Berkeley Sues University Over Expansion Plan

The city of Berkeley, Calif., sued the University of California, Berkeley on Wednesday in an attempt to block a controversial university expansion plan.

 The lawsuit, which was filed in Alameda County Superior Court, argues that the final environmental impact report for the expansion plan is legally inadequate, a contention that the university denies. 



 The report is part of the university's 2020 Long Range Development Plan, which was approved by a Board of Regents committee Jan. 19. The city threatened to sue after the approval. The suit names the regents and university as defendants. 



 Among its complaints, the city contends that the development plan lacks specific details about the actual projects including when they would be built.. 



 The city also contends that the university intends to exempt projects under the plan from any "real environmental evaluation" and that the report inadequately assessed the expansion's environmental impact. 



 The development plan calls for an additional 2.2 million square feet of academic and research facilities to be built over the next 15 years. 



 Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates said that for nearly two years the city sought to resolve traffic, air quality and infrastructure concerns through discussions, but that the university failed to address the city's concerns. 



 "We really feel the university needs to plan with us and not just announce programs," Bates said. 



 Bates said he fears that the expansion would increase automobile congestion in the city. 



 "I'm a proud alum from the UC Berkeley ... and I'm not opposed to expansion," Bates said. "I'm just opposed to the way it's being handled now." 



 Janet Gilmore, a university spokeswoman, said the plan would meet all requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act. 



 Gilmore added that it would be impossible to put everything in the environmental impact report because of the length of the expansion, which could change over time to meet unexpected needs.