Page One

While the Berkeley Unified School District awaits a decision by the Berkeley City Council on whether or not the city will close down a block of Derby Street, a BUSD-contracted architectural firm is moving forward to develop proposals for temporary use of the district-owned adjoining property. 

At issue is the two-block property bounded by Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Milvia Street to the east and west and Carleton and Ward to the north and south, with Derby running in between. The southern block of the property houses the Berkeley Alternative High School, while the northern block houses unused storage buildings, offices, and classrooms owned by the school district. The Berkeley Farmers’ Market operates on Tuesday afternoons on the stretch of Derby Street. 

The Berkeley community has been split over the future of the property, with some residents wanting Derby Street to remain open and the Farmers Market preserved, others pushing for the two properties to be combined and turned into a regulation baseball diamond for use by the high school team. Some neighbors are adamantly opposed to the baseball field, and others complain that as long as the empty buildings remains standing, they serve as a haven for drug use, prostitution, and homeless people. 

On Tuesday night, representatives of WLC Architects of Emeryville and Rancho Cucamonga held a community meeting at the Berkeley Alternative auditorium to try to bring the various sides together for a temporary solution. 

Berkeley City Councilmember Max Anderson—who represents the district surrounding the properties—and BUSD Board Directors Terry Doran and John Selawsky participated in the meeting, but did not make formal presentations.  

Marcia Vallier of Vallier Design Associates, a subcontractor on the development project, drew applause when she told a gathering of some 75 residents that the school district had charged WLC with demolishing the existing buildings on the north lot. 

Vallier said that the architects are also responsible developing a plan for that property, with two conditions: The development plan cannot consider the closure of Derby Street, but the plan must have no permanent structures that cannot be moved or expanded in the event that Derby is eventually closed. 

Taking the Derby closure off the table for the sake of the meeting discussion initially disappointed baseball field supporters, who had mobilized their forces to come out to the meeting. 

Earlier in the week, Berkeley High baseball coach Tim Moellering had circulated an e-mail saying, “It is time for those of us who support a field that can include baseball to show ourselves.” 

Moellering’s e-mail explained “For many years, we have been trying to build playing fields at East Campus on MLK and Derby. In order to include a baseball field that can accommodate Berkeley High players, the City of Berkeley needs to approve the permanent closing of Derby Street between Milvia and MLK. Once again, this issue is on the table. Some neighbors are vehemently opposed to the project.” 

One property neighbor, looking over the participants at the beginning of the meeting, said “I don’t see many neighborhood residents here. It’s mostly field supporters. I think it’s a done deal.” 

It wasn’t, at least for the time being. With the full-sized baseball field temporarily off the table, field supporters and neighbors instead broke into groups around the auditorium, working out temporary plans on property maps to satisfy both maps.  

By the end of the evening, a consensus had emerged for a multi-purpose field for soccer and rugby on one portion of the property, with some combination of baseball infield, softball field, basketball courts, gardens, and other smaller parcels in the remaining space. 

Vallier said that the architects would return on Feb. 28 to present finalized plans to the community before giving a final report to the BUSD board. She said that demolition of the buildings on the north property is scheduled to begin in May or June or this year, and promised that the demolition would not affect the operation of the Farmers’ Market. 

Councilmember Anderson told meeting participants that he considered the meeting “as much a community building exercise as it is a design exercise.” 

He said that while “there has been some mistrust in the past between the community and city officials, I’m in office now, and I’m going to do my best to craft a resolution that will be in the best interest of both the community and the kids.”  

Anderson also said that he has been looking into land-swapping proposals that would place the high school baseball field in a location other than the Derby Street properties. 

Following the meeting, Anderson said he expected the Derby Street closure issue to be discussed by Berkeley City Council before the community meets again in late February.w