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The Berkeley City Council, strong-armed by Mayor Bates and the city attorney, has held a series of secret meetings and secret votes about a secret document, culminating on May 24 when the council secretly met and finally voted on a secret final document. Unbelievable! 

This is the so-called “settlement agreement” between the city and UCB wherein the city, apparently, has signed away our right to control vast university expansion and our right to bill the university for a substantial part of the $13-plus million annually in free services now being provided to UCB by the city. 

The dispute is NOT about the value of UCB, an institution widely respected, cherished, and appreciated. It IS about land, money, and power. 

Some perspective: There is nothing new o r unusual about town-gown friction in our country or history. This friction erupts periodically, is usually based on real issues, and has been written about extensively. There is nothing new about land wars—farmer-rancher disputes, water grabbing, railroa d encroachment, and so on throughout our history. Now, in our dense and crowded city, we are truly engaged in a town-gown land war. There is nothing new about monetary and taxation disputes—who pays and who gets the tax breaks. Now, in our financially har d-pressed city, we are truly engaged in a big bucks town-gown dispute over who is stuck with a $13 million tab every year. 

The city absolutely should not have signed any agreement that enables the university to expand its land uses and damage our neighbo rhoods without full CEQA disclosures, compliances, mitigations, and changes. Nor should the city have signed any agreement that accepts pennies on the dollar as compensation for city services. Despite some legal precedent for UC getting a free ride on pub lic services, circumstances have changed so drastically that the entire question needs to be revisited. When it comes to money, all public entities always claim to be hurting. In hard fact, unlike the city, UCB does have access to deep pockets and other r esources. UC regularly raises millions of dollars from millionaires and billionaires for trophy projects, it has profitable joint partnerships with corporations, money from patents and royalties, and vast special purpose endowments. I suggest that the uni versity seriously consider undertaking a City Trophy Project and raise a $100 million endowment to mitigate UC’s impacts on the city and its neighborhoods, pay a fair share amount for city services, and fund a variety of urban enhancements to benefit both town and gown. This would be, and could be promoted as, a tremendous public service/public good undertaking and donors could receive all the usual accolades and honors that accrue to charitable giving, good works, and helping the university and the larger community. 

For right now, it is likely that concerned citizens will be suing the city and/or university over the numerous crimes and misdemeanors that inhere in the settlement agreement process and product. It is also likely that there will be serious political repercussions for the politicians who supported the secret city sellout, particularly for Mayor Bates whose credibility and competence as our leader has been most seriously damaged. 

Barbara Gilbert is active in several Berkeley civic organizat ions and is a former Berkeley City Council candidate. 

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