On April 2nd, 2018, in Federal District Court in San Francisco, Judge William Alsup heard one hour of arguments from Department of Justice and Postal Service lawyers as to why Berkeley’s Zoning Overlay Ordinance – rezoning the downtown historic plaza area around Civic Center Park for non-commercial use – was unconstitutional as it applied to the sale of the Post Office. An hour of rebuttal was then taken from lawyers from Berkeley’s commercial law firm hired for this case, and from City Attorney staff. Judge Alsup interrupted with questions a few times, but for the most part let the lawyers talk.
Now we wait for a decision, which could come in late April or any time thereafter; there is no time limit for a judge to render a decision.
Five years of struggle by a number of organizations and large numbers of Berkeley’s residents to ‘Save the Berkeley Post Office’ comes down to this.
Berkeley Post Office Defenders 