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This November Berkeley voters will decide if Old City Hall – where the city’s unique style of politics has been staged for the last 94 years – is worthy of a $21.5 million face-lift. 

In recent years, concerns have arisen that City Council chambers in the stately building at 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way needs to be enlarged to accommodate the city’s well known zeal for public participation. 

In addition, city officials say Old City Hall, which is considered by many to be one of Berkeley’s most valuable architectural treasures, might not withstand a major earthquake and needs to be seismically upgraded. A new elevator and better access for the disabled have been recommended as well. 

The $21.5 million general obligation bond that would go toward building improvements is the most expensive measure slated for the November ballot. The measure has been dubbed Measure 2. 

The money would be raised by selling bonds that would be repaid by Berkeley property owners at an average of $13 per year for every $100,000 of assessed value. This means that an owner of a $400,000 home would pay an average of $55 per year for up to 30 years. 

Last month, the City Council agreed to put Measure 2 on the ballot by a 7-2 vote with Councilmembers Dona Spring and Kriss Worthington voting no. 

Spring and Worthington argue that the plan, considering the large amount of money it entails, does not go far enough to enlarge the City Council chambers or improve accessibility for the disabled. 

The City Council chambers, which has a seating capacity of 120 people, is also the regular meeting place for the Zoning Adjustments Board, Rent Board and Board of Education, and there are plans to add the Planning Commission as well. In addition, the building contains the offices of 48 Berkeley Unified School District employees. 

Spring had unsuccessfully proposed another option for the renovation of Old City Hall that would add 10,000 square feet to the building. Most of the additional space would be dedicated to a new City Council meeting room.  

“This [Measure 2] proposal will make the meeting room smaller,” Spring said. “If we go through with this plan, we might as well move the City Council meetings over to the North Berkeley Senior Center and maintain the Old City Hall chambers for smaller community meetings.” 

Spring said if the chambers is made wheelchair accessible, the seating capacity of the room would be reduced to 80 people. She added that the current plan does not allow enough space for two wheelchairs going opposite ways in the aisle to pass one another.  

But Councilmember Miriam Hawley argued that no seating will be lost in the current plan and that the chamber is large enough for most public meetings. She added that a 10,000 square-foot addition would cost an estimated $7 million, which would make the project too expensive to pursue. 

In addition, Hawley said the current plan includes a new “overflow room” where people who do not find a seat in the council chambers can sit and watch the proceedings on a large video screen.  

“There is more than adequate space for the majority of meetings,” she said. “For those few that are larger, we can use the overflow room.” 

Spring argued that using an overflow room would be “awkward” and result in fewer people participating in the public process.  

Old City Hall is on the National Registry of Historical Places. The building, constructed in 1909, was one of the first projects designed by the partnership of John Bakewell and Arthur Brown, two architects who studied at UC Berkeley and went on to design San Francisco City Hall and the San Francisco Opera House. The Neo-classic building was the first to be designated an official city landmark in 1975. 

According to the November measure, construction at Old City Hall would first require environmental review and approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. 

If Berkeley voters approve Measure 2, Public Works Director René Cardinaux said work on the Old City Hall probably wouldn’t begin until 2004 or 2005 and would probably take 18 months.