Safeway’s plan to remodel their 1960’s era store at College and Claremont Ave. has created great controversy among CENA residents and our neighbors in Oakland’s Rockridge district. At the heart of the controversy is the increased size of the new store. The current store is about 25,000 sq. ft, and Safeway’s original proposal in June would have tripled the size of the building. Their proposal consisted of a two-story building of 59,000 sq.ft. for the Safeway store, plus 16,000 sq ft. which would be leased to smaller tenant stores.

Starting in September a series of monthly public meetings was held at Oakland’s Claremont Middle School in an effort to come up with a different design. After some rancorous meetings, Safeway was asked at the November meeting to state their minimum size for their store, and their answer was 50,000 sq. ft. Safeway will hold at least one more community meeting in late January 2009. At this meeting they will present their plans for the 50,000 sq.ft. building. CENA will present the results of our survey at this meeting.

Neighbors’ opinions range from “leave the store as it is” to “we’d love to see a new, bigger store at this location”. For the last two weeks, CENA has been conducting a survey of its members in order to get a general opinion. If you have not weighed in, it is not too late. Please e-mail Dean Metzger at drm1a2@sbcglobal.net with your choice of one of the following options; or you can send a note to us at CENA, P.O. Box 5108, Berkeley CA 94705. You must give your name to have it count. The survey asks you to choose between:

(1) A new 50,000 sq.ft. store with 150 roof top parking spaces (109 parking spaces exist now);

(2) Renovation (cleaning and painting) of the existing 25,000 sq. ft. store.

Here are some of the comments made by respondents so far:

“Safeway should just paint the existing store. We don’t need the turmoil, the thousands of cubic feet of land fill, the added traffic congestion or higher prices that will be inevitable if this project goes forward.”

“We will probably end up with no Safeway in the neighborhood, unless Safeway remodels this store….. It would be great to have a cutting edge, energy-friendly “green” Safeway in our neighborhood. We should urge Safeway to use more recyclables, get rid of plastic bags at check-out and use suppliers similarly interested in recyclable wrapping. ”

“In order to make a 50,000 sq. ft. store pencil out financially, they are planning to build lot line to lot line, including taking over the 76 gas station. An extra 16,000 sq. ft. would be leased to tenants over which the neighborhood would have no control….The neighbors have been clear that they want a store that has the basics and is affordable.”

“My preference is to have a Safeway store stay at this location. Painting and patching the old store isn’t a good alternative because we are left with a depressing, bunker-type building with substandard lighting and little storage space. If Safeway says their bottom line is a 50,000 sq.ft. store including storage space and 150 parking spaces, then that is what they should do, and NOT build an additional 15,000 to 20,000 sq.ft. to lease to tenants.”

“The proposed store is too large, is out of scale for the district, and would ruin a charming and friendly part of College Ave. If Safeway is unwilling to consider a new, properly scaled project then we favor a renovation of the old store.Their proposal raises many environmental issues such as traffic, truck fumes, etc.”

“I’m in favor of the new Safeway store. We can’t expect a small outdated Safeway to compete profitably with stores like Whole Foods and other new and larger stores in the area. I expect that if Safeway cannot build a new store, we will see them close within a short time, leaving an empty building on the property. I believe the retail establishments on College will be helped, not hurt, because people will like coming to a new and better store.”

You are invited to attend a CENA neighborhood meeting to discuss Safeway"s plans and City of Berkeley's Climate Action Plan on February 2, 2009, at St. John's Presbyterian Church, Fireside Room, 2727 College Ave.

Article 2 - Adopt-a-Spot in Claremont Canyon

by Matt Morse, Claremont Canyon Conservancy

We’re looking for a few of you to help test and perfect a new project called Adopt-a-Spot in Claremont Canyon. Volunteers, either singly or in groups, will “adopt” an area in the canyon for stewardship activities. The size of the “spot” and the frequency of stewardship work are up to you. For example, you might adopt a turnout along Claremont Avenue and work removing invasive exotic plants such as French broom or hemlock once a month for a couple of hours. Or, you might be interested in an area near a stream or in the redwoods, with activities every other month. Some of you who commute through the canyon might like to do some light caretaking for an hour or so each week.

We’re setting up a website for participants to map their spot, share their thoughts and activities, upload photographs of flora fauna, announce events related to the spot, and so on. You can see a preliminary version of this website at: http://www.tinyurl.com/4y6elr before adopting a spot. You might like to attend a Claremont Canyon Conservancy stewardship event to learn more about the canyon, about invasive exotic weeds that need to be pulled, other activities to improve the canyon, and to explore spots you might like to adopt.

Find out about upcoming stewardship events at: http://ccconservancy.homestead.com/schedule/html>. The outings are generally on the third Saturday of the month from 10 – 12. Claremont canyon is a big place (around 500 acres) and is in need of much ongoing care. If the Adopt-a-Spot pilot project is successful, we hope to enlist more people to adopt spots and thus enhance the restoration and maintenance work that is being done in this beautiful canyon. This is a great opportunity for students interested in community service, as well as adults.

