Despite the lower annual cost offered to former Piedmont Swim Club (PSC) members, 300 did not buy passes that would have allowed them to continue to swim at the facility after City staff took over management.  Piedmont residents purchased 129 annual passes and 130 seasonal passes.  Sales of resident annual passes met expectations, but sales of resident seasonal passes fell short  – only half of the 250 projected.

> Click to read more…

Private sewer laterals must be replaced by homeowners

A new requirement has been imposed on Piedmont homeowners when selling a home:  the repair or replacement of any leaking lateral sewer lines running from the owner’s home to the public sewer main at a cost of $5,000 to $10,000 per lateral.  The new requirement is also triggered when doing remodeling work over $100,000 or re-sizing a water meter, and may be imposed as a result of routine ongoing city inspections of the main sewer lines, at the discretion of city staff.

The new law requires a homeowner to hire a contractor to pressure test his lateral sewer line in the presence of an EBMUD inspector, proving it does not leak between the home and the main line.  A presentation on the new requirement is now airing on KCOM.  Information is also available on the EBMUD website.

Approximately 60% of Piedmont homeowners will find themselves responsible for replacement of “lower lateral” portion of the line below the clean-out, in addition to the “upper lateral.”   This will be required for homes where sewer rehabilitation work has not been completed by the City of Piedmont.  The depth of the lower lateral can affect repair or replacement costs.

Homeowners likely to have to replace clay and cast iron lines > Click to read more…

Since the City Council in March approved the the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for development of Blair Park for sports fields and Coaches Field for lighting and artificial turf, controversy over Piedmont’s Moraga Canyon Sport Fields proposal has not abated. 

Between March and August, no public hearings have been held by the Council on the project. But Council members have said informally they expect to hold a public hearing on the revised final project plans in September.  Meanwhile, the Council may have met in closed session to discuss potential litigation on the project, but the Brown Act does not require public disclosure of the nature of potential litigation discussed. > Click to read more…

Council approves Art Center use of a portion of East Wing

At its August 1 meeting, the City Council approved an additional Use Agreement at 801 Magnolia Avenue, which will allow the Piedmont Center for the Arts to construct and use public restroom facilities in the area known as the Education Wing or East Wing.

The new use agreement is supplementary to the lease approved on May 2 and will allow the Arts Center “. . . to construct all of the required facilities in the south-east corner of Area C…a disabled-access lift to overcome the 4 steps up to this area, a new fire-rated wall, exit doors as the building code requires to create a public corridor to the public restrooms… exit signs, alarm systems, and emergency lighting . . . ”   Webcor Builders will be constructing the new improvements at a reduced fee.  The lift, potentially a $30,000 expense, will provide ADA access for the entire East Wing, as well as the restrooms.

Restrooms will no longer be constructed adjacent to the theater in the Art Center’s portion of the 801 Magnolia building, as originally planned.  Placement of the restrooms in the Arts Center’s portion of the building presented challenges due to Building Code requirements and disabled access to the restrooms within space constraints.  Construction of all required restrooms in the East Wing will make increased office space available to the Arts Center and its sub-tenants, while reducing the primary East Wing room to under 1200 square feet out of the original 1950 square foot wing.  (See Existing and New Plans.) > Click to read more…

Wanted:  Piedmont Reporters

Is there a City issue that interests you?  Do you feel more information needs to be available to other Piedmonters on a topic?  If you are willing to follow up on issues and write brief reports, the Piedmont Civic Association (PCA) wants to hear from you.

There is a great deal going on in our community, from school budget cuts . . . to City funds for the community swimming pool and sports fields; from proposed parcel tax and sewer tax increases . . . to the upcoming election of City Council and School Board members.

Have you been following a community issue?   Share your knowledge with others in our community and help PCA keep Piedmonters informed and involved in our City and Schools  by becoming a volunteer researcher or reporter.  It does not require a lot of time, and is actually fun and rewarding.  Send us an email at editors@piedmontcivic.org and we will fill you in on the details.

PCA Editorial Board

• Planning Commission – Monday August 8  – 5:00 pm Chambers
• Municipal Tax Review Committee – Wednesday August 17  – 7:30 pm Chambers
• Audit Subcommittee – Tuesday August 23 – 7:30 pm Chambers
• Municipal Tax Review Committee – Wednesday August 31 – 7:30 pm Chambers

Agendas for meetings will be posted in City Hall and the Piedmont Police Department at least 72 hours prior to each meeting.  All meetings are held at 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, unless otherwise noted.