People’s Park Site Barrier Installation Project
Summary
SCH Number
2024010054
Public Agency
University of California, Berkeley
Document Title
People’s Park Site Barrier Installation Project
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
1/4/2024
Document Description
The project is the installation of a temporary barrier around the perimeter of the 2.8-acre People’s Park site, having the address 2556 Haste Street in the City of Berkeley, bounded by Dwight Way to the South, Bowditch Street to the east, Haste Street to the north and the property boundary to the east. The purpose of the project is to secure the site to protect public health and safety. The project will involve lightly grading portions of the site by grader to level the earth and removing bushes and plantings located on the western edge of the site and removing one tree located on the southwest corner in preparation for barrier installation; several other trees may be limbed to improve site access. The project will involve the transit by flatbed trucks and installation by specialized forklifts of approximately 160 steel shipping containers, generally 20 feet long x eight feet wide x eight feet high, stacked two high and locked together in place. The containers will create a 16-foot high barrier around the site. Two primary vehicular gates and two pedestrian gates will be included in the project. The top row of the barrier will be prefabricated with electrical conduit; a video security system and lights, both interior-facing and exterior-facing, which will be focused downward to illuminate the immediate area in front of the barrier, will be placed atop the barrier and connected to an electrical power source. Street parking around the site will be temporarily removed where the barrier will be installed. The project is anticipated to take up to seven days to complete and the barrier will remain in place for roughly 30 months.
Contact Information
Name
Raphael Breines
Agency Name
UC Berkeley
Job Title
Senior Planner
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Berkeley
Counties
Alameda
Regions
Citywide
Cross Streets
Dwight Way to the South, Bowditch Street to the east, Haste Street to the north
Zip
94704
Total Acres
2.8
State Highways
State Route 13
Railways
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Schools
UC Berkeley, Berkeley Rose Waldorf
Waterways
Strawberry Creek
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 1 (15301): Existing Facilities; Class 3 (15303): New Construction; and Class 4 (15304): Minor Alterations to Land
Reasons for Exemption
The project is categorically exempt under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15301, Class 1 Existing Facilities, as it involves minor alteration of an existing public facility involving no expansion of existing or former use. On a separate and independent basis, the project is also categorically exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15303, Class 3 New Construction, for new construction and location of limited numbers of new small structures (steel containers). The project is also categorically exempt from CEQA, on a separate and independent basis, under CEQA Guidelines Section 15304, Class 4 Minor Alterations to Land, for minor alterations to land, including grading on land with a slope less than 10 percent. None of the exceptions to the exemptions pursuant to CEQA Section 15300.2 apply. While there are historical resources adjacent to the project site, because the project would include installation of a temporary barrier, it would not create a visual impact that would result in a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource. Therefore, there are no unusual circumstances creating the possibility that the project will have a significant effect on the environment, pursuant to CEQA Section 15300.2.
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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