Berkeley is coming up with some new ways to keep startups in the city, including making it easier for innovative companies to acquire space downtown and along key corridors.

The city's Planning Department and Office of Economic Development have proposed a package of zoning amendments to adjust permit thresholds and land-use requirements that are more restrictive than neighboring cities, according to a city staff report detailed in the San Francisco Business Times.

The amendments, part of an initiative called Keep Innovation in Berkeley, would allow and encourage R&D uses in the commercial districts of Telegraph, West Berkeley, University Avenue and Downtown Berkeley.