Berkeley City Council Special Meeting - March 12, 2024: Land Return of West Berkeley Shell Mound
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Berkeley City Council Special Meeting - March 12, 2024: Land Return of West Berkeley Shell Mound
This special meeting convened on March 12, 2024, at 3:30 PM to consider the acquisition of 1900 Fourth Street and transfer to the Segorite Land Trust, returning the West Berkeley Shell Mound to the Ohlone people. The council also reported on closed session settlements.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1: Acquisition of Real Property at 1900 Fourth Street — The council considered adopting the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the city to acquire a portion of the West Berkeley Shell Mound and transfer it to the Segorite Land Trust, returning the land to the Ohlone people. The consent calendar included this single item.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Karina Gould, spokesperson for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan (Ohlone), expressed profound gratitude and described the eight-year struggle, emphasizing the sacred and historic importance of the site as the first fishing village on San Francisco Bay and a burial ground for thousands of years. She called the land return a "historic moment" and a "beginning of healing."
- Christina Murphy, a Berkeley resident identifying as BIPOC and Native, congratulated the council and urged support for other communities of color, noting Berkeley's Black population has declined from 43% to 4%.
- Rabbi Sam Lucky, representing Jews on Ohlone Land, thanked the city for years of support.
- Kent Lightfoot, distinguished professor of anthropology at UC Berkeley, highlighted the archaeological significance of the site as one of the oldest in the Bay Area, a village with many houses and hearths, and the first fishing village.
- Toby McLeod, a longtime advocate, acknowledged Karina Gould's leadership and thanked council members and city staff for their efforts.
- Ruth Orta, the oldest member of the Segorite tribe (age 90 in August 2024), shared her family history and expressed pride in the land return, emphasizing that her people have never left their motherland.
- Claire Greensfelder read a statement from Malcolm Margolin (author of The Ohlone Way), who expressed joy at seeing the land return in his lifetime. She added her own remarks, calling the moment "the most deeply profound moment" she has witnessed.
- Lucy Gill, an archaeologist working with the Lisjan Nation, described ongoing non-invasive archaeological work and plans for an edited volume and symposium to share knowledge about the site.
- Carol (no last name given) presented a gift of a hummingbird image, representing healing and persistence.
- Inez Isgedva, a guest on the land, expressed gratitude.
- Erin Deems (on Zoom) praised the land rematriation and honored the ancestors.
- Victoria Montano (on Zoom) expressed gratitude to the Ohlone people for their vision and survival.
Discussion Items
- Closed Session Report: The mayor reported that on February 5 and March 7, 2024, the council met in closed session and authorized the city attorney to settle the lawsuit Ruig and Ellsworth v. City of Berkeley (Case RG 1893 0003). The settlement terms included $1,446,915.60 for attorney's fees and costs (release up to Feb 5, 2024), and acquisition of 1900 Fourth Street for up to $1.5 million using city funds, with transfer to the Segorite Land Trust. The settlement was executed on March 12, 2024.
- Councilmember Harrison (mayor) thanked the city attorney's office, outside counsel (Peter Prouse, Andrew Schwartz, Brendan Darrow), and Tom Lippy (representing the Confederated Villages of Lisjan).
- Councilmember Hahn made a motion to adopt the ordinance, expressing emotion and thanking Karina Gould, the legal team, the community, and all who prayed and advocated for eight years. She noted the site was designated historic and cultural but a developer's consultant tried to discredit it.
- Unanimous Vote: The council voted 7-0 (two absent: Keserwani and Bartlett were initially absent but later voted; all seven present voted yes) to adopt the first reading of the ordinance.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: Adoption of first reading of an ordinance authorizing the city to acquire 1900 Fourth Street (a portion of the West Berkeley Shell Mound) and transfer the property to the Segorite Land Trust, thereby returning the land to the Ohlone people. (Council vote: 7-0; all present members voted yes.)
- Settlement finalized: The council authorized the city attorney to settle the long-standing lawsuit, including payment of $1,446,915.60 in attorney's fees and costs, and acquisition of the property for up to $1.5 million.
