Public Comment

The mayor’s new “Landmarks Preservation Ordinance,” which is more like a Demolition Ordinance, is deeply flawed and should be repealed by the referendum process. 

The property tax problem 

After much thought about the new ordinance, I believe that the crux of it is the provision allowing developers to demolish old buildings when they have no plans to replace them, essentially clear-cutting the land for possible future use.  

It is mainly parts of south and west Berkeley developers wish to denude, areas with warehouses and older commercial buildings, many of which are excellent candidates for adaptive reuse. The mayor’s ordinance allows developers to hire an “expert” to declare a building non-historic and destroy it even though there is no replacement project in the works.  

Why should people care? Well, why did almost 80 percent of the citizens who went to the polls vote for Measure A, the school bond, in the last election? Because they wanted tax money for our schools, for our teachers and classrooms. When a site is cleansed of buildings, it is cleansed of Special Assessment property taxes (what Measure A provided for), which are based upon the square feet of the structures on the site. No buildings—no taxes for our schools. 

But developers build shiny new buildings to increase the tax base, right? Wrong, sometimes. I think it’s now evident to most people that the real estate market is undergoing a major shift, and that construction of massive condo boxes might not be a wise choice at this time.  

Two sites which had functional commercial buildings of 1920s vintage have recently been leveled by developers who do not seem to be proceeding with their plans for condos. My bet is that neither project will be built, and that the owners of both sites will enjoy a very large tax break for the foreseeable future. To view the blighted vacant lots left after demolition, see 1122 University Ave. and 2041-2067 Center St. 

The Drayage Building is poised to become the third such site. People may remember the eviction of 30 artists in 2005 for “code violations” despite two decades of the Fire Department and the Building Department finding no violations upon inspection of the building. The new owners have just received approval for demolition, even though they have no permits pending for construction, and have revealed no plans to build something new.  

The bogus code violations the Drayage Building was cited for pertained to its residential usage. It is perfectly serviceable as a warehouse. Since it is five feet from an underground jet fuel pipeline designated a hazardous facility, the lot is not really suitable for much else but warehouse space. I would be very surprised if anything is built to replace it.  

With just two sites cleared thus far, the tax losses are already in the tens of thousands of dollars per year. If the mayor’s ordinance becomes law, the tax losses will soon rise to hundreds of thousands per year, probably for many years—until the next real estate boom begins. 

Meanness and misfeasance 

While there are many problems with the ordinance, my number two reason why it needs to be repealed is the misfeasance and just plain meanness behind the process. The mayor and his five City Council yes-persons broke the rules to put citizens in the position of gathering signatures between Dec. 14 and Jan. 11, over the holidays when all the students are gone, in the coldest, darkest month of the year. 

Ordinances are supposed to be read twice by the City Council before adoption. The public then has only 30 days to get signatures to repeal a bad ordinance. Last minute changes cobbled together meant that the “second reading” of the ordinance on Dec. 12 was really a first reading. Had councilmembers waited until the next meeting to adopt it, as they should have, the signature period would have been in January to February. I believe that sheer meanness overcame any sense of responsibility to the people of Berkeley. 

This is illegal, of course—but the mayor’s team doesn’t care. Our only recourse is to sue. But judges don’t like to rule against charter cities, which means they don’t like to rule against the City Council, so lawsuits by citizens are likely to fail, even when there is misconduct on the part of officials. 

I hope the people of Berkeley will see through the mayor’s ordinance, and sign the referendum petition to repeal it. We have only two days left. Petitions can be signed in front of many grocery stores, at Anna’s Jazz Island at 2120 Allston Way in the evenings, and of course at Laurie Bright’s D & L Engine Repair at 2626 San Pablo Ave. Please, neighbors, run, don’t walk, to preserve our town. 

Gale Garcia is a Berkeley activist.