Tree-Sitters and UC-Berkeley Both Claim Legal Win
A ruling by a county superior court judge had both sides claiming victory Wednesday in the long-running dispute between tree-sitters and UC-Berkeley officials over the construction of an athletic center that would displace part of an oak grove, the Daily Californian reports. Although the judge did not lift the injunction on construction (score one for the tree-sitters and their activist brethren), she did decide that the university is mostly in compliance with environmental and earthquake zoning law—and would be able to resubmit its claim to begin construction once it made the adjustments (and score one for the university).
The protesters, however, are clinging to their small wins: "I would like to say, most of all, the children won today," said the unofficial protest leader, after the ruling was announced.
The real winners, however—as is the case with all painstakingly long litigation—could be the lawyers and the contract workers who benefit from the dispute. Both sides say their legal costs are much higher than expected, and the university has spent $375,000 on extra policing, round-the-clock security, and the construction of two fences that surround the tree-sit site—all this before Tuesday's round of treetop sparring and use of a crane to cut supply lines.
Tags: activism | UC-Berkeley
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Reader Comments
A safety net for tree people's safety?
Now that the safety lines have been cut, why haven't the authorities put in place a safety net that fire and rescue workers us when people fall or jump from high rise buildings during an emergency? We require such from circus acts and other sports...I fear for the tree sitters as they lack water and food they may not think clearly and could more easily trip and fall 3, 4, or 5 stories--fall to their death. They are young committed people and we should value their courage whether we agree with the issue or not. We don't know if they have mental health problems or physical problems--we don't know about them as citizen activists. We passed by there this late afternoon and saw the militarized area--scores of police in black with SWAT regalia. Many tree branches have been cut so the Grove has already been partly demolished. It is so cruel to see a screaming woman in a perch frightened by SWAT type men in a cherrypicker box on a crane coming to get her.
Please, write about their safety.
Build it Elsewhere
The stadium is currently unsafe and has been unsafe for years. If there is a concern about Safety of student athletes and the University staff and employees, the crumbling structure as the University has named it-- where staff and students are housed--- needs to be shut down immediately and all staff and students relocated to other facilities or portables. Other educational facilities must adhere to this procedure and what exempts UC from this? The collapse of recent school buildings in China and elsewhere due to earthquakes should be a lesson ---a lesson that UC is not heeding. The University keeps changing the parameters of the project which neither a judge or court hearing can decide as adequate mitigation. CEQA require a new round of public hearings each time a project is changed, or altered or MIS-REPRESENTED.Why not use already identified alternate sites where the transit systems and parking garages and other existing infrastructure is located where most of the campus activity is at the center of campus. No one is against the need for bldg. It's in the wrong place!
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