- Next steps: The property will be transferred to the Segorite Land Trust for stewardship by the Confederated Villages of Lisjan (Ohlone). The council adjourned after the vote.
Meeting Transcript
This special meeting of the Berkeley City Council is called to order. Will the clerk please call the role? Councilmember Keserwani is currently absent. Councilmember Kaplan present. Bartlett is currently absent. On pleased to be present. Present. Present. And Mayor Aragine. Present. Okay. A quorum of the city council is present. Before I proceed to the um consent calendar, I'd like to report out from uh the actions that the Berkeley City Council took in various closed session meetings related to this case. On February 5th, 2024, in March 7, 2024, the Berkeley City Council met in closed session to provide the city attorney settlement authority in the matter of Ruig and Ellsworth versus the City of Berkeley, Alameda County Superior Court case number RG 1893 0003. Specifically, the council authorized the city attorney to settle a claim for attorney's fees for 1,446,915 and 60 cents in exchange for a release of claims for attorney's fees and costs, up to and including February 5th, 2024. The city council also authorized the city attorney to settle and obtain a release of all remaining claims in exchange for the acquisition of 1900 Fourth Street using city funds of up to 1.5 million dollars. On March 5th, 2024, the case settled in mediation, and the city attorney executed a memorandum of settlement memorializing the terms of the settlement. On March 12th, 2024, the parties agreed to a further settlement and release that supersedes the March 8th, 2024 settlement and sets forth the agreement in further detail. And that specific agreement called for the council to take action uh this afternoon to adopt an ordinance authorizing the city to acquire 1900 Fourth Street and authorize the transfer of the property to Secorate Land Trust. So with that, we'll now proceed to uh the consent calendar. And we have one item item one, the acquisition of real property located at 1900 Fourth Street. Uh and the recommendations to adopt the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the city to acquire a portion of the West Berkeley Showman located at 1900 Fourth Street, and also authorizing the city to transfer that property to the Segorte Land Trust, thereby returning the land to the Ohlone people. I want to turn the floor over to our city attorney to ask if she has any uh remarks on this item. I just want to thank everyone that has helped. This has been definitely a team effort to get to this point, and it's a historic moment. It resolves a long-standing lawsuit. And um, I'm just thrilled to be in this position to recommend this action to you. And uh again, it's been a team effort. So I just want to take this opportunity before we go to public comment to thank our city attorney Farima Brown and uh her entire team in the Berkeley City Attorney's Office. We have our assistant city attorney Brendan Darrow, who is also played a principal role in this case. I know we have a number of um attorneys who provided assistance, including Peter Prouse. Um, and it's good to see you in person. Um, and um Andrew Schwartz, I believe, is on the Zoom as well. Um, and so that their firms also played a very critical role in representing the city of Berkeley throughout this entire process and helping effectuate the historic settlement that we're about to approve today, um, which I think is the biggest urban land back to indigenous people in the state of California. Um, we hope sets a precedent for other cities. Um, so thank you everyone um who worked on this, including Tom Lippy, who represented the Confederated Villages of the Jean. Um, and I'd like to recommend that we go to public comment first, and then uh we can bring it back to the council for questions, comments, and emotion. Um, I want to first turn the floor over to uh Karina Gould, um, who is unfortunately not able to join us in person, but she's here in full spirit. Um, and want to come, I'm gonna promote you to panelists if that's okay. Um, so I'm doing that now. Um, and want to turn the floor over to you. Um, and just thank you for your incredible leadership and uh tireless commitment to the suffer. Um, you were um I think really the inspiration for this effort to preserve this this sacred and historic site. Um, and uh we're really excited by um this opportunity to give the land back, which was stolen. Let's remember this land was and still is indigenous land. And it's pretty ridiculous that we have to take this action to buy it and give it back to the first people who lived and own this land. Um, but I think this is a really critical step, and really just want to thank you so much for everything, and thank you for your partnership in the separate. So I'll turn it over to Karina Goldman. The first language of the Bay Area, Chochenyo, our ancestors um spoke this language, the land and the waters, heard this language. It was carried on the winds for thousands of years in our territory.
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