The townhouse project for the defunct PG&E substation site located at 408 Linda Avenue is on the Planning Commission agenda Monday, August 8.  Developers, Piedmont Station LLC, submitted their application to redevelop the PG&E substation site on March 28, 2008.  The initial California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) study by LSA Associates determined that a focused Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is required.  > Click to read more…

Coaches Playfield

The use of the one-time $500,000 WW Park Bond Fund money for artificial turf and lighting on Coaches Field is envisioned by the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Review Committee in its FY 2011-12 recommendations, although the Piedmont City Council has not yet held public hearings on the various possible uses of the WW funds.  The Council has promised hearings will be held prior to a determination on the use of the funds.   Measure WW funds are restricted, but are available to Piedmont for a variety of capital projects:  > Click to read more…

Editor’s Note: The following letter was sent to the Piedmont City Council and Park Commissioners regarding landscaping the city-owned property at 801 Magnolia. The matter will be heard at the Wednesday, July 6, Park Commission meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in City Council chambers.

June 30, 2011

Dear Council Members and Commissioners:

The citizens of Piedmont are indeed fortunate that the Piedmont Center for the Arts (PCArts) will open soon in the long-abandoned building at the corner of Magnolia and Bonita. While the interior will be a venue for bringing the community together to celebrate our city’s diverse talents, the expansive outdoor portion of the property ought to showcase creative landscape design—as well as honor Piedmont’s adopted Bay-Friendly ordinance. > Click to read more…

On the evening of Tuesday, June 21, several hundred Oakland library supporters gathered at Oakland City Hall.  They filled every seat on the main floor of the chamber, both galleries, the grand staircase leading up to the chamber as well as the amphitheater in the plaza.  They had come to oppose the proposed budget that would close most of the branch libraries and  drastically reduce services in the four remaining libraries.  (See library articles.)  However, the Oakland City Council, once more, postponed consideration of the city’s FY 2011-12 budget, as it had on June 7.

The Oakland Council did, however, approve the second reading of the increase in the Measure Q parcel tax, the Library Services Retention and Enhancement Act of 2004.  > Click to read more…

Assumptions used for the PG&E substation project are questioned

June 9, 2011

Piedmont Planning Commission
c/o Kate Black, City Planner

Re: June 13 Commission meeting re: 408 Linda Ave. Development (“Proposal”)

PART I: SCOPING COMMENTS FOR DEIR:  [Draft Environmental Impact Report]
The DKS: Traffic Analysis Piedmont Townhomes entirely fails to examine street traffic traveling east bound down Linda Avenue right before the blind left hand curve in the road where traffic will be entering and exiting the new 408 driveway. Will a car be waiting in the lane for another car exiting?  This will be occurring right at the point where the school speed zone reverts to 25mph, a normal place for drivers to speed up. The critical traffic issue of cars traveling with no adequate sightline east bound immediately before the Proposal driveway must be analyzed. > Click to read more…

Oakland citizens supporting library services and librarians have organized to protest the proposed closing of 15 libraries and the planned reduction of hours at the remaining 4 libraries. Their organization, Save Oakland Library is gathering signatures on a petition that states, “We, the undersigned, protest any proposal to close or reduce services at any Oakland library.”  > Click to read more…

Piedmont’s future library service relationship remains unsettled as the Oakland City Council considers drastic library reductions and the elimination of their Library Department. Even as Oakland’s library services shrink, the City has continued to demand increased library contributions from Piedmont and Emeryville.  Reports of Oakland’s demands have varied.  Reportedly, Oakland City Council member Libby Schaff proposes that Piedmont pay $497,722.22 and Emeryville pay $470,332.80  per year for Oakland library services. Piedmont City Administrator, Geoff Grote has previously reported an Oakland demand of $596,000.  The basis of the numbers has not been defined.  On a per capita basis, Piedmont’s population has diminished since the 2000 census, while Emeryville’s has increased.

Meanwhile, library systems throughout California are making tough decisions in light of anticipated State budget cuts to library funding.  Beginning July 1, 2011, the Santa Clara County Library (SCCL) District will charge an annual $80 card fee to non-residents of the SCCL District to use online services or borrow books and other materials.  > Click to read more…

The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for a townhouse development project has been prepared and is now available for review.  The project is located at the site of the defunct PG&E Substation below the Oakland Avenue Bridge on Linda Avenue.  The 5,688-square-foot concrete PG&E structure would be demolished to create a roughly triangular .4 acre site that abuts the bridge, a two-story apartment building and a single-family home on Linda Avenue.

LSA Associates of Point Richmond, contracted to provide the DEIR, is the same firm that produced the CEQA Initial Study, “Piedmont Station LLC,” and the Moraga Canyon DEIR in 2010.  > Click to read more…

Just one week after Piedmont sent a check for $350,471 to Oakland for library services (2009-10 billed in arrears), Oakland’s Mayor Jean Quan has announced a proposal to close 15 of its 19 libraries.

On Friday, April 29, Oakland Mayor, Jean Quan, called for either the closure of all City libraries except the Main Library and 3 branches or a library budget cut of $400,000, an amount almost identical to Piedmont’s payment.  

The closure proposal would affect Montclair, Piedmont Avenue, Temescal (including its tool library), as well as the Asian, Brookfield, Cezar Chavez, Dimond, Eastmont, Elmhurst, Golden Gate, Lakeview, Martin Luther King, Melrose,  and West Oakland branch libraries and the African American Museum and Library.  The funding for new books and DVDs would be severely limited.  Electronic services such as downloadable books and databases would be discontinued.  The hours for the Oakland History Room in the Main library would be reduced.

The City of Piedmont included no restrictions on Oakland’s use of its recent $350,471 contribution, e.g. requiring that the dollars result in an increase in the Oakland Library budget or that services be maintained.

No Piedmont payments for library services go into the Oakland Library budget according to the Oakland Associate Library Director Gerry Garzon.  Residents of Piedmont often identify the desire to support the Oakland Libraries as a rationale for making a library service payment to Oakland.  However, Piedmont’s “library service” payments are used as general funds, not for Oakland Libraries.  > Click to read more…

On Monday, April 18th, the Piedmont City Council reaffirmed its desire to make a contribution of $350,471 to the City of Oakland general fund for the year 2009-10 and the City Administrator issued a check payable to the City of Oakland the next day.  The monies will not increase the Oakland Library budget.  At the request of the City Council, the City Administrator Geoff Grote reviewed the library services issue.  > Click to read more…