February 8, 2007

Defend Affordable Housing!

Opponents of affordable housing are circulating a misleading Referendum Petition designed to stop the David Brower Center / Oxford Plaza. Please do NOT sign the referendum petition!

Background
After seven years of community planning and a lengthy public approval process, the Berkeley City Council voted on numerous occasions to support the David Brower Center, a new home for the environmental movement, and Oxford Plaza, which will provide 97 units of affordable workforce housing for Berkeley families.

The David Brower Center / Oxford Plaza is ready to start construction this April. But a few opponents of affordable housing are trying to kill this important project at the last minute by circulating a misleading petition to reverse the City Council’s decisions.

They falsely claim the project is a bad deal for the City, saying the “City Council gave a piece of land worth at least $5,700,000 to developers for $1.” The truth is that the David Brower Center / Oxford Plaza is a good deal for the City. The project represents a major investment in downtown Berkeley that will:

• Create the David Brower Center, a home for nonprofits and the Bay Area environmental movement;

• Build 97 affordable homes for lower-income working Berkeley families and residents;

• Ensure the City keeps its revenue-generating parking by replacing the existing surface lot with a new underground garage.

The David Brower Center / Oxford Plaza represents the best of Berkeley’s values: environmental leadership and commitment to social justice.

Forcing city voters to second-guess the Council’s decisions would cause a delay that may kill the project and would certainly increase its cost. Please don’t sign the petition!

For more information:
• Download a flyer with detailed information here
• David Brower Center (510) 486-0286 www.browercenter.org
• Oxford Plaza c/o Resources for Community Development (510) 841-4410, ext. 20 www.rcdev.org