On Monday, December 5, 2011, at its 7:30 p.m. meeting the City Council will consider the Moraga Canyon/Blair Park proposals.  Those interested can attend the meeting at City Hall 120 Vista Avenue in the Council Chambers.  The meeting may also be viewed through live streaming of the meeting on-line on the City website or on cable at Channel 27 KCOM.

School Board and City Council candidates hold open events.  

Candidates will be having coffees, hot chocolate chats, house parties and other events.   Check out their upcoming events here! > Click to read more…

The following is a letter sent to the Piedmont City Council by a Piedmont resident –

Moving forward with Blair Park amounts to rolling the dice.  What is gained by the gamble is clear.  The organized soccer teams will get a large, artificial turf playing field that will allow them more practice time.  > Click to read more…

City Administrator Weighs In:  Thumbs Up for Moraga/Blair Park and Thumbs Down for Coaches Turf/Lights –

Numerous letters have been submitted in anticipation of the upcoming December 5 hearing on the Piedmont Recreation Facilities Organization (PRFO) proposal to develop Blair Park into a youth recreation play field.   The pro correspondence focuses on a desire for local grassy play facilities alleviating the need for travel.  The con correspondence points out pedestrian and vehicular safety issues and taxpayer impacts.  Many neighboring residents voiced specific concerns.  LINK:  all Moraga/Blair Park materials

The City Administrator, Geoffrey Grote, recommends approval of the Blair Park construction if adequate mechanisms for funding and protection from legal liabilities are in place.  He recommends denial of public funding of $650,000 for artificial turf and lighting for Coaches field at the current time due to substantial unfunded costs associated with water runoff and the City’s overall financial uncertainties. Read the full report . . . > Click to read more…

The Recreation Commission on November 16, took up the issue of large groups of primarily adult male soccer players taking over the grassy play space at Beach and Havens.  The games have been noted to start as early as 7:00 a.m.  Typically, the fields are divided in half, allowing four teams to use the space at one time.  By City regulation, the fields cannot be reserved.  The goal has been for casual, drop-in use by neighborhood residents.

Parking, noise, preemption of children’s play, and wear and tear on the fields have presented problems.  The Recreation Commission plans to continue to monitor the issue to see if education will solve the problem or if monitors will need to be present during certain periods.

Powerpoint slides illustrate an alternative which Council Member Garrett Keating identifies as greener –

The Oraftik or “Park” Alternative offers the same field space with a more park-like setting along Moraga Avenue by enlarging Coaches Field.  (See details given on 3/11/11 at p. 4-5.)

Council Member Keating recently analyzed the “greenness” of various options, including the Park option. However, on March 3, 2011 the City Council, with the exception of Council Member Keating, agreed that while both the PRFO and Park plans were viable options for developing Blair Park and providing much needed sports fields, only the PRFO has funding to construct the improvements. (At p. 7-10.) > Click to read more…

A resident asks whether the berm wall along Moraga Avenue will be a landscaped slope or an eyesore –

Members of the City Council,

Attached you will find copies of the brochures of SIERRASCAPE WALLS and TENSAR Earth Technologies, Inc. detailing the system that is proposed by ELS, Architecture and Design in their Final Proposed Master Plan and Additional Detailed Information.

As you can see, unlike the architects renderings and photo shopped pictures depict, this is a system designed as a cheap reinforced soil solution for grade separation > Click to read more…

The Piedmont Public Works Department Issues Notice

An arborist’s report recommends immediate removal of three large Blue Gum Eucalyptus trees located adjacent to 637 Moraga Avenue, Coaches Field, and Mountain View Cemetery.  The tree removal work will commence and end on Monday, December 19, 2011, weather permitting. > Click to read more…

Here is your chance to find out about the candidates’ positions on important issues facing our City and School District.  Please submit your questions by posting a Comment to this article.  Or take a minute and submit your candidate question to editors@piedmontcivic.org.

An Open Letter from Candidate Tim Rood Regarding His Position on Blair Park –

A recent letter to the Piedmont Post  inaccurately characterized my position regarding the proposed sports complex at Blair Park. I’d like to take this opportunity to set the record straight.

As a longtime soccer parent (as well as baseball and softball) I am completely sympathetic to the desire for additional field space in town and understand that the lease for the fields currently > Click to read more…