BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SJR 12|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SJR 12
Author: Hancock (D), et al.
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SUBJECT : Berkeley Main Post Office
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution urges the United States Postal
Service to rescind its decision to sell the Berkeley,
California, Main Post Office.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1. The Berkeley Main Post Office was built in 1914, and has
many significant historical features, including two Works
Progress Administration murals; and was designated as a City
of Berkeley Landmark in 1980.
2. The Berkeley Main Post Office was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1980, and was listed on the
National Register as a significant contributor to Berkeley's
Civic Center Historic District in 1998.
3. The Berkeley Main Post Office serves over 100,000 people a
year at its central downtown location, less than one block
from one of the Bay Area's major transit hubs.
4. The sale of the Berkeley Main Post Office would have an
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SJR 12
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adverse effect on the current residents of Berkeley, and
would put at risk a significant historic asset.
This resolution urges the United States Postal Service to
rescind its decision to sell the Berkeley, California, Main Post
Office.
Comments
Congresswoman Barbara Lee writes, "Since 2010, California's 13th
Congressional District (formerly the Ninth) has seen the closure
of at least three central post office locations (Oakland City
Kaiser Center, Berkeley Park, Oakland Station B). The
additional loss of the downtown Berkeley P.O. will be felt
throughout my District by seniors, persons with limited
mobility, and all who seek to preserve this beloved property for
public use. ?[T]he entire building is an architectural landmark
that has been recognized on the National Register of Historic
Places. This is a post office that really symbolizes Berkeley's
arrival into the modern, New Deal era, and which contains an
important Works Progress-Administration-commissioned mural -
which should be available at all times for public viewing. I
would also like to strongly emphasize that this building was
constructed at a time when the Postal Service was directly
funded through taxpayer dollars and was designed specifically to
be a post office. Relocation is not a suitable option for my
constituents."
The Berkeley City Council strongly opposes and objects to the
sale of the Downtown Berkeley Post Office. They state, "We are
disappointed to learn that USPS has decided to move forward with
the sale of this historic building despite the overwhelming
public opposition to the sale. Berkeley's Main Post Office sits
at the heart of our civic center and our city. To privatize
this much loved landmark will diminish all that we have done to
improve the downtown. It will also deprive citizens of their
right to view the incomparable WPA murals, created with public
funds and owned by all of us."
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
MW:d 5/10/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SJR 12
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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