SAVE STRAWBERRY CANYON
P.O. BOX 1234
Berkeley, California 94701

Save Strawberry Canyon is a citizens’ group that seeks to preserve and protect the watershed lands and cultural landscape of Strawberry Canyon. Save Strawberry Canyon was formed out of the urgent need to take action in response to the threat of intrusive, inappropriate development on the Canyon lands.
Strawberry Canyon, opposite the Golden Gate, is a unique link to the East Bay Regional Park District lands and, by its streams and views, to San Francisco Bay. The Canyon itself with its streamside vegetation, oak-bay woodlands, grasslands, and surrounding slopes, is arich repository of wildlife directly adjacent to the dense urban populations of the UC Berkeley Campus and the cities of Berkeley and Oakland.
Save Strawberry Canyon seeks to inform the public about the impacts of proposed developments, to encourage location of such developments to more suitable sites, and to promote better public access to the beautiful Canyon with its wildlife and scenic resources. — Mission Statement
March 14, 2011
 
Jennifer McDougall, Principal Planner
Physical & Environmental Planning           planning @berkeley.edu
A&E Building (MS-1382)
Berkeley, California 94720-1382

Re: Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) to the University of California (University) Southeast Campus Integrated Projects Environmental Impact Report for the California Memorial Stadium Project (Stadium)

Dear Ms. McDougall:

Save Strawberry Canyon (SSC), a membership group of some 400 supporters, again asks that the University consider not only the seismic situation under the Stadium, but also the geological conditions eastward of it. Impact analysis of the unstable soils above the Stadium has not been included in either the SEIR or previous California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) documents. Additionally, impact analysis is needed of the unstable soils behind Stern Hall and Bowles Hall where the Switch Station 6, approx. 65,000 gsf, is proposed to be built to house Stadium electrical equipment. Due to the fact that the Stadium is now exempt from the Alquist-Priolo Act, CEQA review must thoroughly address all potential risks and impacts, especially because the SEIR indicates project entitlement and intention to expand Stadium use (hours of use? Clarity is called for in SEIR).

Clear evidence of an active Hayward Fault is most obvious looking at the east and west halves of the Stadium that move respectively south and north on average one centimeter per year, resulting in the bad offset over Section KK and the distortion of the piers. This movement is minor compared to the damage predicted to occur at any time due to a 6.5 to 7.0, or above, magnitude quake. In effect, even if the proposed retrofit might possibly prevent the heavy west wall from toppling in the event of a severe earthquake, it can be expected that landslides behind the Stadium coming off the hillsides in Strawberry Canyon may very likely compound destruction by inundating or destroying the Stadium’s eastside, imperiling life and property.

  • What are the soil types that compose the hillsides in Strawberry Canyon behind the Stadium?
  • What is the history of landslides on the Canyon hillsides?
  • If landslides were to occur at the time of a major earthquake, what might be the effect on loss of life and property in and around the Stadium?

It is alarming that the proposed site for Switch Station 6 appears to be also located on the Hayward Fault. At this location the Fault runs along the slope of the hillsides where unstable geologic conditions are known to be intrinsic to the site. For example, exposure to slides in this area were documented in a Berkeley Gazette, February 26th, 1936, account: “Rain soaked earth on Charter Hill slid down five feet…the dirt pushed the East Bay Municipal Utility District’s pipeline to a steep embankment within 25 feet of the hall. The dirt started to uproot the Bowles Hall fence and fall on the grounds.”

  • Given that the proposed Switch Station 6 appears to be substantial, connecting 5 existing campus switching stations, why does it not merit separate CEQA review?
  • What would be its exact alignment vis-à-vis the Hayward Fault?
  • Would not this facility be subject to the Alquist Priolo Act?
  • What are the soil conditions on Charter Hill, including behind Bowles Hall, the Greek Theatre, and Stern Hall?
  • What about an electromagnetic field existing adjacent to dormitories?
  • Should there be a landslide, either produced because of heavy rains, an earthquake, or other causes, how might the movement of Switch Station 6 adversely affect the residents below?
  • How can it be assumed in accordance with CEQA to begin construction of the proposed Switch Station 6 this spring 2011?

The attached statement “California Memorial Stadium at Catastrophic Risk” coauthored with Emeritus Professor of Geology Garniss Curtis makes an important observation that has been ignored: the Stadium is not just bisected by the Hayward Fault, but the Fault makes a slight bend in the center of the Stadium! The probability of subduction melánge material of serpentine and large metamorphic rocks springing rapidly out from below in a 6.5 to 7.0 quake deserves serious review.

  • How does the current Stadium plan address the potential impact should the angled Fault explode in the middle of the Stadium field with metamorphic rock on a stream of liquid serpentine?

FYI: The SEIR document has not been easily accessible for public review. It has been frustrating and has discouraged a timely review of its content. Members of SSC finally found an access to the document by linking to the Panoramic Hill Neighborhood web site (which also had the obstruction of an access code).

SSC urges the University to fully discuss these issues deserving of serious public review in compliance with CEQA.


Sincerely,
Georgia Wright, PhD, for SSC

Attachment: Garniss Curtis-Georgia Wright, “California Memorial Stadium at Catastrophic Risk,” June 10, 2010