Noise Complaints Raise Tensions in South Campus Neighborhood By RICHARD BRENNEMAN If, as the poet Robert Frost once wrote with a touch of irony, “good fences makes good neighbors,” the Berkeley corollary is clearly, “loud parties don’t.” If you crowd a handful or two bright young students into one-bedroom off-campus apartments, parties are pretty much a given—as are the complaints of the more sedate “civilians” who live nearby Witness the case of the residents of Hillegass Avenue who showed up at last week’s meeting of the Zoning Adjustments Board to raise a ruckus of their own about a landlord who rents primarily to UC Berkeley students Neighbors vs landlord David Meyers came to the board from his home in Dublin requesting a use permit that would allow him to add three new apartments to the building he owns at 2538 Hillegass Ave What followed offered a glimpse at long familiar town/gown rifts in a neighborhood that’s seen plenty of them—so much so that the university has launched a special program this year to ease student/neighbor conflicts there Off and Running at Berkeley High By J DOUGLAS ALLENTAYLOR Citizens File Suit Seeking To Overturn UC-City Pact By J DOUGLAS ALLENTAYLOR Berkeley Emergency, Medical Workers Rush to Aid Hurricane Katrina Victims By RICHARD BRENNEMAN County Will Seek Instant Runoff Voting Machines By RICHARD BRENNEMAN Editorial: The Bad News, Some Good News, and Poor Excuses By BECKY O'MALLEY George Beier was the first to offer opposition, speaking on behalf of the 300 members of the Willard Neighborhood Association (WNA), one of the areas most impacted by off-campus student Union to Announce housing Hospital Strike Deadline By RICHARD BRENNEMAN The WNA district is bounded by Dwight Way on the north, Ashby Avenue on the south and College Avenue on the east and Telegraph Avenue on the West, and includes one of the most Turmoil In Oakland troubled—many would say notorious—student housing properties School for the Arts, Parents Say By J Meyers’ building is located on Hillegass a few doors south of People’s Park, and directly across DOUGLAS ALLENthe street from the late and often noisy Le Chateau, which was closed to undergraduate TAYLOR students this year following lawsuits by angry neighbors Editorial Cartoon By That three-building complex, owned by the University Students Cooperative Association, housed JUSTIN DEFREITAS 85 undergraduates before a judge awarded neighbors $63,230 in damages As Meyers explained it to ZAB members, “I don’t think conditions should be put upon me because of what they see as problems with other houses in the neighborhood.” But there’s another property in the neighborhood that’s also problematic, and that is one that Meyers does own at 2609 Hillegass, where complaints of loud parties resulted in a city “second response” warning last March—which meant that the landlord must post a prominent notice warning that any further calls to the house will result in escalating fines Letters to the Editor Column: The Public Eye: The Difference Between Getting it Right and Getting it Done By BOB BURNETT Column: Undercurrents: What irked neighbor Randy Fish, who has lived across the street from 2609 for the last 20 years, Media Reports Muddle Questions on was Meyers’ response when he called him to complain about a noisy party that had continued Oakland Shooting By into the pre-dawn hours J DOUGLAS ALLENTAYLOR “He said, ‘Just call the cops Don’t call me,’” Fish said, a point Meyers conceded Police Blotter By RICHARD But, Meyers said, “I’ve worked real hard on 2609 and there’ve been no calls since March It BRENNEMAN takes me a few months to get rid of problem tenants.” “What you with other property indicates what might happen with this building,” said ZAB member David Blake When asked by ZAB member Rick Judd, Meyers said he owned 35 units in Berkeley “Often we can require that there can be specific people to call when there is a problem,” said Judd “We have to have place for the students,” said member Jesse Anthony, “but at the same time, you have to work to make the students behave.” Commentary: Looting New Orleans, and America’s Poverty Crisis By EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON Pacific News Service Commentary: Seeing Through the Fads of City Planning By JANE POWELL Blake said he felt that as the landlord of Berkeley property, Meyers’ action showed that “you don’t want to take responsibility for your tenants in a way that’s appropriate.” Commentary: An Urban Myth By GORDON WOZNIAK Commentary: Listeners Marched to Support KPFA, Not Staff By MARA “I’m sure the applicant knows this is a very organized neighborhood,” said ZAB Chair Andy Katz RIVERA “Behavior of the sort that’s gone on at 2609 won’t be tolerated.” Arts: Patsy Krebs’ Show at GTU Judd also joined the call for a contact person who could handle complaints, and the board voted Explores the to stay a decision on his additions until their next meeting to allow Meyer to address the issue Boundaries By PETER SELZSpecial to the Planet It’s a neighborhood where neighbors are willing to fight, and they’ve succeeded in making a major change in another noisy property Arts Calendar “I agree with Dave’s comment,” said ZAB member Bob Allen “It’s totally inappropriate to say ‘Don’t call me; call the police.’” Pick a Spot — Any Spot — on the Spectacular The university has taken steps this year to ease relationships between students and their Redwood Coast By neighbors, most notably the creation last spring by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau of a town/gown MARTA YAMAMOTO task force that looked into the issue Special to the Planet University targets neighbors Panel chair Associate Chancellor John Cummins said their meetings “achieved remarkable buy-in Berkeley This Week on everybody’s part.” The panel included university and city officials, neighbors and students, and one was the WNA’s own George Beier “The task force represents a true partnership between the university and the community and the neighborhood to make a concerted effort to make things better,” said Jim Hynes, assistant to Berkeley City Manager Phil Kamlarz One result of their meetings was the creation of a “welcome to the neighborhood brochure” that has been distributed to residents of the Willard neighborhood offering tips for good student/neighbor relations and spelling out the relevant city codes and fines that could accrue from bad behavior The task force also helped in winning funds for AlcoholEdu, an online alcohol education program now required of all incoming students The university has also funded two student goodwill ambassadors to the neighborhood Members of the WNA are forming a neighborhood crime watch, and students have been invited to join Students weigh in One student who’s somewhat cynical about the result is Jesse Arreguin, who is perhaps the embodiment of a unique set of town/gown relations fostered by City Councilmember Kris Worthington, whose district includes much of the university and the Telegraph Avenue corridor “I am concerned with the university’s approach to relations between the student and community,” said Arreguin, a man of many titles Besides serving as City Affairs Director for the ASUC—“I’m their lobbyist”— Arreguin serves on the city’s Rent Stabilization Board and as acting chair of the Berkeley Housing Advisory Commission He also has a seat on the university’s Planning and Transportation Committee and on the board of the Telegraph Avenue Association “We make up about 20 percent of the city’s population, but with the exception of Kris Worthington, councilmembers don’t appoint students,” he said Arreguin acknowledged that the Willard neighborhood has had some legitimate concerns about students, “but my sense is that the university is putting the neighbors before its own students.” Arreguin praised the WNA for hosting an upcoming neighborhood yard sale and party on Sept 11 to introduce students to their new neighbors in friendly setting But he said the university’s actions toward its own students complicate the picture However Sharon Han, external affairs vice president for the ASUC, said “We’re very excited about the program We think it’s going to be very beneficial for the campus community.” a Today's News | Classifieds | Search Archives | Contact Us ... putting the neighbors before its own students.” Arreguin praised the WNA for hosting an upcoming neighborhood yard sale and party on Sept 11 to introduce students to their new neighbors in friendly... helped in winning funds for AlcoholEdu, an online alcohol education program now required of all incoming students The university has also funded two student goodwill ambassadors to the neighborhood. .. of the WNA are forming a neighborhood crime watch, and students have been invited to join Students weigh in One student who’s somewhat cynical about the result is Jesse Arreguin, who is perhaps