Greetings everyone in the SAVE THE UA BERKELEY community -- 

Last week we wrote to you about writing to the city of Berkeley because it appears on the verge of granting a sweetheart deal to the developer that would circumvent CEQA review and accelerate the path to demolishing this beautiful and irreplaceable art deco theater in downtown Berkeley. 

Many of you have sent letters in the past week -- the response has been truly incredible! 

But we need to keep up the PRESSURE and we now have a much easier way to send a letter. It will take only seconds:

--Click on the link below to our revised Take Action page, see item #1. 

--All you have to do is click on sign the letter now to open up the form letter; plug in your name and email address and hit "Sign now."

HERE'S THE LINK: https://www.savetheuaberkeley.org/take-action/

--This will send the letter to city planning staff as well as to the Zoning Adjustments Board and the City Council. 

--This letter can be edited. Feel free to keep it the same or shorten it or whatever.

--No changes necessary except if you are from Berkeley -- please list that detail at the bottom of the letter.

--If you make changes please make sure to emphasize the main point: The city must not grant a CEQA exemption to the developer that wants to demolish the UA theater at 2274 Shattuck Ave.

HERE'S THE LINK AGAIN: https://www.savetheuaberkeley.org/take-action/

--There is arguably a downside to this auto-send method -- these types of emails tend to land in Spam folders. Nevertheless, it's absolutely worth five seconds of your time.

--We need to put as much PRESSURE on the city as possible at this moment. Please share the link with any friends/family/neighbors who might be interested. 

The city has told us that it has not yet finalized a decision on whether to grant the CEQA exemption to the developer. It is either about to finalize its decision, by Monday or so, or it's going to get a 90-day extension. Per usual staffers aren't being clear on what's happening. 

So let's MAKE AS MUCH NOISE AS POSSIBLE for the time being.

https://www.savetheuaberkeley.org/take-action/

Also, please take a moment to see the other items on the Take Action page and peruse other parts of our website: www.savetheuaberkeley.org.

Thanks again!!! Let's keep fighting. 

SAVE THE UA BERKELEY
www.facebook.com/groups/saveourua/

P.S.: 

Here's last week's message if you need to more info on what's happening and why it matters: 

We need you to send a QUICK EMAIL to the city of Berkeley planning department because the city appears on the verge of granting the developer a sweetheart deal that circumvents a fundamental part of the planning process — CEQA review.

If city staff grants this deal to the developer, the theater is much more likely to be demolished. That's why we need EVERY ONE OF YOU to send an email as soon as possible. We need to MAKE SOME NOISE to make sure the city doesn't do an end-run around the public participation process. The email can be quick and simple. See below for further instruction and email text to guide you. 

But first here's the background:

Because the UA Berkeley is on the state historic registry (not to mention National Register-eligible and now a city landmark), it is without a doubt considered a historical and cultural resource under state law. This means the proposal to demolish the theater is supposed to undergo an extensive review process under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). (In fact, the city told the developer as such in a letter in January.) The CEQA review process would involve expert evaluation of the historic structure under threat, a comment period allowing people to weigh in, and possibly a CEQA meeting for the public to attend.

But the developer is demanding that the city grant it a blanket exemption from this whole process, giving the city a deadline just two weeks from now to decide.

We must urge the planning department to NOT grant this exemption. It would be highly unethical for the city to deny the public this legitimate legal process.

Despite the raft of new pro housing legislation, CEQA is still in effect. The city must follow the law and not give unfair breaks to developers. This magnificent historic theater and the public deserve nothing less.

All you need to do is send ONE email to these email addresses:

    sgong@berkeleyca.gov

    planning@berkeleyca.gov

    jklein@cityofberkeley.info

   zab@berkeleyca.gov 

   council@berkeleyca.gov 

And cc us if you can — savetheuaberkeley@gmail.com

It can be short. It doesn’t matter if you’ve written to the city before. It doesn’t matter if you live in Berkeley or not — but if you live in Berkeley, please say so.

The main point is: the development proposal for 2274 Shattuck Ave. must undergo CEQA review, no exemption for the developer!