It has emerged today that the balconies on the Berkeley building at the center of the Irish students tragedy were only originally included as a “decorative feature.”
Over a decade ago, back in 2002, the balconies on that building had been the object of a planning issue between the City of Berkeley Design Review Committee and the building’s developers, a company called Segue Ltd.
A memo from February 2002 reveals that Berkeley City planners insisted they would “need a sample of balcony material”, and that they would “prefer a lighter touch for two balconies on the Kittredge side.”
The investigation is now focused on the possibility that the balcony’s collapse was caused by failure of eight wooden supports due to water or moisture damage because of poor water-proofing.
When the balcony collapsed, six Irish students fell to their deaths, and seven more people were severely injured.