Shellmound site in West Berkeley returned to Ohlone tribe in historic $27 million deal

BERKELEY — A 2.2-acre piece of land in West Berkeley known as the Ohlone Shellmound village site will be handed over to the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust following years of legal battles and a $27 million settlement.

“Today the City of Berkeley made history, and we did it by honoring the first people to live on this land,” Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín said in a press release announcing the deal Tuesday. “This is a historic step toward righting past wrongs and embracing a future that honors the diverse history of the entire region.”

A parking lot at 1900 Fourth St. at University Avenue currently sits on what officials say is the last undeveloped portion of one of the first human settlements on the San Francisco Bay shore. Established more than 5,700 years ago, the site was once home to the Ohlone tribe before being taken over by Spanish conquistadors and American settlers.

Thanks to a $27 million deal — $25.5 million paid by the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and the remaining $1.5 million from the city — that land will be turned over to the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, an indigenous women-led organization that plans to develop a cultural center and commemorative park at the site. The funds will be paid to Ruegg & Ellsworth, a development firm looking to build 260 homes on the 2.2-acre site. The firm could not be immediately reached for comment.

“The City of Berkeley and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan Nation joined together to right a historic wrong, resulting in the rematriation of our oldest Shellmound and Village site to its original people,” said Corrina Gould, tribal chair of the Lisjan Nation, in the press release. “This is not only the most challenging urban sacred site victory in California’s history, it’s also among the most culturally significant for the Lisjan people.”

The city has been in a legal battle with Ruegg & Ellsworth over the site for years. The firm requested an expedited ministerial review for its housing proposal in 2018 but was denied given that structures on the site had been designated as historical in 2020. Instead of submitting plans through the standard process, the firm sued, according to the city’s press release.

The city’s decision was initially upheld by the Alameda County Superior Court in October 2019 but reversed by the California Court of Appeal in April 2021. A bid to have the California Supreme Court consider the case was denied and state legislation prohibiting expedited reviews for projects on tribal cultural sites was not made retroactive, forcing the city to issue the firm zoning approval that October.

No project was built though, and the site was listed for sale. Still, legal fights over attorneys fees continued years later until March 8 when the parties met for a day of mediated settlement negotiations. The Berkeley City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance accepting and then transferring title of the land to Sogorea Te’ Land Trust.

“It’s rare for a city to fight as long and hard as we did to return land to its original people, but fighting for this site was a moral imperative I could never turn away from. The principled actions our city has taken give new life to Berkeley’s values of equity, respect and redress,” said Berkeley Councilmember Sophie Hahn in the press release. “This historic agreement ensures a future that honors more than 5,000 years of Ohlone life in what we now call Berkeley.”