MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

by Polly Armstrong and John DeClercq, CEO

Green Shoots of Renewal at The Berkeley Chamber

One of the most exciting aspects of being the Chamber CEO is hearing all the spontaneous comments about how helpful chamber membership has been to our individual members.  Time and again, We've heard statements like "most of my business comes from other Chamber members" or "I met a great realtor (or printer or plumber or exterminator) at a Chamber mixer" or "I needed a systems person and found a great one at the monthly breakfast."  This is such an important benefit of belonging to the Chamber that we are keeping a list of stories members tell us.  If you have one to add, please send it in!

We've been taking every opportunity to make sure the Chamber is at the table when things are happening in Berkeley that affect business.  We are involved in the Berkeley Start Up Cluster, the group dedicated to revitalizing downtown, advancing the West Berkeley plan, supporting Cal in keeping the stadium rebuild on track, upgrading service at city parking garages, encouraging residents to buy from local businesses and supporting efforts to get online retailers to pay the same sales tax as our own bricks and mortar businesses must pay. 

Everything we do is directed toward cementing our role as "the Voice of Business in Berkeley."  We're working hard and we are enjoying it!

The March meeting of the Committee on Government Affairs focused on the topic: "City Planning in An Age of Climate Change" (borrowing our title from the recent book by Berkeley architect Peter Calthorpe).
 
Panelists included Berkeley Chamber Board Members John Caner (Executive Director of the Downtown Berkeley Association) and Mark Rhoades (Partner in CityCentric Investments, and former Planning Director of the City of Berkeley), and John King (Urban Planning and Development Writer, San Francisco Chronicle).
 
Mark Rhoades wrote such a strong summary of the key points made that I am publishing Mark's summary below, and in his own words:

To: Mark McLeod, Chair, Committee on Government Affairs, Berkeley Chamber
 
"The most important aspect to sustainable cities is using development to significantly reduce vehicle miles travelled. Period. In order to see the big picture we have to understand the past.
 
"Berkeley is well-positioned in the East Bay to provide for both its housing and its employment needs for the long term, but it must wake up to the realities of the need for change in order to do so.
 
"I do not believe that any city can be run effectively based on a consensus model for decision making. Berkeley has tried this, with extremely poor results for the last 40 years. Ideas are too disparate and the result is often legislation that underperforms or is obsolete by the time it is implemented. For decades, Berkeley has allowed its process to be the product, to the detriment of the community at large. My evidence:
o   Dwindling socio-economic and ethnic diversity
o   Exorbitant housing prices
o   Stagnant property taxes and revenues due to low development levels
o   30,000+ in-commuters per day
o   1,000's of out-commuters for tech and other modern employment opportunities
 
"The West Berkeley Plan of 1993 failed, utterly, in its attempt to provide a stable employment base for Berkeley citizens. The uses that are protected under that plan have seen the most significant job losses in the City over the last 10 years. No new employment sectors have been allowed to expand, depriving our citizens of the ability to have new opportunities and the training that comes with it. Acres of severely underutilized floor space sit in West Berkeley, while new job opportunities continue to locate in our neighboring communities.
 
"Berkeley's severe housing shortage is the primary reason that housing prices have shot up and socio-economic and ethnic diversity continue to plunge. Berkeley has ample space along its transit corridors, and in the Downtown to construct all of the housing it needs. The City scratched the surface in this regard the last 14 years but it only came by overcoming the "consensus" model that some of Berkeley's decision-makers still cling to by leveraging state laws to force Berkeley to allow new housing.
 
 "The West Berkeley zoning, and the voter-approved Measure R and The Downtown Area Plan (DAP) are Berkeley's opportunities to correct this course, and to rely on a very strong majority of community support that continues to support more aggressive land use changes at the polls. Berkeley decision-makers need to be more aggressive if we are to be a truly sustainable city, and not just one with lots of compact fluorescent bulbs."

Respectfully submitted by Mark Rhoades, Citycentric Investments 

Mark McLeod is the Executive Director of Sustainable Business Alliance 

 Gerald Murphy, the General Manager of Revival Bar & Kitchen, brings a lifetime of experience to leading this wonderful restaurant in downtown Berkeley. Starting his training in a special high school program, Gerald went on to be a cook in the Merchant Marines before heading many restaurants through the years.

Revival, which opened in May 20, 2010, is meant to be a revival of turn-of-the-century atmosphere and part of the revival of Berkeley's downtown. It's oriented especially toward the theater district, being on the same block as the Berkeley Rep and other theaters. Gerald says they see their creative menu as part of the artistic scene in the city.

The culinary philosophy Gerald and the chef take is "farm to table" and "root to shoot", meaning they use locally and ethically sourced organic food, and look for ways to use all parts of the produce and animals they cook with.

Gerald's approach to marketing is "make new friends every day". He and his staff take the time to connect with their customers so folks will want to come back to a place that's become their place.

Joining the Berkeley Chamber is Gerald Murphy's way to dive into the city's community. He is very involved, not only becoming one of the Chamber's ambassador's, but even volunteering to interview another new member himself to find out their story.

*Note: As we went to Press, Revival Bar and Kitchen was awarded "Best New Restaurant/East Bay" by SF Business Times! Congratulations to Gerald Murphy and Amy Murray and her partners! Read the article here. 

Revival Bar and Kitchen, 2021 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley  

(510)549-9950   www.revival.com 

Doug Coe is the Owner at Doug Coe Achitect