San Francisco Chronicle: UC asks judge to lift injunction on building

Carolyn Jones

A judge will consider whether to allow construction at UC Berkeley's Memorial Stadium oak grove after university attorneys on Tuesday asked that the 17-month-old order be lifted to allow them to begin building a $140 million athletic training center.  Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara Miller set a hearing on the matter for July 17. Her order has prevented UC from building the center until lawsuits aimed at blocking the project are resolved.  The move comes two weeks after Miller, ruling on lawsuits by the city of Berkeley, the Panoramic Hill Association and advocates for protesters who have been sitting in the stadium grove for more than 18 months, said UC's plan mostly complies with state earthquake-safety laws. Both sides have responded to the ruling, and Miller is expected to issue a final judgment sometime after July 17. Campus spokesman Dan Mogulof said the injunction should be lifted because the university has satisfied all the safety issues and is bearing a severe economic hardship because of the delays.

The price tag for the project has increased about $15 million as a result of rising construction costs, he said, and the university has spent about $350,000 on security around the grove as a result of the protest. Plaintiffs want the injunction to stay in place indefinitely.  "Unless and until the university approves a lawful project, the injunction should remain in place," said Stephan Volker, who represents the tree-sitters. Meanwhile, the Berkeley City Council voted in closed session Monday night to send a letter to the university asking that a clergy member immediately be dispatched to provide food to the tree-sitters. "The Berkeley City Council expresses our deep concern about the health and well-being of the young people in the trees and the lack of adequate sustenance being provided to them," the council wrote. The university has provided bottled water and energy bars to the tree-sitters in recent days after severing their support lines.