East Bay Green Corridor
Encyclopedia
The East Bay Green Corridor is a regional partnership working toward promoting the San Francisco East Bay
as a global center of the emerging green economy
. The members are thirteen East Bay cities, schools and research institutions. The partnership's stated goals are to attract and retain green businesses, promote research and technology transfer, strengthen green workforce development programs, and coordinate a regional effort to secure federal funding. West Berkeley activists have criticized the City of Berkeley's
planned implementation of the corridor, over concerns that zoning regulations may be relaxed for the benefit of developers and large corporations, and could negatively impact the city's light manufacturing district.
. The partnership had six founding members:
At a press conference to announce its creation, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates predicted that "the Silicon Valley
of the green economy is going to be here in the East Bay." The partners all pledge to hold an annual green economic summit, set quarterly meetings of the directors of economic development, workforce development and technology transfer offices, and to coordinate a major new regional green job training and placement effort.
. Seven new members were announced :
At the summit, the partnership announced that it had secured its first direct funding, a federal earmark worth $147,000 for job training.
In August 2009, East Bay Green Corridor hired its first full-time director, Carla Din, who previously served as a director at the Apollo Alliance
, a green energy nonprofit in San Francisco. Members of the partnership contribute $10,000 a year for staff salaries and marketing. The project is fiscally sponsored
by the East Bay Economic Development Alliance, which also provides office space from its Oakland headquarters.
Plans for implementing the East Bay Green Corridor have led to a significant zoning controversy in Berkeley, particularly in the light industrial area known as West Berkeley. To entice green energy start-ups to the area, Bates and city planning staff have proposed changing existing zoning regulations and instituting a revised master use permit process. The effect of these proposed changes, according to media reports, would be to double the allowed height of new buildings and allow office complexes to be built.
A group of community activists known as West Berkeley Artisans and Industrial Companies (WeBAIC) have strongly opposed the zoning changes, arguing that they will hurt the economic vitality and unique character of the neighborhood. Some of the coalition's members have also argued that allowing developers to erect expensive condominiums and office buildings will price existing businesses out of the neighborhood and force their relocation.
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
as a global center of the emerging green economy
Green economy
A green economy is one that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities - United Nations Environment Programme...
. The members are thirteen East Bay cities, schools and research institutions. The partnership's stated goals are to attract and retain green businesses, promote research and technology transfer, strengthen green workforce development programs, and coordinate a regional effort to secure federal funding. West Berkeley activists have criticized the City of Berkeley's
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
planned implementation of the corridor, over concerns that zoning regulations may be relaxed for the benefit of developers and large corporations, and could negatively impact the city's light manufacturing district.
History
The East Bay Green Corridor was announced on Dec. 3, 2007 at a new solar-energy facility in Richmond, CaliforniaRichmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
. The partnership had six founding members:
- City of BerkeleyBerkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, represented by Mayor Tom BatesTom BatesThomas H. Bates is an American politician and is currently serving as the Mayor of Berkeley, California. He previously served 20 years as a member of the California State Assembly before being termed out in 1996. Bates is married to Loni Hancock, a former mayor of Berkeley and State Assembly... - City of EmeryvilleEmeryville, CaliforniaEmeryville is a small city located in Alameda County, California, in the United States. It is located in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, extending to the shore of San Francisco Bay. Its proximity to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the University of California, Berkeley, and...
, represented by Mayor Nora Davis - City of OaklandOakland, CaliforniaOakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, represented by Mayor Ron DellumsRon DellumsRonald Vernie "Ron" Dellums served as Oakland's forty-fifth mayor. From 1971 to 1998, he was elected to thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S... - City of RichmondRichmond, CaliforniaRichmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
, represented by Mayor Gayle McLaughlinGayle McLaughlinGayle McLaughlin is a California politician. She is a member of the Green Party and, since 2006, the mayor of Richmond, California and a member of Richmond's City Council. McLaughlin was elected on November 7, 2006 by a 279-vote margin over incumbent mayor Irma A. Anderson... - University of California at Berkeley, represented by Chancellor Robert BirgeneauRobert BirgeneauRobert Joseph Birgeneau is a Canadian physicist, educator, and university administrator. He is the ninth chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, and was the fourteenth president of the University of Toronto from 2000 to 2004.-Biography:The first from his family to finish high school,...
- Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryThe Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory conducting unclassified scientific research. It is located on the grounds of the University of California, Berkeley, in the Berkeley Hills above the central campus...
, represented by Director Steven ChuSteven ChuSteven Chu is an American physicist and the 12th United States Secretary of Energy. Chu is known for his research at Bell Labs in cooling and trapping of atoms with laser light, which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997, along with his scientific colleagues Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and...
At a press conference to announce its creation, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates predicted that "the Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
of the green economy is going to be here in the East Bay." The partners all pledge to hold an annual green economic summit, set quarterly meetings of the directors of economic development, workforce development and technology transfer offices, and to coordinate a major new regional green job training and placement effort.
Expansion
In June 2009, the East Bay Green Corridor held its second annual summit at the Oakland Museum of CaliforniaOakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California or Oakland Museum is a museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California located in Oakland, California....
. Seven new members were announced :
- City of AlamedaAlameda, CaliforniaAlameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
- City of AlbanyAlbany, CaliforniaAlbany is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 18,539 at the 2010 census.-History:In 1908, a group of local women protested the dumping of Berkeley garbage in their community...
- City of El CerritoEl Cerrito, California-Transportation:The city's primary transportation infrastructure consists of the El Cerrito Plaza and El Cerrito del Norte BART stations along with several local bus lines, operated by AC Transit, providing access to the surrounding area and the nearby cities of Albany, Berkeley and Richmond...
- City of San LeandroSan Leandro, CaliforniaSan Leandro is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is considered a suburb of Oakland and San Francisco. The population was 84,950 as of 2010 census. The climate of the city is mild throughout the year.-Geography and water resources:...
- Peralta Community College DistrictPeralta Community College DistrictThe Peralta Community College District is the community college district serving northern Alameda County, California. The district operates four community colleges: Berkeley City College, Laney College and Merritt College in Oakland, and College of Alameda. From 1968 to 1988, non-contiguous Plumas...
- Contra Costa Community College DistrictContra Costa Community College DistrictThe Contra Costa Community College District is a community college district that encompasses three community colleges in Contra Costa County, California - Contra Costa College, Diablo Valley College and Los Medanos College. Headquarters office is located in the George R...
- Cal State East Bay
At the summit, the partnership announced that it had secured its first direct funding, a federal earmark worth $147,000 for job training.
In August 2009, East Bay Green Corridor hired its first full-time director, Carla Din, who previously served as a director at the Apollo Alliance
Apollo Alliance
The Apollo Alliance is a project organized by the Institute for America's Future and the Center on Wisconsin Strategy. The Alliance is a project of the Tides Center....
, a green energy nonprofit in San Francisco. Members of the partnership contribute $10,000 a year for staff salaries and marketing. The project is fiscally sponsored
Fiscal sponsorship
Fiscal sponsorship refers to the practice of non-profit organizations offering their legal and tax-exempt status to groups engaged in activities related to the organization's missions...
by the East Bay Economic Development Alliance, which also provides office space from its Oakland headquarters.
Plans for implementing the East Bay Green Corridor have led to a significant zoning controversy in Berkeley, particularly in the light industrial area known as West Berkeley. To entice green energy start-ups to the area, Bates and city planning staff have proposed changing existing zoning regulations and instituting a revised master use permit process. The effect of these proposed changes, according to media reports, would be to double the allowed height of new buildings and allow office complexes to be built.
A group of community activists known as West Berkeley Artisans and Industrial Companies (WeBAIC) have strongly opposed the zoning changes, arguing that they will hurt the economic vitality and unique character of the neighborhood. Some of the coalition's members have also argued that allowing developers to erect expensive condominiums and office buildings will price existing businesses out of the neighborhood and force their relocation.