Contact Matt Morse at matt@mac.com to get a log-in on the Adopt-a-Spot website. I can also help show you how to upload pictures, edit text, etc., if needed.

Article 3 - Save Strawberry Canyon -- Update

Strawberry Canyon, east of the University Campus, contiguous with Claremont Canyon, & linked to the East Bay Regional Park District, is a rich repository of wildlife and scenic resources deserving of preservation and protection for the public benefit. Save Strawberry Canyon’s efforts to divert Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) from building on unstable surrounding hillsides may have been successful and it can be hoped that LBNL will consider alternative sites along the East Bay’s designated “green corridor” other than the canyon. Recent legal actions by Save Strawberry Canyon, formed to respond to the intrusive, inappropriate threat of development on the historic watershed landscape, have had some success:

First, in October the court determined that the University abused its discretion under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by approving and certifying an EIR for LBNL’s 2006 Long Range Development Plan without re-circulating its climate change analysis. Accordingly, project approvals and construction related activities are suspended until climate change analysis is re-circulated and an EIR is recertified.

Second, in November University President Yudof decertified the EIR and rescinded approval of architectural plans for LBNL’s Helios Energy Research Facility (Helios). The proposal had been for a 145,000 g.s.f building on the north slope of Strawberry Canyon. The reason cited for decertification was “…….to address geotechnical issues identified subsequent to the committee’s approval of the project”. A redesigned building on the same site will be presented soon after the New Year with a new EIR.

Third, a challenge is pending in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking that LBNL’s Computational Research and Theory Facility (CRT) be restrained until federal environmental review is undertaken in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The CRT project is proposed to be up to 140,000 g.s.f. on the north fork of Strawberry Creek in Blackberry Canyon on the bluff above Cyclotron Road.

CENA has been generous in supporting Save Strawberry Canyon. Membership in Save Strawbery Canyon is $10 and can be mailed to Save Strawberry Canyon, P. O. Box 1234, Berkeley CA 94701. Contact Janice Thomas, 549-1171, JThomas621@aol.com, or Lesley Emmington, 652-2255, lesleyemmington@gmail.com, for information.

Article 4 - Nature Sightings

The Oakland Museum is in the early stages of mapping the natural world of the East Bay. As part of redoing its Natural Science Gallery, a visitor activity called Nature Sightings is being tested. There is a Beta website where you can post neighborhood nature sightings and see the map of all the sightings. They are looking for your exotic encounters, surprising run-ins, funny tales and inspired moments. The stories will be published on their website www.eastbaynature.org. You can post your sightings at this web site, or you can leave a verbal story including the location at (616)712-1288.

Article 5 - Real Estate in the Claremont

The good news is that real estate in the Claremont-Elmwood is not only holding its value, but actually increasing. Our neighborhood is one of the few in the state which has seen an increase in values in 2008. Due to low inventory and high demand for the area, 22 homes sold above $850,000 in the last 6 months, and 15 of those were above $1,200,000. To make sure your home maintains and increases its value, home renovations are an excellent investment. Homes with deferred maintenance tend to sell with greater difficulty. A recent study of cost versus value in the San Francisco Bay Area says a midrange kitchen upgrade, for example, will give you a 131% return on the value of the house for the dollars you have spent. Attic or basement midrange remodel between 101% - 109% while a bathroom remodel will give you a slightly less 90% return. It is always best to use high quality materials and top-notch craftsmanship. If you would like a list of service providers, we are happy to send it to you. E-mail us at fordplowright@grubbco.com,

The news improves with respect to available funding. Interest rates are attractively low and likely to stay around the 6% mark for quite a while. If you have questions about the real estate market, don’t hesitate to give us a call.

By Colette Ford and Anja Plowright, The Grubb Co., 510-823-5735

Article 6 - New Wine Shop Opens in the Elmwood

A new wine shop, Vintage Berkeley, has opened in the former Elmwood Hardware space at 2949 College Avenue. The shop features small production wines from around the globe, many under $15 and most priced under $25. Free tastings are offered daily from 4 – 7 PM on weekdays and 2 – 4 PM on Saturdays, often with winemakers. We will deliver locally and ship nationally. We are excited to be part of the Elmwood neighborhood and wish to thank CENA for its support during the zoning approval process. Your endorsement was instrumental in our approval.

Vintage Berkeley was formed out of a lifelong friendship between Peter Eastlake and Michael Werther, who grew up in suburban Philadelphia and now live in the Bay Area. Peter learned the merchant trade in New York City as a manager and wine director at Best Cellars, an innovative Upper East Side wine store. Peter, his wife Maya Elmer (a Berkeley native), and Michael opened their first store in 2005 on Vine Street in North Berkeley, which is now a thriving fixture in the neighborhood. Peter Eastlake believes in a simple visual concept for the store. “By featuring 150 wines at a time, shopping here isn’t overwhelming. The space is open and uncluttered. Bottles are arranged at eye level on the milled walnut display shelves at eye level and cases are stacked beneath the display bottle, with each wine accompanied by a detailed description. It’s quite different from wine stores of old”. A changing art show by local artists line the white walls.

