Dive Brief:

• The California Supreme Court ruled last week in favor of the University of California, Berkeley, in a lawsuit filed to halt the construction of new student housing by UC Berkeley at the People’s Park site in Berkeley, California, reversing the decision of a lower appellate court.
• Among the main claims of the suit, brought by local advocacy organizations Make UC a Good Neighbor and the People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group, was that the project would lead to an increase in “student-generated noise” in the area, particularly from pedestrians and house parties. The suit goes on to claim that the project’s environmental impact report is faulty because it failed to consider resident noise, according to court records.
• Shortly after the Supreme Court granted review of the lawsuit, the California State Assembly passed AB 1307, drafted in response to this case, in September 2023, codifying that noise generated by residents was not considered “a significant impact on the environment” for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act. This law reversed the precedent set by the appellate court’s initial decision in favor of the plaintiffs.

Dive Insight:

After the passage of AB 1307, the plaintiffs maintained their case, claiming that the upcoming development at People’s Park could not be considered a “residential project” within the definition provided by the new law. 

However, in the unanimous opinion, Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero wrote that this claim did not have merit. 

“We hold that the new law applies to both the People’s Park housing project and the development plan, and the EIR is not inadequate for having failed to study the potential noisiness of future students at UC Berkeley in connection with this project,” Guerrero said. “In short, as all parties have effectively acknowledged, this lawsuit poses no obstacle to the development of the People’s Park housing project.”

UC Berkeley intends to develop a timeline within the next few weeks for resuming construction, and will share updates on the property’s website when they are available, according to a statement from the school. The development plan calls for over 1,100 new student beds, 125 supportive housing units and landscaped green spaces between and around the buildings. 

“We are pleased and relieved that the Supreme Court’s decision enables the campus to resume construction at People’s Park,” the statement reads. “The housing components of the project are desperately needed by our students and unhoused people, and the entire community will benefit from the fact that more than 60% of the 2.8-acre site will be revitalized as open park space.”

The People’s Park land, originally purchased by UC Berkeley for housing in 1967, was left vacant and repurposed as a park and gathering space by locals. It was named a cultural and historic landmark by the city of Berkeley in 1984.

A high-profile protest against the People’s Park development resulted in multiple arrests and $1.5 million in damages to construction equipment in August 2022. The site is currently closed off to the public by stacks of shipping containers, which were installed in January.