BERKELEY, CA - A few days after the new year, several police from different police departments cleared out the activists and unhoused campers occupying the town's historic People's Park so that the approved construction of a large housing complex for the University of California (UC), Berkeley's students could begin.
According to UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof, the operation, which took place in the middle of the night, included police from around the University of California and California State University systems as well as from the California Highway Patrol, Almadea County and San Francisco City County sheriffs.
By morning, the park was walled off with shipping containers and surrounded by the police. The clear-out was arranged over winter break when most of the students were away and off campus. In the early morning hours of Wednesday, January 3rd, officers approached a treehouse that was occupied by activists and used a chainsaw to dismantle its connection to a community kitchen structure.
Construction workers dismantled tents, cut down trees around the perimeter of the park and eventually were able to push out most of the protesters. The last holdouts in the treehouse eventually left voluntarily, accepting a condition from the police that they would not be arrested.
According to the university, their $312 million plan to build student housing where People's Park is located has been repeatedly delayed due to legal disputes. Seven protesters were arrested for trespassing. All of them were cited and released. In a news release posted after the clear-out, the university said that in clearing the park they were "enforcing its legal right to close the construction zone."
However, the university also acknowledged that it cannot actually begin its construction until the California supreme court settles the legal challenges. According to reports, a state appellate court found that the university had "failed to adequately conduct environmental reviews of its construction" and had "failed to fully consider alternative locations for housing."
The university chancellor, Carol Christ, said in a statement, "The existing legal issues will inevitably be resolved, so we are taking this necessary step now to minimize the possibilities of conflict and confrontation, and of disruption for the public and our students, when we cleared to resume construction."
Christ added, "Unfortunately, our planning and actions must take into account that some of the project's opponents have previously resorted to violence and vandalism." Mogulof said that until the construction can begin, the barrier wall is designed to "keep people out of the park." In addition, a small number of security personnel will be posted there until the end of the construction.
Back in summer of 2022, prior to the legal challenges, the university tried to fence off the park and begin its construction, but they were blocked by protesters.
One of the main reasons UC Berkeley is pushing to build 1,100 units for student housing and an additional 125 units of supportive housing for the unhoused gained momentum amid criticisms that public universities have not been providing enough affordable housing for their students. UC Berkeley currently only provides enough housing for 23 percent of its students.
Opponents of the project said that the university should have studied alternative sites for construction that would not involve the clearing of a historic park. The university contends that its new construction plans would honor the historic nature of the park, while also trying to resolve homelessness and crime.
According to UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof, the operation, which took place in the middle of the night, included police from around the University of California and California State University systems as well as from the California Highway Patrol, Almadea County and San Francisco City County sheriffs.
By morning, the park was walled off with shipping containers and surrounded by the police. The clear-out was arranged over winter break when most of the students were away and off campus. In the early morning hours of Wednesday, January 3rd, officers approached a treehouse that was occupied by activists and used a chainsaw to dismantle its connection to a community kitchen structure.
Construction workers dismantled tents, cut down trees around the perimeter of the park and eventually were able to push out most of the protesters. The last holdouts in the treehouse eventually left voluntarily, accepting a condition from the police that they would not be arrested.
According to the university, their $312 million plan to build student housing where People's Park is located has been repeatedly delayed due to legal disputes. Seven protesters were arrested for trespassing. All of them were cited and released. In a news release posted after the clear-out, the university said that in clearing the park they were "enforcing its legal right to close the construction zone."
However, the university also acknowledged that it cannot actually begin its construction until the California supreme court settles the legal challenges. According to reports, a state appellate court found that the university had "failed to adequately conduct environmental reviews of its construction" and had "failed to fully consider alternative locations for housing."
The university chancellor, Carol Christ, said in a statement, "The existing legal issues will inevitably be resolved, so we are taking this necessary step now to minimize the possibilities of conflict and confrontation, and of disruption for the public and our students, when we cleared to resume construction."
Christ added, "Unfortunately, our planning and actions must take into account that some of the project's opponents have previously resorted to violence and vandalism." Mogulof said that until the construction can begin, the barrier wall is designed to "keep people out of the park." In addition, a small number of security personnel will be posted there until the end of the construction.
Back in summer of 2022, prior to the legal challenges, the university tried to fence off the park and begin its construction, but they were blocked by protesters.
One of the main reasons UC Berkeley is pushing to build 1,100 units for student housing and an additional 125 units of supportive housing for the unhoused gained momentum amid criticisms that public universities have not been providing enough affordable housing for their students. UC Berkeley currently only provides enough housing for 23 percent of its students.
Opponents of the project said that the university should have studied alternative sites for construction that would not involve the clearing of a historic park. The university contends that its new construction plans would honor the historic nature of the park, while also trying to resolve homelessness and crime.
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