A Surprising Twist: Radical Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom Faces Off With Leftist Allies on Major Project

In an unusual twist, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) finds himself locked in a battle not with Republicans, but with what he’s called “selfish” environmentalists who are “driving up housing prices.”

According to The Blaze, the fight broke out between the radical leftist Newsom and his very own progressive base when the California Court of Appeals slammed the brakes on a proposed student housing project in Berkeley because of environmental concerns raised by nearby residents.

The plan proposed sought to construct multi-unit residential housing in People’s Park, an area that has functioned as a public park since the 70s despite being owned in actuality by the University of California Berkeley. The plan would build housing for 1,100 students and over 100 homeless people, The Blaze reported.

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The First District Court of Appeal blocked the project last week due to violations of the California Environmental Quality Act, namely a failure of UC Berkeley to “assess potential noise impacts from loud student parties in residential neighborhoods near the campus,”

A few wealthy Berkeley homeowners should not be able to block desperately needed student housing for years and even decades.

CEQA needs to change and we are committed to working with the legislature so California can build more housing. pic.twitter.com/3NC0SsLnMT

— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) February 25, 2023

In response, Newsom posted a statement to Twitter saying, “A few wealthy Berkeley homeowners should not be able to block desperately needed student housing for years and even decades. CEQA needs to change and we are committed to working with the legislature so California can build more housing.”

He wrote, “California cannot afford to be held hostage by NIMBYs who weaponize CEQA to block student and affordable housing,” he added. “This selfish mindset is driving up housing prices and making our state less affordable.”

The Democrat is likely unaccustomed to encountering this type of pushback in what is essentially a single-party state. He noted that he intends to work with California lawmakers to update legislation “so our state can build the housing we desperately need.”

UC Berkeley said in a statement, “The campus is dismayed by this unprecedented and dangerous decision to dramatically expand CEQA, and the campus will ask the California Supreme Court to overturn it.”

The University noted, “as a public institution, the campus is compelled to appeal because this decision bestows new privileges and power to the privileged and powerful by arming NIMBY neighbors with additional weapons to obstruct the development of all new urban housing, impeding the construction of housing not just for students but also for the unhoused and low-income families. Our state desperately needs all of this housing. The campus remains fully committed to building the People’s Park project — that commitment is unwavering.”

The powers of Academia and the state government seem to be aligning against Berkeley homeowners.