Harvey Smith

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 destruction that occurred at People's Park in August — after the campus attempted to begin construction on student housing — cost the university over $4 million worth of damage, as first reported by East Bay Times. 

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.

People’s Park has been a point of controversy within the Berkeley community as campus seeks to build housing on the park, while activists work to preserve it. But currently, the park is “chaos,” according to Nicholas Alexander, a resource coordinator who helps run the kitchen in the park.

Campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof discussed the recent People’s Park developments with People's Park Historic District Advocacy Group President Harvey Smith and Berkeleyside housing and homelessness reporter Supriya Yelimeli in a KQED forum Wednesday morning.

Nearly two weeks after an appeals court once again temporarily blocked UC Berkeley’s construction at People’s Park, the familiar sight of tents has appeared amid the felled trees.

In an unannounced overnight move, UC Berkeley began the process of fencing off People’s Park for construction of student housing Wednesday morning. 

Organizers and demonstrators with Berkeley Copwatch and the Defend People’s Park Movement gathered Wednesday for a rally, march and barbeque at People’s Park to protest UC development on the land. 

Berkeley’s People’s Park has been entered into the National Register of Historic Places for its association with student protests and countercultural activity in the 1960s.

Campus administration announced a collaborative effort with the city of Berkeley and local nonprofits to temporarily house People’s Park residents.