It’s really hard to imagine any positive spin that Berkeley politicians could put on Clif Bar moving out of the city for Alameda (literally across the estuary for those of you not familiar with the Bay Area), but they are trying. This falls into the category of “you have nobody but yourself to blame” but is really systematic of the kind of government that many Bay Area cities have become, Berkeley just being exceptional in it’s extreme position. The irony is that Clif Bar is the poster child for the kind of company that Berkeley, hell any city, would want; they provide exceptional lifestyle and health benefits to employees, are eco-conscious, community involved, and perhaps most importantly, they are a growing and highly profitable company (check out the article, $1m in revenue per employee… staggering) that generates a nice pile of tax revenues. On top of all that, it’s without question that a good number of Clif Bar employees will ultimately relocate to Alameda (a really nice community) and of course, all of the employees can send their children to Alameda’s public schools, even if they don’t live there, meaning per pupil enrollment declines in Berkeley yet again and the federal/state dollars that go with enrollment.

How many businesses on Telegraph Ave. need to close and large businesses and residents leave the city before Berkeley officials do something to fix the problems? Let’s do the time warp again…. but hey, the City Council did occupy themselves with passing a resolution, perhaps several by now, calling for the impeachment of President Bush.

BERKELEY / Clif Bar packing up, moving to Alameda / Berkeley’s zoning restriction prompts company’s relocation:

But when the company wanted to build a “modest” expansion, it encountered “Berkeley’s convoluted, miserable zoning regulations,” said Dave Fogarty, the city’s community development project coordinator.

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