Arts & Events

Dear Mayor and Councilmembers:

Our city council and commissioners are elected and appointed to represent the interests of the residents of Berkeley, but in recent years the council majority seems instead to represent the interests of developers, even when they fail to provide residential units affordable for middle and low-income residents—that is, the housing we need in Berkeley.

Our city Downtown Area Plan recognized the importance to the city of movie theaters downtown, but developers’ drive to build ever more market rate housing downtown has apparently superseded the common sense expressed in the Downtown Plan.

I strongly oppose the city’s having granted a categorical exemption from the CEQA law to the developer who proposes to demolish the historic UA Theatre. I urge that that exemption be withdrawn.

The United Artists Theatre is a beautifully-designed venue for affordable culture and entertainment for the people of Berkeley and the East Bay, that has served residents for decades and has the potential to do so in the future. The city has already failed to protect the other two downtown movie theaters. Berkeley, with more than 117,000 residents and one of the world’s great universities, surely has an obligation to ensure a downtown venue for movies, for the art of film.  

sThe city has not been transparent in its handling of this project—having kept from the public the two reports from consultants on Historic Architecture that concluded this project does indeed qualify for CEQA consideration, instead exempting the project before making them public. 

A CEQA review would at least provide residents of Berkeley the opportunity to have their views heard in a meaningful analysis of the value of this theater and its art deco architecture and interior design to residents of Berkeley. 

sIf we are to return to the vibrant downtown we enjoyed before Covid, we need at least one functioning movie theater that keeps the streets populated at night and the cafes and restaurants profitable. Instead of destroying a great public venue far too costly to build in today’s economy, you should consider its future with intelligence, care, and vision. The city of Berkeley needs a venue for film and performance and community gatherings in its downtown, as is supported in our 2012 Downtown Plan. 

A well-functioning city enjoys a diversity of culture, income, race, ethnicity—and provides its residents and businesses with historic as well as new buildings to create a rich urban fabric. Venues for the entertainment and edification of its residents are essential to its success.