This evening, the Berkeley City Council unanimously passed BFD’s EMBER resolution for its first reading. It still needs to pass a second reading before it becomes an actual city ordinance.
Quick summary of the session
Chief Sprague, Arnold and Revilla were present at the meeting. Chief Arnold and Chief Sprague presented additional information in support of EMBER’s scientific validity. Chief Sprague shared his personal experience of the 1991 Oakland Fire and its impact on his career and his goals with EMBER. Chief Arnold discussed a tentative phasing plan for what the extension of Zone 4 could look like in the future.
Following the Chiefs’ presentation, the session was opened for 1-minute public comments. Approximately 30 members of the public spoke, some of them movingly, often in a manner that was deeply personal. The statistics for/against EMBER were roughly 2/3/-1/3. Many of those opposed were actually supportive but objected to one or more specific elements. Most speakers, although not all, were residents of the proposed Zone 4 (or Grizzly Peak Mitigation area). One strong theme that emerged was that, while this is painful, the speakers liked their houses better than their plants. The primary objections were focused on cost, and on alternative targets for consideration: undergrounding of power lines, eucalyptus removal, and better tree management in Tilden Park.
After the speakers present had finished, the session was opened to online comments, which followed roughly the same pattern. The session was interrupted by a sound problem, then started anew.
Eventually, after all speakers were done, the council members spoke. Some clarifications were requested. The interventions were, in general, quite favorable to EMBER. I believe that all councilmembers thanked BFD for their outstanding work in preparing for upcoming wildfires.
I will be forgiven, I hope, for mentioning that Councilmember Blackaby spoke very positively of the April 12 Firewise Volunteer Day event on the Ridge, which saw a solid 100 volunteers on the hillside, clearing over 250 linear yards of Grizzly Peak Blvd, and generating approximately 300 cubic yards of debris, which were removed within the next 2 days by BFD’s amazing chipper crew. The point of this is that the Zone 4 residents are not waiting for passage of EMBER or handouts: they are organized, and already working hard to save themselves.
After the councilmembers spoke, a vote was taken. The proposal passed its first reading unanimously.
It will need to pass a second reading before becoming law.
References: additional material provided by BFD [PDF], revised supplemental material [PDF]