California Environmental Quality Act

The city of Berkeley secured a $5.1 million fund from the Alameda County Transportation Commission, or ACTC, for the Berkeley Pier with Ferry Access Project last Thursday, according to a press release from Berkeley city Councilmember Rigel Robinson.

Resources for Community Development, or RCD, the developer of the supportive housing at People’s Park, has pulled out of the project, according to an RCD statement.

The Berkeley Zoning Adjustment Board, or ZAB, approved use permits Thursday to replace the existing clubhouse and restroom at Willard Park with a new 3,301 square foot community center and bathroom.

Tensions rose over debates between councilmembers and attendees at a Berkeley city council meeting Tuesday, held in response to an urgency item proposed by Mayor Jesse Arreguin regarding ongoing university efforts to build on People’s Park. 

Amid a statewide student housing crisis, California assemblymember Eduardo Garcia introduced AB 1630, which would streamline private student housing developments within 1,000 feet of California college campuses. 

As a freshman living in Unit Two last year, I cherished my dorm room view. I no longer live in the dorms, but I can imagine that the view is quite similar, with one major exception: that canopy of trees, the foliage over People’s Park, no longer exists.

The California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, has become embroiled in controversy recently, with its latest application wielded to block UC Berkeley’s housing plans for People’s Park.

An appellate court ruled Friday that UC Berkeley may not proceed with plans to build student and low-income housing at People’s Park, prompting calls from local and state officials to reform the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, at the heart of the lawsuit.

The First District Court of Appeal released a tentative decision Dec. 22 regarding the lawsuit filed by Make UC a Good Neighbor against the UC Board of Regents’ Environmental Impact Report for long range developments and student housing on People’s Park.

We cannot allow local homeowners to block developments due to unrelated concerns, when we must prioritize student accessibility to housing, transit and their campus above all.