Linda Beach Park Renovation Creates Controversy
At 7:30 p.m. on May 7th, 2018, there was a City Council meeting at Piedmont’s City Council Chambers about the Linda Beach Master Plan. The details of the current plan were laid out and many residents voiced their opinion. Many people who live close to Beach had great concerns about the plan. The point of these City Council meetings is for the citizens to address the Council on any subject.
The Piedmont City Council meets on the first and third Mondays of each month. Though the main focus of this meeting was the Linda Beach Master Plan people were there for a variety of reasons.
One woman named Andrea Zombrona attended the meeting to keep pushing to “make Piedmont a Sanctuary City.” She had already written to the City Council, met with them, and had started a petition with the Chief of Police.
The main focus of the meeting was on the master planning and the biggest issue with that was whether to put in pickle ball courts or not. Many people love pickle ball and wanted the courts to play on, but neighbors of Beach knew that this would create a lot of noise, not only because pickle ball itself is loud but also because a nearby bridge helps reflect the sound.
I don’t think they should put in the pickle ball courts, because if I were living nearby I know I would be upset if there was so much noise. Another concerned citizen named Adam Porter had an idea to make the big turf field grass because it is better for the environment and studies have shown that kids who play sports on turf fields have higher rates of brain cancer.
by Adam Porter, Piedmont High School Senior
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Pickleball, Skateparks, and Toddlers
Piedmont’s May 7th City Council meeting saw the introduction of the 35% Linda Beach Master Plan. The new plan originated with a suggestion from the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Committee. The goal of the project is to get more residents to use the park, therefore making Piedmont’s investments in public parks more worthwhile. At the time of the City Council meeting, the plan for the park was at an early, “35%” stage.
There are several parts of the plan that have inspired residents to speak out strongly against them, such as the pickleball courts, the reduction in size of the toddler area, the addition of a skate park, and even changing the orientation and size of the tennis court.
Starting with the pickleball courts, there has been a sharp increase in interest for pickleball over the past couple years in Piedmont. The last two pickleball events organized in Piedmont both attracted dozens of players of all ages, prompting the group to ask the Park Commission to include pickleball courts in the new Linda Beach plan.
While there are dozens of players in favor of this addition, many residents and rival tennis players see this as a nuisance because of the “extreme” noise of pickleball games, and the removal of a tennis court to make way for the pickleball court. One rival tennis player’s rebuttal to the praise given to the pickleball court plan proved to be too much for one pickleball player, who became very annoyed and spoke out from his seat while the tennis player was still talking.
One resident of forty years, Lisa Nubble, had no problem with making the tennis courts regulation size, or at least close to regulation size, but said that the pickleball courts were “too much.” Instead of focusing on additions, she said, more attention should be given to maintaining the park better. She attended to see how these new plans would affect her neighborhood, since she lives right across from the park.
One of the other controversial additions to the park is the skate park. Many residents also saw this as an unacceptable source of noise, and don’t want it near their homes. They say that skate parks are placed in “undesirable areas” for a reason, and that the people that skate parks attract “shouldn’t have business in Piedmont, especially at night, because they bring trouble.”
I see the skate park as a something that could positively impact young kids in their search for hobbies and sports. I have friends, especially one friend, for which skateboarding is one of the most important things in his life. He’s been doing it for more than ten years, and it’s honestly amazing to see him continue to be so dedicated to the sport.
Even though I don’t skateboard and I wouldn’t use that part of Linda Beach Park for myself, I want that opportunity to be given to other kids in the area. I’d also like to add that I find it distasteful and selfish when I see Piedmonter so quickly saying “Piedmont is for us, not them.” Piedmont is a public place, our parks are public, and they are open to everyone. Anyway, I wanted to be helpful to the park planners, so I suggested adding an irregular surface to the Oakland/Linda Bridge, similar to the walls in audio recording studios, so that less noise is reflected and amplified towards homes.
A City Council member replied that the plan was in an early stage, so details like that haven’t been figured out, but I hope that the Parks Commission does find a way to prevent noise from being a problem so the skate park can be approved.
In this new plan, the area available to toddlers will be cut in half, which is proving to be a big problem with this plan. For many people in the neighborhood, the toddler area is very helpful to them as it helps keep toddlers active and occupied. Cutting the area for toddlers could affect the area’s effectiveness at keeping all those kids occupied at the same time.
Other changes for the park include revising the entrances to increase or decrease foot traffic, depending if they are in residential neighborhoods or not; making the entrance at Howard ADA accessible; and the addition of an outdoor classroom.
I’m in favor of most of the proposed ideas. I think that having a skate park in that area could land the City of Piedmont in a sticky situation if residents decide to sue because their property values go down, etc., but I think there should be another skate park in Piedmont. The existing one is comically out of the way and has restrictive hours. It’s also intimidating for people new to the sport. I think an outdoor classroom area is a great idea, more ADA accessible entrances is always good, and a better tennis court layout will please the tennis players. I’m excited to see how this plan develops in the coming weeks.
by Aaron Jeffries, Piedmont High School Senior
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Fights Erupt as Piedmont Introduces New Linda Beach Plan
Last week, at the government meeting at Piedmont City Hall, issues regarding the Linda Beach project were discussed. People had passionate opinions on every single aspect of the plan.
