(Written by kencraw)

I know that very few people care about this because the odds of it being an issue is small, but there has been an appeal going on for the SAHPC for the last two years. I’ve been posting on it occasionally as news has come up.

Over the summer they had oral arguments and on Friday the ruling came down. After scanning the ruling, I can summarize it for everyone:

Tree-sitters: You stink! Stop wasting everyone’s time, reiterating the same tired arguments as in the original case and pay up the legal fees you owe to the University!

OK, that’s not an exact quote, but close enough.

So, with the City of Berkeley not participating in the orginal appeal, the homeowners (Panaramic Hill Association) settling this summer and the tree-sitters losing their appeal, this case is as done as an overcooked pig on a spit. Sure the tree-sitters could appeal to the state supreme court if they wanted, but I’m 98% sure the supreme’s wouldn’t take the case and I think they’ve run out of steam now that the financial backing for their smelly appeals (the city and homeowners) have run for the hills.

The other good news is that as of yet, there’s been no new lawsuits over the stadium renovation, i.e. phase 2. While the SAHPC, i.e. phase 1, suits were in many ways tangled with the renovation, there was definitely the risk that separate suits with a new trial could be started for phase 2. So far, knock on wood, it doesn’t appear that this is going to be an issue. It looks like they used up all their energy and financial backing on the first round. Now that the trees are down and construction is in progress, nobody can summon the will/money to do it again.

Woohoo! Another victory for the Bears!