Preservationists Win Round in Downtown Plan Debate

by Berkeley Daily Planet (reposted)

Tue, Jun 26, 2007 9:01AM

Tuesday, June 26, 2007 : The ongoing tensions among factions in the struggle over the Berkeley's evolving landscape surfaced again last week in a joint meeting of two city panels, but the meeting ended in a lopsided 17-2 vote supporting a proposed chapter spelling out the role to be played by historic preservation in Berkeley's future downtown for the new plan.

It had been drafted by a joint subcommitee composed of members of Berkeley' Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) and of the Downtown Area Plan Commission (DAPAC). Members of the full DAPAC then met with the full LPC to discuss the proposal.

At issue was the role Berkeley's historic buildings will play in a city center coveted by developers, city staff and Mayor Tom Bates as a site for intensified development of apartments and transfer-tax-generating condos.

Chaired by the LPC's Jill Korte, the joint subcommittee has prepared a 14-page draft Historic Preservation and Urban Design chapter for the new Downtown Area Plan which DAPAC has been crafting for the last 19 months.

While the chapter has been approved unanimously by the joint subcommittee, it faced tougher scrutiny before the full DAPAC, which has a fast-approaching deadline of completing its mandate by the end of November.

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