NOVEMBER 2005

Chancellor Birgeneau announces proposed plans for a student athlete high performance center near Memorial Stadium that is slated to begin in December 2006, if plans are approved by the UC Board of Regents.

DECEMBER 2, 2006

Three protesters ascend trees in the grove near Memorial Stadium on the day of the Big Game against Stanford.

DECEMBER 6, 2006

UC Board of Regents approves stadium project's environmental impact report and design for athletic center.

DECEMBER 11-19, 2006

Panoramic Hill Association, the city of Berkeley and California Oak Foundation file separate lawsuits against the university over plans to build the athletic center.

JANUARY 29, 2007

Judge Barbara J. Miller issues a temporary injunction to halt construction. She clarifies the order to say the campus can pursue construction contracts, but cannot physically alter the site.

AUGUST 29, 2007

In preparation for the first football game of the 2007 season, UCPD erects the first fence around the oak grove. The next day, Miller rules it does not violate the injunction.

SEPTEMBER 4, 2007

The Berkeley City Council rejects a settlement offer from the campus in a 7-1-1 decision. Then-city Attorney Manuela Albuquerque said she 'did not consider the offer to be serious.'

SEPTEMBER 19, 2007

The trial begins with Judge Miller at the helm.

OCTOBER 4, 2007

In what some observers say is a rare, if not unprecedented move, Miller visits Memorial Stadium and other areas to see the proposed construction site for herself.

OCTOBER 11, 2007

The seven-day trial ends. Miller is expected to issue a ruling by early January.

OCTOBER 29, 2007

Judge Richard Keller issues a ruling that all the tree sitters must vacate the Oak Grove. They do not.

NOVEMBER 8, 2007

UCPD erects a second fence at the oak grove. The area is totally sealed off the following week, after the final home football game.

JANUARY 23, 2008

Miller issues a partial ruling that says Alquist-Priolo applies. She requested that both sides submit expert evidence to help her determine if the center is a separate structure. Two of the plaintiffs object.

MARCH 19, 2008

Miller overrules objections from the California Oak Foundation and the Panoramic Hill Association

and sets another hearing.

MARCH 19, 2008

After two delays, Miller hears discussion by the attorneys about the expert evidence that was submitted. She says she has until mid-June to issue a ruling but will make every attempt to do so before then.

UCPD and campus-hired arborists attempt to cut supplies and structures of tree-sitters and extract one woman. The next day, a protester climbs a pole to enter the grove and join the tree-sitters.

Miller rules partly in favor of the plaintiffs. She writes in her ruling that the plans for the athletic center almost fully comply with Alquist-Priolo and CEQA.

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