The attack on the West Berkeley Shellmound and Village Site

Lisjan Ohlone leader Corrina Gould and her allies went to the West Berkeley Shellmound and Village Site on March 20, 2018 as they do each year to observe the Spring Equinox. But this year they also went to protect the historic site from a new threat.
For the last two years, the Ohlone have successfully protected the West Berkeley Shellmound and Village Site from a major condominium and retail complex. They spent many late nights at Zoning Board, Landmarks Commission and City Council meetings and mobilized supporters to write more than 1800 letters on their behalf in response to a Draft Environmental Impact Report.
But on March 8, the developers changed their strategy. They invoked a new state law - SB35 - that fast-tracks affordable housing and bypasses local control. They submitted an entirely new project design that reaches 90 feet into the air, and would dig out 11 feet of material from beneath the Spenger's Parking Lot at 1900 Fourth Street. This is the heart of the city landmarked site that is on the State Register of Historical Resources and is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. It is the site of the first village on San Francisco Bay, the birthplace of Berkeley, more than 5,000 years ago.
Protectors of the West Berkeley Shellmound and Village Site now have to focus their efforts on state legislators instead of local officials. They are reaching out to the author of the bill, Senator Scott Wiener to ask a) that he meet with Corrina Gould, and b) that the law be amended so it can't be used to destroy historic, cultural sites like the West Berkeley Shellmound and Villiage Site.
Please write Sen. Wiener and ask him to meet with Corrina Gould and to publicly state that SB35 was not intended to destroy historic, cultural, and sacred sites like the West Berkeley Shellmound and Village Site. Address: State Capitol Room 5100, Sacramento CA 95814, or call [phone].
You can help by donating to the California Indian Environmental Alliance / Shellmound Defense Fund.
Check out our new website: Shellmound.org