The Editor's Back Fence

New: Ask Council to Analyse Problems Before Scheduling New Construction

Sunday June 21, 2015 - 12:12:00 AM

It's time to write a letter to the Berkeley CIty Council suggesting that the agendas for the flurry of meetings now scheduled for this week, especially the special City Council meeting on Thursday, June 25, must be amended to reflect on the consequences of the Library Gardens disaster. The original intent of the Thursday council meeting was to speed up approval of "The Residences at Berkeley Plaza", 2211 Harold. It's been tragically proven that Berkeley has not adequately managed the rush of construction we've experienced in the last few years, and now it's time to pause and reflect before adding to our problems. In particular, do our city inspectors and our first responders know how to deal with such tall buildings? Those who don't understand history are doomed to repeat it. Write to council@cityofberkeley.info and ask them to postpone further approvals until we know what happened at Library Gardens, and even more important, why.