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The UC's Gill Tract Doomed for Development, Just Not "Immediately" University Assures Us
The UC admits that their master plan calls for commercial development and the termination of any sort of farming on the land it controls in Albany, but in a disingenuous press release circulated yesterday the UC tries to have it both ways by assuring us that there are no "immediate plans to pursue building" on the Gill Tract. And while the UC included an illustrated aerial view of the area with their press release (first photo below), emphasizing that the bad, bad Occupy the Farm criminals are disrupting valuable agricultural research, the UC deliberately did not include an image that shows that, well, the research isn't really so important after all because their master plan for the land includes no farmland whatsoever (second photo below). Anyone who bothers to scratch below the surface of the UC press release and actually read UC's master plan can see that the UC has already developed most of the land it controls in Albany and intends to develop it even further. The current plan for the Gill Tract is to make it a baseball field and some sort of undefined "open space" -- neither of which includes farming, for the community or even research. Once the land is gone for farming, it's gone, and the clock toward that day is ticking.
UC's press release:
Illegal occupation of Albany open space infringes on research
By Public Affairs, UC Berkeley | April 23, 2012
BERKELEY —
A group of about 200 people broke into a lot near UC Berkeley’s University Village to, as they put it, “Occupy the Farm to Take Back the Gill Tract.” After illegally cutting the gate locks yesterday, the group entered the Albany site, roto-tilled part of the ground, planted seedlings and set up a small tent encampment, which it continues to occupy.
According to the 2004 Master Plan for the University Village area, site plans called for a little-league field and open space on the Gill Tract. These plans have been on hold for a number of years while the university uses the field for agricultural research. There are no immediate plans to pursue building on this site, according to the university.
“The Gill Tract is used for agricultural research by faculty and students of UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources, which was just a month away from using the space for this season’s research,” said J. Keith Gilless, dean of UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources. “We were just waiting to do our tilling till the soil moisture conditions were right.”
The college uses the area for a number of research projects focused on basic plant biology, alternative cropping systems, plant-insect interactions and tree pests and pathogens.
“I am very supportive of urban agriculture as it contributes to food access and security, nutrition, and environmental education, but the research we have been doing at the site supports agriculture as well,” said Gilless.
The protesters are in violation of campus policy and state law. If the occupation continues, “those policies and laws will be enforced when we determine it can be done safely and effectively,” said Claire Holmes, university spokesperson. “There is also concern that the lack of appropriate sanitation will result in contamination of the site with human waste.”
Both the Gill Tract and the proposed mixed-use development are adjacent to University Village, a housing complex for UC scholars and their families. UC plans to replace outmoded Village housing units with modern units. Supported in part by revenue from the mixed-use development, low-income students and their families at the Village would see their rents reduced as part of a commitment extended by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau.
A proposed commercial development for university-owned property south of the Gill Tract, along San Pablo Avenue, awaits approval from the Albany city council and planning commission. The project would include a senior-housing facility with independent-living residential apartments, assisted living units and memory-care services.
Related information:
The 2004 University Village Master plan (PDF)
Frequently asked questions on the University Village plan (PDF)
City of Albany University-Village Mixed-Use Retail website
http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/23/illegal-occupation-of-albany-open-space-infringes-on-research/
Illegal occupation of Albany open space infringes on research
By Public Affairs, UC Berkeley | April 23, 2012
BERKELEY —
A group of about 200 people broke into a lot near UC Berkeley’s University Village to, as they put it, “Occupy the Farm to Take Back the Gill Tract.” After illegally cutting the gate locks yesterday, the group entered the Albany site, roto-tilled part of the ground, planted seedlings and set up a small tent encampment, which it continues to occupy.
According to the 2004 Master Plan for the University Village area, site plans called for a little-league field and open space on the Gill Tract. These plans have been on hold for a number of years while the university uses the field for agricultural research. There are no immediate plans to pursue building on this site, according to the university.
“The Gill Tract is used for agricultural research by faculty and students of UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources, which was just a month away from using the space for this season’s research,” said J. Keith Gilless, dean of UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources. “We were just waiting to do our tilling till the soil moisture conditions were right.”
The college uses the area for a number of research projects focused on basic plant biology, alternative cropping systems, plant-insect interactions and tree pests and pathogens.
“I am very supportive of urban agriculture as it contributes to food access and security, nutrition, and environmental education, but the research we have been doing at the site supports agriculture as well,” said Gilless.
The protesters are in violation of campus policy and state law. If the occupation continues, “those policies and laws will be enforced when we determine it can be done safely and effectively,” said Claire Holmes, university spokesperson. “There is also concern that the lack of appropriate sanitation will result in contamination of the site with human waste.”
Both the Gill Tract and the proposed mixed-use development are adjacent to University Village, a housing complex for UC scholars and their families. UC plans to replace outmoded Village housing units with modern units. Supported in part by revenue from the mixed-use development, low-income students and their families at the Village would see their rents reduced as part of a commitment extended by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau.
A proposed commercial development for university-owned property south of the Gill Tract, along San Pablo Avenue, awaits approval from the Albany city council and planning commission. The project would include a senior-housing facility with independent-living residential apartments, assisted living units and memory-care services.
Related information:
The 2004 University Village Master plan (PDF)
Frequently asked questions on the University Village plan (PDF)
City of Albany University-Village Mixed-Use Retail website
http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/23/illegal-occupation-of-albany-open-space-infringes-on-research/
For more information:
http://www.takebackthetract.com
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UC Berkkkeley is playing their usual PR game and waiting for the students to break for summer. The UC's interesting named the "Master plan" is calling for development of both the farm as stated but also 600,000 dollars to develop "improvements" to Peoples (Muwekma) park. The UCB always uses the winter break, spring or the summer breaks to do their unpopular developments which 9 times out of ten means an attack of our local environment. We the tree people advise tree-sits to defend through the summertime.
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