The state’s highest court dismissed suits filed to stop the university’s plans for People’s Park on environmental grounds.Berkeleyside reported that Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, along with the rest of the judges, ruled that the concerns that construction at the site would generate excessive noise had no merit.
The ruling officially ends three years of legal challenges to the 16-story student housing project, which will see the provide 1,100 student beds.The Berkeley City Council and many Southside community groups have supported the student housing project. Student housing has been at a premium in Berkeley for several years.
According to the U-C’s Board of Regents, Cal currently provides only about 20 percent of student housing, by far the least of any school in the UC system.
However, opponents of the project have long pointed out the rich cultural history of Peoples Park, which stretches back to its founding by community members in 1969, during the heyday of the Free Speech Movement.
The park was listed two years ago on the The National Register of Historic Places, in recognition of its historical and cultural significance.
In January, the university sent in hundreds of police to evict homeless residents and close off the park, erecting razor wire and double-stacked container barricades. The move stirred new protests by those seeking to maintain People’s Park. The university has spent more than $10 million on security at the site.
