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Foes of the new Landmarks Preservation Ordinance have the signatures they need to block the law from taking effect, said Laurie Bright, the man doing the counting. 

“As it stands now, we’ve got more than enough,” he said. 

“We’ll have to wait and see,” said Mayor Tom Bates, the principal author of the measure Bright’s allies are trying to block 

After the defeat of Measure J in November—an initiative designed to save the city’s current landmarks law—the Berkeley City Council adopted a rival ordinance by Bates and Councilmember Laurie Capitelli. 

“My personal feeling is that it’s an excellent ordinance,” said Bates. “The council and commissioners worked on it for six years and they came up with an excellent ordinance by making some good compromises.”  

Critics like Bright, one of the two sponsors of Measure J, said the council ordinance could allow for a massive wave of new development that would destroy the character of the neighborhoods, especially in the Berkeley flats. 

Bates and Capitelli said the new law is needed because the existing ordinance is used as a weapon of last resort against worthwhile developments. 

“I think they can put their law away,” said Bright. “We’ll be in the city clerk’s office Thursday afternoon with bells on and petitions in hand.” 

“We’ll wait and see,” said the mayor. “My experience is that they have to have at least 10 to 15 percent more signatures that the number required” because of errors and signatures by those unqualified to sign. 

Foes of the new law are using a provision of the city election code that allows citizens to block enactment of new legislation through the referendum process. 

Under that law, opponents of any new law passed by the council can block enactment if they gather signatures of eligible voters totaling at least 10 percent of the turnout in the last general election with a mayor’s race. 

The referendum committee, chaired by Austene Hall and Julie Dickinson, needs 4100 valid signers, the figure drawn from the election in November in which Bates was reelected and Measure J defeated. 

“We have them, but we’re going to keep going,” Bright said. “The reason we have them is because of the tremendous efforts of our volunteers who had to work straight through the holidays, even giving up their families briefly. Some even took off work,” he said. 

Enforcement of the law halts until the signatures are validated, and if the magic number is attained, the issue then goes to the next general or special election, where voters will be asked to say yes or no to the Bates/Capitelli ordinance. 

“I’m a patient man,” said the mayor. 

Bright said that once the referendum is certified, organizers will form a committee and begin actively campaigning for a no vote. 

“I intend to let people everyone know that we have a good law, and they should support it,” said the mayor. 

Enactment 

Meanwhile, members of the city planning staff are bracing for the changes that will take effect if the effort of Bright and his allies fails. 

City Planning and Development Director Dan Marks said his staff is racing to prepare for the law to take effect—which will be the same day referendum supporters will turn in their signatures. 

“There are a whole lot of changes in procedures and administration we’ll have to figure out if it takes effect,” he said. 

Planning staff has already drawn up a tentative list of historic architecture consultants whose services will be needed for the most controversial provision of the mayor’s ordinance—the Request for Determination, or RFD. 

Under that procedure, a property owner will be able to demand a decision by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) either to landmark the property or decline. If the LPC fails to act, the owner will have a two-year exemption from any further landmarking efforts during which to pursue development. 

The LPC will act based on reports prepared by architectural consultants drawn from a pre-approved list whose members have been accepted by the commission. 

Landmarks commissioner Lesley Emmington said Marks presented a list to commissioners at Thursday’s meeting which featured only two Berkeley architects, one of them—Burton Edwards—being an LPC member. 

When the law takes effect, commissioners will have two meetings to act on proposals, and on lists of properties for which development permits have been sought. 

“If the law goes into effect, we’ll bring them the first list in February,” said Marks. “We’re going to have to make sure the commission looks at them closely.” 

“If someone asks the commission for an RFD, I guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. It will be an awkward time, but startups of new ordinances are always awkward.”