On the grounds of People's Park, UC Berkeley proposes housing for students and the homeless

BERKELEY, Calif. - For nearly 50 years, the University of California and Berkeley activists have been locked in conflict over one of the state's most contested pieces of land.

The standoff started in 1969, when hundreds of people hauled sod, trees and flowers to a scruffy lot that the university intended to build on and proclaimed it their own People's Park.

A few weeks later, UC fenced the public out, and thousands of protesters marched there. A bloody battle ensued when law enforcement pushed them back with tear gas and buckshot.

Fights over the land have continued ever since as the once-vibrant park has become home to trash, rats and crime.

Now, UC Berkeley officials hope they finally have a plan that will let them use the space without