Page One

“Institutional expansion” or “livable neighborhood”? 

Call it a scratched LP, or a hip hop sample. It’s the same old noise in the decades-long battle for southside land use between the university and the city.  

Today’s focal point is the pavilions – or “cafeterias,” depending on whom you ask – of UC Berkeley’s Units 1 and 2.  

The massive dormitory towers were designed by renown architects John Carl Warnecke and Lawrence Halprin, and advocates claim that they “express the functionalism and the playfulness of the modern era (of American architecture).”  

One resident of Unit 1, on the other hand, who asked not to be named, said she felt that the Units are “ugly, and look like housing projects.” 

Either way, the eating centers of both units are scheduled to be ripped out to make way for more parking lots and more housing – part of the university’s “Underhill plan” to redevelop the lot between Dwight Way and Haste Street, College Avenue and Bowditch Street. With housing shortages already acute, and state demands calling for campus expansions, whatever history remains could soon be carted to the Berkeley land fill as rubble. 

That sets the stage for a showdown between the city and the university. The Berkeley Landmarks Commission designated the “pavilions” as city landmarks at their Sept. 11 meeting by a vote of 7-0 with two abstentions. 

“The commission was very careful to mention that the primary features of the landmark is landscaping and grounds. No one said that the buildings themselves were knockouts,” said Landmarks Preservation Commissioner Robert Kehlman. 

“Given the density of the area, the tree shading and the terracing make it a magical area to walk in,” added Kehlman. 

Such aesthetic considerations, however, are mostly symbolic gestures with little legal heft. City designation of university properties are not binding because the university legally falls under the jurisdiction of the state. 

“The university has no zoning regulations which we can apply to it,” said Lesley Emmington Jones, also an LPC member. “The question becomes this: Does the southside of campus become a neighborhood community based on the needs of the community or an institutional expansion zone? To rip out the pavilions and build more towers in their place takes the soul of the structure, and leaves a dark windscape in its place,” she added. 

“Many of us are unhappy with the university’s plans to develop the area,” stated Kehlman, “but our decision was not based on our displeasure with the university’s actions.” 

University officials could not be reached for comment. 

The Landmarks Preservation Committee will issue a “notice of its decision” to designate the units as Berkeley landmarks at its meeting Monday. The “notice of decision” is simply a formality to open the two-week window during which people can appeal. The meeting is at 7:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center at 1901 Hearst Ave.