BERKELEY, Calif., May 7, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- On May 5, 2008, U-Haul Company of California and AMERCO Real Estate Company filed a lawsuit in United States District Court, Northern District of California, Oakland Division, Case no. C08-02313WDB, charging the city of Berkeley with violating the California Environmental Quality Act and the corporations' constitutionally protected rights including, among others, its equal protection and due process rights as provided for under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as its civil rights, as provided for by the Civil Rights Act of 1871.
The city of Berkeley is attempting to revoke U-Haul Company of California's use permit at 2100 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, California. Revocation of this permit would result in the direct release of 500 tons of greenhouse gases annually as well as the potential, indirect carbon emissions of more than 12,000 tons. U-Haul has asked the city of Berkeley to consider the environmental impact of its proposed actions. However, the city of Berkeley has consistently refused to allow its sustainability staff to even meet and discuss this matter with U-Haul Company's sustainability professionals.
The city of Berkeley is well known for its clean-air advocacy. This includes endorsement of the Kyoto Protocol, which is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. One objective of the convention is the reduction of greenhouse gases that may cause climate change. The city of Berkeley has adopted a number of measures to bolster its commitment to protecting the environment, particularly with respect to limiting or reducing emissions of carbon dioxide. U-Haul In-Town rentals function much like car sharing to reduce the total vehicle miles traveled and total vehicle registrations in an area while still providing residents with access to the transportation they need.
The U-Haul location on San Pablo Avenue serves 12,000 Berkeley residents annually and has done so since 1975. U-Haul maintains truck-sharing business that helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduces the total large-capacity vehicle registrations in Berkeley. Despite this, and contrary to its own environmental policies, the city of Berkeley has undertaken a campaign of improper, unfair and discriminatory conduct toward U-Haul.
Should the city of Berkeley succeed in its campaign, thousands of residents will be forced to travel to Oakland to obtain local-rental moving vans. For some citizens this will result in effectively depriving them access to do-it-yourself household moving. This group will disproportionately contain elderly, handicapped, single mothers, and certain ethnic and religious groups. Thousands of other residents who are able to travel to Oakland to obtain moving services will needlessly burn fossil fuels there and back to get the rental vehicle, and there and back again to return it. This will create carbon dioxide on a catastrophic scale.
For years U-Haul has worked to provide convenient access to its moving vans as a sustainable business model. For that reason it has maintained the San Pablo facility. The majority of all U-Haul customers at 2100 San Pablo Avenue are moving in the local area. The extra greenhouse gas emissions created by remotely locating the vehicles significantly impacts overall emissions.
Despite U-Haul Company's service to the community and its 33-year relationship with the people of Berkeley, the city is conducting a campaign to stop U-Haul from serving the residents of Berkeley. To accomplish this, the city of Berkeley has: refused to allow its city manager, city council members and city staff to meet with U-Haul general management or U-Haul sustainability professionals at all, or without the presence of the city attorney and city enforcement staff; it has attempted to impose unlawful, disproportionate and punitive sanctions and fines on U-Haul; it has unreasonably purportedly revoked the U-Haul Company of California's use permit to operate its facility on San Pablo Avenue. Further, it has discriminated against U-Haul, its customers and specifically its protected classes of customers, and punished and retaliated against U-Haul for asserting its constitutional rights to challenge the city's illegal conduct. Finally, the city has refused to consider and address the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the citizens of Berkeley.
In addition to damages to itself, U-Haul will seek to hold the city of Berkeley responsible for its illegal actions and for harm caused to the citizens of Berkeley, specifically including its protected classes of people.