The meeting was held by the City Council, with the intention to present the new Linda Beach plan. The plan allowed for many new additions to the existing area. Some new ideas the plan included were: a skate park, “tot lot” to bring toddlers to while watching baseball games, etc., pickleball courts, more tennis courts, and a different layout for schoolmates.
The major issue that many people had was with the addition of pickleball courts. Several families with kids spoke out about how the noise would be too loud for their children to sleep at night. Many old couples said that they would not have bought a house here if they had known that pickleball would be added to their neighborhood.
The most entertaining feud between two speakers was with one man playing a pickleball sound recording while talking, to prove his point of how loud it was, and the next man who brought in genuine pickleball paddles and balls to show that the sound isn’t as loud as the first man’s recording showed. Overall, the majority of people were against pickleball. Most of the speakers on the pickleball situation were homeowners nearby Linda Beach.
Regarding the issues, Councilmember Jennifer Cavenaugh and City Administrator Paul Benoit answered most questions and concerns asked by the speakers.
In my opinion, pickleball courts should be built at Linda Beach Elementary, because these homeowners chose to live near a school with existing tennis courts and other sports fields, which already create noise on their own.
On the way out, I stopped Lisa Nubbel to ask a few questions on her stance. I asked why she attended the meeting, and she told me that she comes to these meetings to oppose pickleball. She lives a block away from the sports field at Beach Elementary, and is already frustrated with the noise that comes from there. She said she is planning to keep coming back to the City Council meetings to prove her point and fight against the idea of pickleball.
I spoke out at the meeting because I noticed that at the beginning, the Council members stated that there were no funds yet for the plan to take action. I asked how they were planning to raise the money and they were hesitant to respond, and replied that they were not yet sure, but will eventually tax Piedmont residents to acquire money.
It looks like Piedmont will have difficulty getting this plan approved by everyone– some people will remain opposed to pickleball and other new additions.
by Paige Avagliano, Piedmont High School Senior
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On the night of May 7th, 2018, the City Council of Piedmont, CA called into session a meeting with the soft, yet sharp pounding of a small gavel. After hasty formalities by the Council, Erica Pastor, CPA began her presentation about the recent audit. She described her role as an auditor, and what she was doing in Piedmont. Pastor said that the task of auditors is to give an independent opinion on financial statements in the city. The main items that she was looking into were cash receipts, cash disbursements, and payroll. Pastor’s presentation was thankfully not extensive, as MUN CPA’s had found no “material weaknesses, deficiencies, or compliance exceptions.” The fortunate, yet abrupt end of the presentation brought not only relief to the City Council members, but to most of the residents as well, as they seemed to be more focused on another issue that had yet to be discussed. This issue, was the redesign of Linda Beach Park.
Park designer, Will Smith introduced many conceptual ideals and landscapes that might be in the park. While there have been no concrete decisions made in this process of the design, Mr. Smith says he will strive to follow “seven guidelines of design process” when designing the new park: park identity, circulation and access, green space, stormwater management, multi-purpose space event space, and public arts.
In addition to Mr. Smith’s presentation, Sara Lillevand, Piedmont Recreation Department Director also came forward to answer the Council’s questions regarding the Linda Beach Master Plan. Lillevand admitted that the project was “no small task at all,” but that the City was listening to the residents, and nothing was final yet.
Many of the residents who had volunteered to speak seemed eager to address their problems and needs for the new park. Piedmont mother Amy Bauer was disappointed to see that the tot lot had been reduced in size by nearly 50%. She said even the current tot lot “is full most of the time” and that this reduction in size will make it harder for parents to find a place to play for their young children.
Most residents were concerned about the noise that the new redesign would cause. The addition of pickleball courts, as well as a skate park, would create so much noise, that it would bother neighbors, and depreciate the value of some homes. Most residents spoke against the addition of the courts, with one man playing a recording of pickleball over a loudspeaker.
Grace Neufeld, Executive Director and Lead Case Manager of American Neighborhood Solutions, Inc, was interviewed about her profession and why she had attended the City Council meeting that night. Neufeld said that a community member had come to her door and told her about the additions of pickleball courts, and skate ramps next to Beach Field. Even though she is not a resident of Piedmont, Neufeld came because she believes that “people who live in neighborhoods should set the standard for living” and how she would like to organize the community in order to stop this “blight” from being brought into their neighborhood.
The plan to redesign Beach Park is only about 35% finished, according to Lillevand, and the entire team is extremely willing to listen to what Piedmonters have to say about the park, she stressed that the park would evolve and change with what the community wants.
by Mason Barnes, Piedmont High School Senior
