BLUE’s letter to the Mayor

Re: UC’s 2020 LRDP

6 May 2005

Dear Mayor:

In January we all came together to stand up against the damaging impacts of the University’s 2020 LRDP. At that time, BLUE supported you and the Council in your decision to sue the University for the very real CEQA violations in their final EIR.

We want to remind you that this support was contingent upon you not settling for only financial mitigations from the University, even if those mitigations were substantial. You and the City emphasized several times publicly that quality of life issues were important to the City and would be included. Under CEQA, the City should receive significant mitigations of many kinds for the many kinds of LRDP impacts.

We further emphasize that you made public promises to have open community discussions of any negotiated agreement with the university before decisions are made by the City. We expect you, as our mayor and representative, to honor this promise. BLUE thinks that any final decision should follow six to eight weeks of public debate, during which Berkeleyans can express themselves through the press, contact Council members, and participate in public hearings and forums on an agreement that will forever change the physical, social, and fiscal face of Berkeley.

We continue to look to you for leadership on this issue. We hope that you view this as an opportunity to protect the quality of life of current and future Berkeley citizens, not just as an occasion to patch up the City’s budget.

Thank you,

Carl Friberg
on behalf of BLUE,
Berkeleyans for a Livable University Environment

cc: City Clerk, City Council, City Manager, City Attorney, Planning Director, Transportation Director

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