A second occupation was launched on 11 May 2013 on the south end of the Gill Tract, which was slated for privatization and construction of a parking lot, a chain grocery store, and an exclusive senior's home twice dissolved by UCPD.
[11][20] As of 2012, the southern half of the Gill Tract was unused and slated to be leased by the UC for commercial development of a for-profit senior housing complex and a Whole Foods grocery store.
[25] As of 30 April 2012[update], farmers tilled and planted at least two acres of land with crops, including carrots, broccoli, corn, tomatoes, and squash.
[33] UC Berkeley officials condemned the occupation, saying that it threatened ongoing agricultural research and interfered with their duty to students and faculty, and that the occupied portion of the tract was then not slated for commercial development.
[37] On 8 May 2012, the university issued a statement saying that there was "a stunning degree of arrogance and entitlement inherent in this group’s demands", and that after the encampment was dismantled, they would initiate an open dialogue headed by the Dean of the College of Natural Resources, while attempting to preserve as much of the already planted crops as would be possible without interfering with scheduled research on the tract.
[38] The morning of 9 May 2012 heavy machinery brought concrete barricades in front of Ocean View Elementary School to prevent easy access to the occupation.
[39] A locked gate greeted Miguel Altieri as his students came to plant this year's experiments, and although vehicles were prevented from entering, a small number of tomatoes were still put in the ground to show determination to continue with the research.
[citation needed] The co-directors of the Berkeley Center for Diversified Farming Systems, part of UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources released an open letter regarding the occupation, calling for the farmers to immediately decamp, the administrators to immediately set a date to discuss the future of the Gill Tract as an urban farm, and the researchers using the tract to work around the crops already planted by the farmers and to return the harvest to the community.
[35][44][45] He spoke out against the occupation, stating that the farmers "made a series of poor decisions based on inadequate information" that have an unjust impact on the researchers who normally use the field during summer.
[9] The senior editorial board of the Daily Cal student newspaper has stated that "the Occupy protesters farming on the Gill Tract in Albany have a promising, attainable goal".
[36] A land occupation was launched again on 11 May 2013 on the south end of the Gill Tract, which was slated for privatization and construction of a parking lot, a chain grocery store, and an exclusive senior's home.
Occupiers cleared the tall grass, tilled the land, and planted multiple vegetable gardens with support of more than 100 members of the community over that weekend.