BERKELEY — Berkeley is taking another step in its goal to “Keep Innovation in Berkeley” through a change in zoning laws that is meant to encourage companies conducting research and development to find a lasting home in the city.
The Berkeley City Council voted Tuesday to permit labs studying biosafety levels 2 in mixed-use light industrial zoning areas while prohibiting level 3 and 4 uses in all parts of the city. A biosafety level 1 rating is given to labs that study toxins or agents not known to cause diseases in healthy adults, while level 2 has a moderate risk, according to the national Health and Human Services Department. Biosafety level 3 and 4 labs study agents that pose a greater risk to the public and are subject to stricter safety precautions.
The approval, which includes a reduction in parking requirements, also calls for clearly stating that research and development labs are permitted in Berkeley’s mixed manufacturing district.
Research and development labs under 20,000 square feet will be permitted with an administratively approved zoning certificate in areas around U.C. Berkeley, including the University Avenue commercial corridor, North Shattuck Avenue, Telegraph Avenue and downtown. Spaces larger than 20,000 square feet would need an administrative use permit which would require a public review process.
Of the city’s top 25 employers, six conduct research and development in various areas including biotechnology, climate technology and sound equipment manufacturing. More than 400 innovation sector businesses currently operate in Berkeley, according to a map on the Berkeley Startup Cluster website.
“We’re really lucky we have such a diverse economy,” said Elizabeth Redman Cleveland, chief strategist of sustainable growth with the city’s Office of Economic Development, during the council meeting Tuesday. “It’s really exciting to have so much innovation in our city.”
Tuesday’s decision completes a referral put forward by former Councilmember Rigel Robinson and adopted by the council in September 2022.
Zoning changes are just the latest effort by Berkeley councilmembers to encourage growth of the city’s innovation sector. In November, the council approved an expansion of a 2019 tax exemption on government grants given to small research and development businesses to also include grants from philanthropic groups.
Under the changes, companies with no more than $100,000 in gross receipts qualify for the exemption, which now applies to all grant amounts instead of just the first $1 million received. Over the last five years, about $45,000 in tax breaks were given out to 21 businesses that qualified for the initial exemption with staff asserting the expanded exemption would result in nominal financial losses to the city.
Meanwhile, the amended zoning regulations could possibly lead to a modest increase in business license and sales tax revenue while also reducing city expenditures on staff time, according to a staff report.
“It’s important to realize that Washington (D.C.) is going to upend our economy of the state and the city,” Councilmember Ben Bartett said. “It kind of behooves us to do all we can to strengthen our economy right now as soon as possible.”
While supportive of the measure, Councilmember Ben Bartlett stressed the importance of adequate oversight, especially given that a recent audit showed almost half of restaurants in the city weren’t inspected in 2023 due to a staffing shortage. Cleveland assured the council that there are numerous oversight agencies, including the city’s Toxics Management Team.
Councilmembers lauded the proposal as a common sense approach to retaining innovative businesses and shared confidence in the city’s ability to prevent and respond to any threats.
“I want to reassure folks anyway,” Councilmember Mark Humbert said. “It may sound glib, but I think it’s actually fair to say a restaurant with poor safety poses more of a risk than a lab working with BSL 1 and 2 agents.”
