Berkeley Iceland National Register Nomination this Friday

This Friday, 30 July, a hearing for the nomination for the eligibility of Berkeley Iceland to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places will take place before the State Historic Resources Commission in Sacramento [details available here].  The current owners have made it clear that they object to the nomination, so it cannot be listed on the National Register but can be declared eligible.  The owners will also be arguing at the hearing that Berkeley Iceland is not eligible, complete with Mayor Tom Bates scheduled to speak for their cause.  Members of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA), which made the application, will be speaking in support for eligibility.  The staff report from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) recommends the commission find Berkeley Iceland eligible for listing. 

In recent weeks, I have been asked a few time why SBI has not been more of an advocate for the Nation Register listing.  The answer is simple, but the reason is complex.  As some may remember, SBI entered into an option agreement with East Bay Iceland (EBI) in 2008 which we hoped would end with our purchase of Berkeley Iceland.  For a number of reasons, including over optimistic expectations on our part, we were not able to raise the funds necessary in the nine months of the agreement.  That agreement included a covenant which prohibited SBI, "...any of its board members, consultants or agents..." from taking actions to "...advocate or lobby, orally or in writing, either directly or indirectly, any public agencies or public entities that have the ability to affect the status of the historic landmark designation..." of Berkeley Iceland.   We debated whether we should agree to this even after our attempts to negotiate this covenant more favorably, but decided it was worth entering into the agreement since our expectation was we would complete the purchase making this covenant moot.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen, so the covenant still applies.  We have been relegated to watch and report, but not advocate, as the process goes forward.  

We will continue to watch and report.  Our goal remains what it always has been, the return of the community ice center in the historic Berkeley Iceland.  We continue to commit to working with anyone who shares this goal.  We belive there are plans which provide for the restoration of Berkeley Iceland in a manner that provides benefits to the entire community - something that a retail operation or pure housing development will not do.