Public Comment
UCB's Long Range Development Plan
I’ve been involved in responding to both UC’s LRDP and Berkeley’s Southside Plan. I’d like to point out some contradictions in the City’s position on these plans.
On the one hand the City is involved, rightfully so, with lawsuits regarding UC overreach and its potential impact on the community. Likewise neighborhood groups have also sued the university.
On the other hand the Mayor and two councilmembers have come out in support of building Project #2, People’s Park, and are seeking involvement in a supportive housing project in the park without adequate public scrutiny of either project by Berkeley citizens.
This position violates the provisions and spirit of Berkeley’s Measure L (the Public Parks and Open Space Preservation Ordinance) which points to the high density of Berkeley. We know the Southside is the densest part of Berkeley. The ordinance requires any proposed use of vacant public land be approved by Berkeley voters.
In the time of a pandemic with no foreseeable end, the eminent threat of urban-wildland fires, and the ever present threat of a major earthquake, how can we possibly think of giving up open space?
Likewise there is major concern with Project #1 in the LRDP where the university may destroy both a historic building by one of Berkeley’s master architects and a rent-controlled historic apartment building.
The recent growth plans of the university will push Berkeley to the limits and override its capacity to accommodate this unfettered growth. The city or any city commission should not support the destruction of historic and landmarked properties.
With the COVID crisis the University budget is stretched, adding to the already disastrous bad investment in a football stadium that now stands empty. The housing projects with their proposed public-private-partnership investment schemes seem to be a vehicle for capitalizing on the need for housing by selling out the Berkeley community to pad the university’s budget.
We don’t need our university pushing disruptive real estate plans. At the rate it’s going, soon the university will surround Berkeley, not the other way around.
People's Park Historic District Advocacy Group has an alternative that would bring the city, the university, and the South Campus community together to preserve and improve the park as both an important historical site and an important neighborhood open space. People's Park is a historical landmark and thus under city policy should be protected from development. For details, go to peoplesparkhxdist@gmail.com.
Here is a link to my book - http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/9781467132398/Berkeley-and-the-New-Deal. Follow the National New Deal Preservation Association and the Living New Deal by signing up to receive occasional updates. Join LND's Email List. The latest or previous newsletters are at each website - www.newdeallegacy.org and www.livingnewdeal.org. Join us in pushing for a New New Deal!
