixth Street façade. Design Review staff has reviewed the
changes and found them to be compatible with the light industrial character of the
district.
6. Be able to meet any applicable performance standards as described in Section
23E.80.070.D.
The proposed project would not result in any changes to the building height or
floor area ratio; the existing building meets the standards as described in BMC
Section 23E.80.070.D.
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APRIL 22, 2021 Page 11 of 12
B. Findings for Use Permits and Administrative Use Permits: Pursuant to BMC
Section 23E.80.090.A, in order to approve any Use Permit in the district, the Board
must make the non-detriment finding. As noted above, the proposed project is a
change of use within an existing building; there would be no changes to shadow or
views. In addition, the proposed light industrial use is in a light industrial zoning district,
adjacent to other similar uses. The project is subject to the City’s standard conditions
of approval regarding construction noise and air quality, waste diversion, toxics, and
stormwater requirements, thereby ensuring the project would not be detrimental to the
health, safety, peace, morals, comfort or general welfare of persons residing or
working in the area or neighborhood of such proposed use or be detrimental or
injurious to property and improvements of the adjacent properties, the surrounding
area or neighborhood or to the general welfare of the City. Staff believes that this
finding can be made.
C. General Plan Consistency: The 2002 General Plan contains several policies
applicable to the project, including the following:
1. Policy LU-7 – Neighborhood Quality of Life, Action A: Require that new
development be consistent with zoning standards and compatible with the scale,
historic character, and surrounding uses in the area.
2. Policy LU-13 - Basic Goods and Services, Action A: Locate commercial uses and
community facilities throughout the city on transit corridors.
3. Policy UD-24 – Area Character: Regulate new construction and alterations to
ensure that they are truly compatible with and, where feasible, reinforce the
desirable design characteristics of the particular area they are in.
4. Policy UD-17-Design Elements: In relating a new design to the surrounding area,
the factors to consider should include height, massing, materials, color, and
detailing or ornament.
Staff Analysis: The project would establish an auto repair and service use within a
4,295 square-foot portion of an existing 17,220 square-foot light industrial building,
in a neighborhood containing a mix of other light industrial uses, including other
auto repair and service uses. The project site is located one-half block from transit
routes on Gilman Street, and is five blocks from San Pablo Avenue, a transit
corridor. Minor changes to the building envelope are proposed, namely the partial
demolition of a window and addition of a new door to provide access to the newly
created tenant space in the rear portion of the building. In addition, a new sign and
awning would be installed on the primary façade. Design Review staff has reviewed
the proposed sign and awning on the primary (Sixth Street) façade, and has found
it to be permissible.
VII. Recommendation
Because of the project’s consistency with the Zoning Ordinance and General Plan, and
minimal impact on surrounding properties, staff recommends that the Zoning Adjustments
Board APPROVE Use Permit ZP2019-0191, pursuant to BMC Section 23B.32.040 and
subject to the attached Findings and Conditions (see Attachment 1).
File:G:\LANDUSE\Projects by Address\Sixth\1333-1335\ZP2019-0191\DOCUMENT FINALS\2021-04-22_ZAB_Staff Report_1333 Sixth.docxZONING ADJUSTMENTS BOARD 1333 SIXTH STREET APRIL 22, 2021 Page 12 of 12 Attachments: 1. Findings and Conditions 2. Project Plans, dated March 9, 2021 3. Public Comments, received January 12, January 16, and February 18, 2020. 4. Notice of Public Hearing Staff Planner: Ashley James, ajames@cityofberkeley.info, (510) 981-7458 File:G:\LANDUSE\Projects by Address\Sixth\1333-1335\ZP2019-0191\DOCUMENT FINALS\2021-04-22_ZAB_Staff Report_1333 Sixth.docx
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