On Monday, October 11, 2010 Piedmont’s Planning Commission considered the October 7  response letter from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to the City’s second version of its draft 2010 General Plan Housing Element. Piedmont’s first 2010 Housing Element draft was submitted on March 26 and not approved on May 25. The Planning Commission has forwarded the matter to the Piedmont City Council. > Click to read more…

The Piedmont Swim Clubhas announced that its entire facility will be closed to its members on the afternoon of Thursday, October 21, 2010 in order to provide extra pool time for the Piedmont High School water polo team, helping the team out of a jam.  Read the PSC’s  announcement:

PiedmontSwimClubDivesintoHostExtraWaterPoloGame

Piedmont,California-October15,2010-Following the unexpected and indefinite closure of the Alameda High School pool by the Alameda County Department of Environmental Health,the Piedmont Swim Club board of directors voted today to close the Piedmont Swim Club‘s entire facility to its members on the afternoon of Thursday,October 21 in order to allow the Piedmont High School water polo team to host a game that had been scheduled at Alameda.

After speaking to the Alameda water polo coach, Piedmont Swim Club General Manager Joe Perezindicated that a filtration problem was there as on for the Alameda pool’s closure. According to PHS water polo coach Brett Lane, the Alameda pool was closed for “severe” infractions, and the Alameda pools will have to be assessed, and then voted on by the City as to whether to pay for the repairs.

In keeping with the Swim Club‘s 46–year history of donating free use of the facility to the Piedmont schools,there will be no charge to the Piedmont Unified School District for this or any other PUSD use of the Piedmont pool.The Piedmont schools use the pool approximately 780 hours each year, of which 376 hours are exclusive use when the facility is closed to members.

Use of the Swim Club‘s main pool for water polo practices and games, as well as Piedmont High School swim team practices, requires that the medium and baby pools also be closed for safety reasons. PSC life guards, whose wages are paid by Swim Club member dues, are on hand to ensure compliance with the Swim Club‘s rules and regulations whenever the facility is in use.

The Piedmont Swim Club funds and operates Piedmont’s community pool under a lease from the City of Piedmont that expires on June 30, 2011. The Swim Club promotes lifelong fitness and water safety;donates space for the adaptive and aquatics physical education programs

at the Piedmont schools; provides affordable,accessible,year-round and all-day fitness and recreational swimming opportunities to its members and their guests;provides weekly public swimming opportunities to all Piedmont residents; and provides practice and competition facilities to the Piedmont Swim Team and the high school swimming and water polo teams. The Swim Club also offers lessons to the broader community, local jobs for youth, special events and fun for the entire family.

Contact:  Tim Rood, Piedmont

Swim Club Board President

The California State Department of Housing and Community Development has provided an official response to Piedmont’s Draft Housing Element.  The State’s response letter discusses:

• the need to demonstrate an ability to accommodate emergency shelter needs in Zone B (public and open space) or, if not, other zones.
• the need to treat transitional and supportive housing as a residential use subject only to the same permitting processes as other housing in each zone, without undue special regulatory requirements.
• the possibility of prohibiting single family use in commercial and multi-family zones.

The Piedmont Planning Commission will discuss the State’s response at their meeting on Monday, October 11, 2010 at Piedmont City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, CA 94611.The meeting begins 5 p.m. Discussion of this issue is Item #9 on the agenda. The current Planning Commission’s agenda is available here. Residents may direct comments or questions to City Planner Kate Black at kblack@ci.piedmont.ca.us or 510-420-3063.

There is  additional information on this topic in this recent PCA post about the Draft Housing Plan Piedmont’s 2010-2014 General Plan Housing Element.

Background: The Piedmont Zoning Ordinance establishes five zones: one commercial zone (D), one public and open space zone (B), and three residential zones: Zone A – single family with 10,000 sq. ft. minimum lot size, Zone C – multi-family allowing up to one dwelling unit per 2,000 sq. ft. of lot area, and Zone E – single family with 20,000 sq. ft. minimum lot size.

More information:  July 12, 2010 Staff Report on Housing Element .

Parking: Additional parking may be provided in the vicinity of the Beach Playfield by shortening some red zones.  A change may be made after the Piedmont Public Works Department completes its analysis of a recent speed survey.  Input and requests for a copy of the speed survey may be directed to our new Public Works Director, Chester Nakahara at  cnakahara@ci.piedmont.ca.us or (510) 420-3062.  Read More: Minutes of October 19, 2009, p. 3-4 discussion of Linda Avenue/Beach School traffic engineering design issues.

Use Restrictions: A hearing on the implementation of Beach Playfield use restrictions will be held in October or November.  Input and questions on these regulations (adopted on February 4, 2008) may be directed to the Director of Recreation, Mark Delventhal at mdelventhal@ci.piedmont.ca.us or (510) 420-3073.  Previous Hearing: 2008 public testimony on use restrictions – see p. 2-3.

Parents of children entering Piedmont schools for the first time this fall gathered at a party on La Salle Avenue on Wednesday, October 6, 2010.  > Click to read more…

Photos from the recent Harvest Festival held in Piedmont’s Main Park > Click to read more…

Piedmont was assigned the goal of 40 new housing units by 2014: 13 for very low income residents, 10 for low income residents, 11 for moderate income residents and 6 for above moderate income residents. > Click to read more…

How much should Piedmont city taxpayers subsidize the cost of building and maintaining sports fields used primarily by private sports clubs?

By Ralph Catalano and Randolph Wedding, Piedmont residents.
(The following expresses the personal opinions of the authors.  All statements made therein are the opinion of the authors and not necessarily those of the Piedmont Civic Association.)

Americans value universal K-12 education so highly that we rarely impose fees on students or their families to recoup the cost of building and maintaining local schools. Most communities also encourage young people to exercise by providing public parks without charge for unscheduled play. More controversy arises, however, when communities decide how much to subsidize private, organized sports clubs, which generally take priority over non-organized use or casual impromptu activities. > Click to read more…

“Mid-Autumn Moon Festival”  put on by the Piedmont Asian American Club with traditional Asian arts, food, and activities is today, Friday, October 1, 2010 from 7:30-9 pm at Beach School, 100 Lake Avenue, Piedmont.  Tickets are $12 per person and $8 for PAAC members.  RSVP Mary Geong at 654-4417 or email mmgeong@aol.com.  Tickets are sold at the door.  The PAAC flier can be viewed with this link moon_festival_2010.