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Press
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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mayor Tom Bates For nearly two weeks, I worked with city staff, Ian Faircloth, Panoramic Interests, the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, PG&E, SBC, and many others to try to move the Doyle House from University Avenue to a site on Berkeley Way. I greatly appreciate how this community worked together to try to save the house and I am disappointed that our efforts were not successful. Before I took office, the City Council voted not to protect the Doyle as a historic resource and cleared the way for its removal. Following that decision, some community members and organizations worked to save the house through legal means. The Court dismissed that lawsuit earlier this month. On May 8th, I learned that there was an opportunity to save the house by moving it. However, with construction set to begin, the developer provided only about a week for the City to issue all the required permits before the planned demolition. In just a few days, we were able to overcome a number of serious hurdles. PG&E agreed to expedite their work, City staff worked overtime to process permits, and the community pitched in to raise thousands of dollars. Upon hitting a serious obstacle with the requirements for public notification, I examined the options available to the City Council using its emergency powers to waive permitting and other requirements. There is considerable debate about whether use of emergency powers to override Berkeley’s zoning law would have been legal. (I believe waiving the laws designed to protect this community might set a bad precedent, even if legal.) But, even if we did waive the laws, we still did not have time to meet the developer’s requirements before demolition. With time running out and with no legal authority to stop the demolition, I determined that it did not make sense to call a Special Meeting of the City Council without an extension of the deadline by the developer, Panoramic Interests. No extension was granted and on Friday morning, May 16th, demolition of the Doyle House began with the stripping of the interior of the house. While the outcome was not what we had hoped for, I appreciate the efforts of the community pull together. In the future, I hope we can begin this wonderful community collaboration earlier in the process. # # #
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