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I was stunned to read in Thursday's paper that Berkeley plans to build 6,700 new housing units in the next 40 years.  

When I stop to try and picture that, I think about the downtown Gaia Building [91 units] and imagine another 73 or 74 buildings of that size added within the borders of Berkeley. Try to imagine that. No wonder the Height Initiative is on the November ballot.  

Of course, even if the buildings are smaller and more plentiful, think of how tremendously overcrowded Berkeley will be – it will resemble downtown San Francisco.  

Michael Goldberg 

Berkeley