Five years after the passage of the NPO, as the Master Plan was taking effect, the City Council proclaimed a day of recognition on May 7th. It declared that the ordinance had “accomplished its purpose by protecting Berkeley’s neighborhoods from harmful demolitions and intrusions.” Despite controversy over its implementation and the housing shortage, the ordinance was popular in the late 1970s and viewed as a victory for community-minded civic planning.
The Berkeley Revolution
A digital archive of the East Bay's transformation in the late-1960s & 1970s
City Proclamation of NPO Day
Date: 5/7/1978
Citation:
Nicoloff, Martha, and Kenneth Hughes. “Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance : Documenting a Community in Action.”. 1992. 297 leaves, 28 cm, Institute of Governmental Studies, Berkeley, California.
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1. Organizing Against Runaway Development: The Road to the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance
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Neighborhood Preservation Initiative History
–5/5/1978–Martha Nicoloff, co-author of the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance, recounted the battle to pass it
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Save Your Property
–1956–The battle over West Berkeley houses began in the 1950's
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Neighborhood Park Party
–c. 1971–A rousing image of "the neighborhood," by a NPO organizer, that suggests the vision behind the ordinance
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People’s Housing Conference Flyer
–8/13/1972–The People's Housing Conference brought together a spectrum of housing advocates
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Zoning—A Brief Berkeley History
–4/1973–The co-author of the NPO cast the initiative as part of the fight to save Berkeley's "struggling flatlands"
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Oral History of Ken Hughes
–1/1993–The co-author of the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance sketches his political journey
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2. The Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance: The Fight at the Ballot Box
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Stop Highrise Now!
–1973–The question asked by the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance's authors: could your home be the next one demolished?
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“Neighborhood Preservation” Flyer
–1973–The Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance, succinctly explained
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Group Presses Its Fights for New Neighborhoods
–4/9/1973–The Daily Cal's coverage of the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance captured the heat prior to the election
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Chamber of Commerce Voter Pamphlet
–4/17/1973–Part of the Chamber of Commerce's campaign against the NRO: a "voter's handbook" that looked city-endorsed
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Neighborhood Preservation Passes
–5/1973–With support from Berkeley's flats and foothills, the NPO won at the ballot box
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3. The Afterlife of the NPO: Consequences for Development in Berkeley
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A Self-Serving City Master Plan
–12/5/1975–BPO advocates felt that their opponents had hijacked the process around the new city Master Plan
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B.A.H.A.
–8/1977–Landmark preservation was a parallel campaign
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City Proclamation of NPO Day
–5/7/1978–The NPO's fifth birthday was a cause for celebration
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A Big Day for Berkeley’s NPO
–5/8/1978–Five years after its passage, the NPO won big: the City Council endorsed neighborhood review of development
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Do Bribes and Mobsters Make Good Neighbors?
–1/18/1979–The scandal that doomed the West Berkeley Industrial Park project
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A House in Ocean View
–2017–A tiny house can draw a big price in West Berkeley
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