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On April 20, 2021, the First District Court of Appeal filed its first published opinion interpreting California Senate Bill 35’s streamlining provisions in
Ruegg & Ellsworth v. City of Berkeley. The Court held that the City of Berkeley erred in finding a mixed-use development project ineligible for SB 35 streamlining. Because the project met the essential qualifications under SB 35, the First District commanded the trial court to issue a writ of mandate directing the City to approve the project without further environmental review. This marks the first published decision to enforce the State’s new affordable housing laws and is a harbinger of battles to come.
V.P. Harris home may not get Berkeley historic landmark designation
By Keith Burbank
Kamala Harris as a young girl.
BERKELEY, Calif. - An application will not be filed to make U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris childhood home in Berkeley a historic landmark, the man working on the application said Wednesday.
Steven Finacom, a member of Berkeley s Landmarks Preservation Commission, heard from the property owners Tuesday who are concerned greater attention to the home will disrupt the lives of neighbors.
Finacom said the property owners are part of a family that has been in Berkeley for a long time, and he thinks they place a high value on the connections they have with their neighbors.
Berkeley does not require owner support for landmark designations, but in this case, and given the tumultuous times, I m happy to honor the request of the owners and will not pursue submitting the landmark application, Finacom wrote in an email.
Last Friday, City Councilmember Kate Harrison announced a resolution she said the council would consider Tuesday related to the landmarking of Harris s home.
The resolution aimed to clarify that homes like Harris s are eligible for historic landmark status. But Harrison said earlier this week she was withdrawing the resolution after receiving clarification from city staff.
Harris was born in Oakland but spent most of her childhood in Berkeley. She was part of the city s first voluntary school integration process, according to Harrison s office.
On Tuesday, Berkeley councilmembers will consider a resolution that would move toward making a sun-washed yellow, two-story duplex on Bancroft Way a historic landmark; the house, in question, was where our current vice president grew up.