"The Berkeley City Council voted to raise the number of citizen signatures needed to start the landmarking process from 50 to 200, driven by concerns that the process has been used as a tool to block or slow down new development."
"Local preservationists and the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission argued the change goes too far, and risks shutting down citizen participation in the landmarking process."
"The LPC acknowledges the council's concerns regarding staff workload and the potential for the current low threshold to cause project delays and uncertainty, but they added that a much higher threshold is onerous."
The Berkeley City Council has increased the number of signatures required for a property to be considered for landmark status from 50 to 200. This decision was influenced by concerns that the landmarking process was being misused to obstruct new housing developments. Preservationists argue that this change undermines citizen involvement in the landmarking process. Additionally, the council has prohibited city staff from processing landmark applications for properties with pending housing plans for five years. The Landmarks Preservation Commission expressed that the new threshold could hinder public participation in preserving local heritage.
Read at www.berkeleyside.org
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