From its conception, Berkeley’s Harrison Park has had a history of bad government and poor choices, perhaps all made for the right reasons. However, good intentions can’t justify abridging our planning practices or ignoring the checks and balances of our zoning ordinances. Having a viable park could be a great asset for our city, but at this ill-chosen location, it is, and always will be, a serious health and financial liability. Berkeley Citizen

City Council Neg. Declaration 1999	Harrison Park Cover-up - Creek & Wetlands		West Berkeley Aiir Quality History
Skatepark Debacle

• Berkeley’s Skate Park: Backslide on the Chrome-6
  L A Wood, May 1, 2008
• Appeal for Use Permit # 99-10000112, Fifth and Harrison Street
• L A Wood, February 8, 2000
• Harrison Air Study Expands to Include Samples of Chromiumohn Geluardi, Berkeley Daily Planet, April 11, 2001
• Harrison Qualitative Human Health Risk Assessment
  Applied Measurement Science, Charles E. Lambert Ph.D.. DABT McDaniel Lambent, Inc. April 25, 2003
• Assessment and Recommediations for Air quality at Harrison Street
  Poki Namkung, M.D., M.P.H., Health Officer, October 25, 1999
• Harrison Is Wrong Site for City's Play Fields
  L A Wood, Berkeley Daily Planet, December 14, 1999
• Strong Support for Park Project Activist: More Study Needs to Be Done
  Judith Scherr, Berkeley Daily Planet, September 18-19, 1999
• The Choice of Harrison
  L A Wood,  Berkeley Daily Planet, February 6 2002
• Test shows poor air quality at Harrison Park
  John Geluardi, Berkeley Daily Planet, August 4-5, 2001
• Poor air quality Notices wanted at west Berkeley soccer fields
  John Geluardi, Berkeley Daily Planet, November 3-4, 2001
• Air quality still an issue at soccer fields
  By John Geluardi Berkeley Daily Planet, July 24, 2002
• Field of Bad Dreams: In its rush to create sports facilities at Harrison Park
  John Geluardi, East Bay Express, September 4, 2002
• Something Rotten with Sports Field Deal
  L A Wood, Berkeley Voice, January 14, 2000
• PUBLIC NOTICE Hexavalent Chromium Pollution - Northwest Berkeley
  January 30, 2001
• Bay Area Air Quality Management District Comments on Hexavalent Chromium Pollution
  Attn: Peter Hess 939 Ellis Street San Francisco, CA 94109
• Appeal for Use Permit # 99-10000112, Fifth and Harrison Street
• L A Wood, February 8, 2000
• Initial Study for the City of Berkeley's Harrison Playing Fields
  L A Wood, October 1999
  
• Appeal of Zonong Adjustments Board regarding Harrison Fields
  City of Berkeley, February 22, 2000
• Harrison Playing fields' price goes up
  Judith Scherr, Berkeley Daily Planet, February 19, 2000
• Re-evaluation of Harrison Street Playing Fields Zoning
  L A Wood, November 23, 1999
• New Chromium 6 Skate Park Thrill
  Pepper Spray Times, December 2000
• ‘Gabe’s’ fields must endure
  By Phil Catalfo, Berkeley Daily Planet February 09, 2002

WHY Two "different" Health WARNING SIGNS at Harrison?

Why the TWO SIGNS? Like so many municipalities with ongoing poor air quality issues, the city of Berkeley has also played the developer card despite it being both the site’s ZONING regulator and owner. When the city’s zoning department’s first efforts were to dismiss all complaints. Instead, a majority of the City Council and city staff targeted those who would dare to suggest there could be any health problems associated with the industrial property being used for play fields and/or temporary housing for our children.  History shows that there was cause for concern (that still exists today) and a need to air monitor. These two signs were placed on the soccer fields after the air monitoring was completed. The first sign the city put up at the WEST BERKELEY property was an intentional (dishonest) distortion of the city's FUNDED air monitoring results and actual site conditions. The city’s property (play fields) exceed the State of California’s air quality standards more that just “occasionally”. The city’s Community Environmental Advisory Commission reviewed this first signage and requested it be CHANGED to reflect a more realistic and honest statement of the field’s poor air quality….  Berkeley Citizen

Tom's Freeway Fields	Harrison Skate Park	Berkeley Pools	Ohlone Park East