Election Section

I live on Spruce Street between Cedar and Vine. As a result of construction for the Beth El Temple, many, many construction vehicles, trucks and heavy equipment trailers are going up and down our residential street at very early hours of the morning—before 8 a.m. I am further concerned that there will be more through traffic on Spruce as a result of the exit planned onto Spruce from Beth El.  

Our street is a residential street, not a “collector” or through street and little has been done to enable us to enjoy the quiet residential aspect of the neighborhood since the barrier was removed at Rose and Spruce. I would like to see our street returned to its original status as I am concerned the problem will worsen once Beth El funnels its traffic on to Spruce Street. 

I had no idea how massive the Beth El project was going to be. Now that I see it, I am very concerned about the traffic on Spruce street as a result. I was under the impression that all traffic would go to Oxford Street, the through street in the area.  

I also understand that the Beth El leaders have failed to live up to their agreement with our neighborhood association and that despite that, the city is preparing to issue a certificate of occupancy for the project. 

I pay taxes to the city, and in return I expect the city to provide essential services and protect my interests. The Beth El project will have major negative impacts on my neighborhood.  

It was to mitigate those impacts that LOCCNA went through a long and hard negotiation with Beth El’s leaders. After many compromises, a deal was reached, a legally binding agreement signed, and the language of that agreement incorporated into the conditional use permit issued for the project. 

That deal was a compromise. To preserve the creek and minimize parking and traffic impacts on our neighborhood and our daily lives, LOCCNA’s negotiators yielded on a number of key points.  

Since that deal is written into the city’s permit conditions, if the congregation’s leaders fail to live up to the deal they signed, it is the city’s responsibility to enforce it. 

I demand that the city require full compliance with the conditions it specified before allowing the buildings to be occupied. 

In particular: 

• The city must require an adequate, detailed parking plan that complies with the language of the agreement and the permit. 

• The city must ensure the protection of Codornices Creek by requiring bank-stabilization and other landscaping before permitting occupancy. 

It is self-evident to anyone looking at the buildings being constructed that this is a massive addition placed in the middle of a residential neighborhood—my neighborhood. It is time for the city to show that it means what it says about neighborhood preservation by enforcing its own rules. It would be a shame if we citizens had to sue our own city to make it do what is right and what the city said it would do to support our agreement. 

Mary Ciddio is a 20-year Berkeley resident and taxpayer.›