Legal Actions & Developments

Legal action taken against the Long Range Development Plan
Legal action against this plan was taken by Jones et al. v. Regents of the University of California, Case No. RG07341224 (Alameda County Superior Court) challenging the adequacy of the plan's 2006 Environmental Impact Report. This complaint was filed with the court in August, 2007.

The judge ruled in the plaintiffs' favor on one issue and ordered the Lab to recirculate the plan's Climate Change Analysis. A summary of the case may be seen by entering the case number (RG07341224) at the court's website .

Judge's decision appealed
Afterwards, the Regents appealed the decision in objection to the order to recirculate any part of the environmental review document. The Plaintiffs have also appealed the decision in response to the judge's decision that the Environmental Impact Report's study of alternative sites was adequate. The appeal was heard on Feb. 23, 2010 in the California Court of Appeals 1st District. Our brief summary of the appeal can be read here .

Appeals Court reverses the decision
On March 12, 2010, the California Court of Appeals reversed the previous Alameda Superior Court judgement described above. From the Court of Appeals website:

The judgment is reversed and the trial court is instructed to enter, consistent with this opinion, a new and different judgment denying plaintiffs' petition for writ of mandate. The Regents are entitled to recover their costs on appeal.

A PDF copy of the Opinion is available here. We'll post more information here as it becomes available.

University geologist informs Regents of danger of new construction
On May 11, 2008, Dr. Garniss Curtis, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at UC Berkeley, sent a Letter to the UC Regents explaining the unstable geological conditions of the hills to the east of the campus and strongly recommended that "Major buildings of any kind should not be constructed in either of these canyons bordering this huge block of unstable rock."

The Computational Reseach and Theory (CRT) Facility is challenged
The first of these post-LRDP projects was the Computational Research and Theory (CRT) Facility — a 140,000 gross square foot structure located in Blackberry Canyon, which is drained by the North Fork of Strawberry Creek. Save Strawberry Canyon challenged the legal adequacy of the Environmental Impact Report but ultimately withdrew the complaint and instead filed a legal challenge at the federal level, since LBNL is a national laboratory existing as a result of a contract between the Department of Energy and the University of California.

CRT construction temporarily halted by Federal Court
Save Strawberry Canyon filed in the U.S. Federal District Court for the Regents' alleged failure to comply with the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). The judge ordered a preliminary injuction halting construction until a trial could be held. A SF Chronicle article in March, 2009 described this decision. A Berkeley Daily Planet article in July, 2009 described the issues involved.

CRT construction halted pending environmental review
On August 17, 2009 Judge William Alsup, U.S. District Court for Northern District of California, issued his final judgement, officially halting construction on the CRT pending a Federal environmental review (NEPA). The court order is available in pdf format here. A Berkeley Daily Planet article describes the judgment. In December, 2009, LBNL issued a notice for the environmental review in question.

Helios building planned for unstable site
Next came the Helios Energy Research Facility. Prominently located in Strawberry Canyon, the proposed site for the 160,000 gross square foot seven-story building was in a recognized landslide area. Despite knowing of a "significant lens of colluvial material [area of unstable soil] underneath the building footprint," the Regents intially approved the Environmental Impact Report on the project. The controversial solution to the problem of the underlying unstable soil was to "remove this material and replace it with an engineered backfill." The Helios building project also included constructing an access road from Centennial Drive and a 250-seat auditorium. The project would have destroyed 150 mature, native trees.

Helios Environmental Impact Report is challenged
Save Strawberry Canyon challenged the legal adequacy of the Helios Environmental Impact Report (EIR), alleging that the project would cause substantial harm to wildlife habitat, extraordinary scenery, and sensitive watershed resources, and the the EIR failed to consider alternative locations in less environmentally sensitive areas. The lawsuit sought a court order to set the Helios project aside on the grounds that the Regents' approval of the EIR violated not only the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) but also violated regulations in the Fish and Game Code and the Clean Water Act.

A map showing the original and relocated Helios sites and the areas that would be disturbed by each. Click on the image for a larger version — Creegan & D'angelo Infrastructure Engineers, 2008.

Regents try to relocate Helios
After the mandatory Court settlement conference, but before going to trial, the Regents decertified the Helios Environmental Impact Report. LBNL then relocated the project, but in the same vicinity, and redesigned the building with fewer stories.

This second version of Helios spread out on the landscape with a larger footprint and encroached further into the valley floor (see map to right). It was to be located in the Chicken Creek sub basin, one of the two main tributaries of Strawberry Creek. The project also added an access road off Centennial Drive. A January 13, 2009 article in the Berkeley Daily Planet described the controversy greeting this new Helios plan.

Another relocation of Helios
On August 3, 2009 UC Chancellor Birgeneau announced a decision to relocate part of Helios out of Strawberry Canyon and to divide it into two projects:   "Helios West" for a downtown Berkeley location at the state public health building site, and a smaller "Helios East" at an unspecified LBNL hill site to be announced later. The revised plans for the downtown location were approved by the Regents on Jan. 20, 2010.

An Alternative Site?
An alternative to constructing new buildings, roads, and parking lots in the environmentally-sensitive and geologically-unstable Strawberry Canyon area would be to use other sites. One such possibility is the Richmond Field Station.

Save Strawberry Canyon will continue to oppose dangerous development

If the Long Range Development Plan proceeds unaltered, other projects will also be built in Strawberry Canyon. With your support, Save Strawberry Canyon will continue its efforts to ensure that future development in the canyon does not endanger the natural environment, the cultural legacy of the area, or the lives of those who live and work in its surroundings.