Council Supports Hosting Lawrence Berkeley Lab

The Dublin City Council has joined the campaign to bring another laboratory to the city.

The council Tuesday night directed Mayor Tim Sbranti to provide a letter of support for a second Lawrence Berkeley National Lab campus in Dublin.

The letter backs a proposal by Argent Development Group to build the science research lab on land at Camp Parks.

City Council members were adamant that Dublin is the perfect place for the facility.

They said Dublin is home to two other labs in addition to being next door to the Lawrence Livermore Lab. They also noted that the new and the transit hub and housing planned around the station would provide transportation and housing for lab workers.

"We can offer a really great package," said Sbranti.

The council talked about the jobs and prestige the lab would bring to the city.

"This could be a game changer for Dublin," the mayor said.

Lawrence Berkeley issued a formal request in early January for communities within a 20- or 25-minute drive of the current facility in the hills above U.C. Berkeley to submit proposals touting their qualifications to house the lab.

The prestigious laboratory is looking for space to expand and consolidate satellite sites in Walnut Creek, Emeryville and west Berkeley. 

Attributes being sought by the lab include the ability to build a "state-of-the-art facility in a beautiful environment," and space for up to 2 million square feet of laboratory, office and support facilities.

The lab's request said the site should be in a safe and welcoming community and have access to public transportation and other amenities, including restaurants, hotels, recreation facilities and child-care centers.

UC says a short list of site contenders will be announced by the end of March and  a site will be chosen by June.