Vintage Berkeley features a selection of limited productions of wine from around the world that are under $25. Our line-up shows a sense of exploration with wines like a Pinot Noir from Patagonia or an Albarino from California. We buy wine from small importers, local wineries and independent distributors, giving us access to a selection of high quality, affordable wines. Our stock changes daily as new wines emerge from our tastings that fit the store profile. We seek out the best deal for our customers and we hope shopping at Vintage Berkeley is more pleasurable than predictable.

Winemaker events take place two Saturdays a month. Previous tastings have included Green & Red Vineyard, Preston Vineyard, Clos Saron and Molnar Family wines. Vintage Berkeley is managed by Matt Stevenson and Liam Reilly, a Piedmont and Berkeley native respectively. Vintage Berkeley, 510-549-9501, www.vintageberkeley.com/College_Ave.

Article 7 - Take a Walk on the Hayward Fault

The Northern California Geological Society led a field trip on November 15 called “Earthquakes at UCB? The Hayward Fault…”. We thought you might like to walk in their footsteps and go on a kind of “treasure hunt” searching for the evidence of past earthquakes along the Hayward Fault. Before you set off on your walk, go to: http://seismo.berkeley.edu/docs/hf_field.pdf, and print it. These 4 pages give you much more detail but you may need to take a magnifying glass with you to read the maps. Here is a brief description of what they found on the tour in November.

1. Founders’ Rock and Foothill Student Housing: Founders’ Rock is located on the north side of the campus near the corner of Hearst Avenue and Gayley Road. At this outcrop, 12 trustees of the College of California stood on April 16, 1860, to dedicate property for their college. In 1866, again at Founders’ Rock, group of College of California men were watching two ships standing out to sea through the Golden Gate. One of them, Frederick Billings, was reminded of the lines of Bishop Berkeley, “Westward the course of empire takes it way”, an suggested that the town and college be named for the philosopher and poet. Look uphill towards Foothill Student Housing. These residence halls are built around the fault trace. The big steel X you can see in the windows of the Commons are bracing to prevent collapse in the case of an earthquake.

2. Kleeberger Field Parking Lot: Walk through the parking lot until you are just north of the Stadium. To the north of the fence, you can see the small cinderblock enclosure which protects the top of the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory Hayward Fault Network borehole station CMSB. The seismometer, at the bottom of a 300 foot hole is part of a system for studying the Hayward Fault. In the stairs leading up hill around the stadium, the second step from the top of the first group of steps was cracked. Now the top two steps have been replaced (new concrete), and have begun cracking again. The fault exits the stadium here and runs toward Bowles Hall.

3. California Memorial Stadium: The stadium structure has been deformed as a result of ongoing fault creep. As much as 16 inches of creep may have occurred beneath the stadium since it was built. Creep on the Hayward Fault has resulted in cracking and separation of exterior and interior walls and joints, tilting of interior columns, and offset of expansion joints along the stadium rim.

4. Hamilton Creek, Directions: From Memorial Stadium, walk southeast along Prospect St. to the first intersection on the left, turn onto Hillside St. and walk to the bridge over Hamilton Creek. To the left of the bridge there is an iron gate that leads into a public footpath leading uphill along the creek. Walk 30 yards to the point where the creek turns sharply to the right. Walk down into the creek bed and follow it another 30 yards or so until the creek turns sharply to the left and up hill (behind the wood fence on your right is a Tibetan temple). You have just walked through an offset stream channel. The portion between the two sharp bends lies right along the Hayward Fault, and you can observe the offset of the creek bed due to a topographic high (a small shutter ridge, the property with the fence) that blocked it from flowing directly downstream to the bay.

5. Dwight Way Fault Scarp: On Dwight Way walk up the steep slope to the corner near the top of the street. As you walk up slope, you are walking on the Hayward Fault scarp. As you get to the flatter area at the top, turn around and stand facing towards the Bay. On either side of the street, note the street curb. Note the distinct displacement of the curb towards the right (at the level of the wood power pole if you are standing on the left side of the street, facing towards the Bay). The curb has recently been repaired on both sides of the street, but the offset is still visible. Excerpted from “The Hayward Fault at U.C. Berkeley—A Field Trip” by Dr. Peggy Helweg

Clip= = = = = = = = = = = = = NEW MEMBERS AND RENEWALS===================Clip
JOIN IN! Send a check made out to CENA for $10 or any amount you would like to contribute. Mail to: CENA, P. O. Box 5108, Berkeley CA 94705 Name______________________________________________________________________________ Address_____________________________________________________________ZIP____________ Phone______________________E-mail (Please print clearly)___________________________________

CENA Board of Directors, 2008-2009: Dean Metzger, President; Earl Crabb, Vice-President; Wendy Markel, Secretary; Beverly Doane, Treasurer. Directors are: Michael Alvarez-Cohen, Betty Croly, Colette Ford, Bill Gilbert, Martha Jones, Tad Laird, Matt Mitchell, David Morris, Ann Smulka, Anne Wagley, and Doris Willingham. Web site: www.claremontelmwood.org.

CENA is a California non-profit association