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A group of property owners is suing the city claiming the landmarking of the West Berkeley Shellmound was “arbitrary and capricious.” 

Attorneys for the property owners filed a petition with Alameda County Superior Court on Dec. 22 calling for the removal of landmark status of the site which is largely developed and paved over. The petition claims the map of the shellmound was improperly measured and that any artifacts once on the site were removed long ago. 

Each of the plaintiffs, the 620 Hearst Group, White West Properties and Richard and Charlene DeVecchi, own property on the landmarked shellmound site and face possible restrictions by the Landmarks Preservation Commission which would review any application to develop or expand existing structures on the site. 

The designated area is a three block site bounded by University and Hearst avenues, I-880 and Fourth Street and includes 620 Hearst Ave. 

Until 800 A.D. Native American shellmounds were common sights around the Bay. They were usually characterized by large mounds of shells that could be as high as 15 feet. The area immediately around shellmounds were the site of daily routines, such as hunting, fishing and cooking. They were also used as burial grounds. 

Among other allegations, the petition charges that “the vast majority of debris and artifacts making up the original shellmound were stripped away and removed between 1853 and 1910 and sold as useful products such as garden fertilizer, chicken feed, grading material and road amendments.” 

The petition also claims the site was further compromised by a 1950 UC archeological dig that excavated over 14,000 cubic yards, which was replaced by “engineered” soil for the purpose of development. 

The UC excavation project discovered 92 human burial sites. 

Stephanie Manning, neighbor of the shellmound and member of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, who wrote the 75-page application for landmarking the shellmound, said it may or may not be true that there are no longer any artifacts at the site. She said that question can only be answered by qualified archeological digs.  

“Besides, even if they find no artifacts or human remains on the site, it does not negate its historical significance,” she said. “This may be the oldest and certainly the largest shellmound in the Bay Area. It was inhabited by Native Americans for over 45 centuries. That’s pretty significant.” 

The DeVecchis and the 620 Hearst Group appealed the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s decision to landmark to the City Council on Mar. 24, claiming that the LPC could only landmark structures and not subsurface areas like the shellmound site. 

The City Council was unmoved by the appeal and voted unanimously to designate the site as a city landmark on Nov. 14.