SAN FRANCISCO (AP) 鈥 People鈥檚 Park in Berkeley, which since the Vietnam War has been a site for protests and counterculture movements, can be converted into student housing for the University of California, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday, capping a yearslong legal fight over the landmark.
The court ruled that a new law enacted in 2023 invalidates the claims by two local organizations that sued the school, saying more students living in downtown Berkeley would add noise pollution to an already dense area.
Because of the new law, which "all parties have effectively acknowledged, this lawsuit poses no obstacle to the development of the People鈥檚 Park housing project,鈥 Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero wrote in the unanimous decision.
California is desperate for more housing of all types, including for students at its public universities and colleges. Some , crash on friends鈥 couches, or commute hours to attend class due to limited space in dorms and nearby apartments.
The court noted that Berkeley provides housing to the lowest percentage of students compared to other schools in the UC system. During the 2023-2024 academic year, UC Berkeley housed 9,905 students, about 22% of the university鈥檚 45,699 enrolled students, UC Berkeley spokesperson Kyle Gibson said in an email.
UC Berkeley plans to build a for about 1,100 of its students at the nearly 3-acre (1.2-hectare) People鈥檚 Park, which it owns. Protests have at times escalated into skirmishes between police and activists.
In 2022, activists (2-meter) chain fence erected around the park as crews began clearing trees to make room for the housing project. In January, police officers in riot gear removed activists from the park as crews began walling off the site with .
The park as part of the era鈥檚 free speech and Civil Rights Movement and for decades served as a gathering space for free meals, community gardening and art projects, and was used by homeless people. It turned into both a symbol of resistance and mayhem during a that year known as 鈥淏loody Thursday,鈥 emboldening then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan to send in 3,000 好色tv Guardsmen for a two-week occupation that evoked images of war in a city that was clamoring for peace in Vietnam.
The university is relieved by the court's decision and it will turn its attention to resuming construction at the site, Gibson said.
鈥淥ur students and unhoused people desperately need the housing components of the project, 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,鈥 Gibson said in a statement.
Make UC a Good Neighbor and The People鈥檚 Park Historic District Advocacy Group filed a lawsuit against the project, saying that the university system should have considered increased noise under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. They also said there are more appropriate places the university could build, and the park is a rare green space in one of Berkeley鈥檚 densest neighborhoods.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom to amend the law after a state appeals court last year ruled against the University of California, saying that it failed to assess the impact of potential noise 鈥渇rom loud student parties鈥 on residential neighborhoods.
In September, Newsom signed a law that amended CEQA to clarify that housing projects do not need to study the noise generated by prospective future residents.
Harvey Smith, president of the People鈥檚 Park Historic District Advocacy Group and one of the plaintiffs, said the decision was disappointing but not surprising.
鈥淚t's disappointing because community groups play by the rules and when we win what UC does is go to the Legislature to change the rules,鈥 Smith said.
鈥淐ommunity groups don't have the deep pockets or powerful connections UC does,鈥 he added.
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Associated Press Janie Har in San Francisco contributed to this report.
