The Judge Has Now Been Told (of the settlement)

 Update on our recent post:* The City of Berkeley seems to have dropped its objection to UC-Berkeley's expansion in students and construction - for money. So now, the judge has been told:

From the San Francisco Chronicle: The city of Berkeley is dropping its objections to a University of California construction project on the northeast edge of campus and to continued increases in UC Berkeley enrollment in exchange for $82.64 million over the next 16 years to cover the city’s added costs in police and fire safety and other services. 

In the settlement, Berkeley also agreed to withdraw lawsuits over the university’s plans for student housing at People’s Park and the 750-bed Anchor House project on the northwest side of campus, to a beach volleyball facility for women at the Clark Kerr campus, six blocks southeast of the main campus, and to UC’s long-range development plan that projects 48,200 students by 2036, an increase of more than 5,000. In addition to the payments, the city said, the university agreed to improve streets and provide other services for residents within a half-mile of the construction project at Hearst and La Loma avenues, to comply with city zoning standards and to engage in “collaborative planning” for future projects in the city.

The text of the settlement will not be disclosed publicly until the UC Board of Regents votes on final approval July 22. Berkeley’s City Council approved the agreement in a closed-door session Tuesday night and has not disclosed how council members voted. The agreement “will enable the city to continue to provide quality city services and maintain the character of its neighborhoods while extending UC’s renowned education to the next generation of students,” Mayor Jesse Arreguin said in a statement. UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ said the settlement would provide housing that students need while promoting cooperation with the city.

But the settlement is not binding on neighborhood groups that have filed their own suits over UC construction plans and enrollment increases. “We’re not dropping our opposition,” said Arlene Silk, a leader of a community group called Berkeley Citizens for a Better Plan. Noting that Berkeley has estimated its costs from university projects at $21 million a year, four times the amount of the settlement, Silk said, “UC has bought off one antagonist cheaply but it won’t be able to buy off all of them.” ...

Full story at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Berkeley-drops-objections-to-UC-construction-16315426.php

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*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2021/07/they-forgot-to-tell-judge.html