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…

A large crowd of Piedmonters turned out on a warm Sunday afternoon to celebrate the opening of the new Piedmont Center for the Arts, Inc.   The former Christian Science Church at 801 Magnolia Avenue has been quickly renovated with roof repairs, basement work,  window replacements, lighting, new stair railings, fresh paint, and new carpet. The renovation work was done by privately raised funds and hands-on volunteer labor. Two donated oriental carpets and a loaned 1903 baby grand piano furnished the former sanctuary.  The City landscaped the exterior grounds and completed the entire job in two-and-a-half weeks, just in time to welcome the community on Sunday, August 28, 2011.  > 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…

The  Piedmont Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Review Committee will be touring the “education wing” of the former Christian Science Church building at 801 Magnolia on Monday, May 16, 2011.   The tour will begin at 6:30 p.m. in front of City Hall.  It is open to the public.

Staff has proposed the education wing of 801 Magnolia Avenue become a childcare facility.  This may include moving programs out of the Recreation Department location at 358 Hillside Avenue, allowing staff to expand its offices.  Other uses for the space raised by Piedmont residents and mentioned in the General Plan Survey have not been proposed by staff.

The CIP Committee is charged with, “Develop(ing) procedures for encouraging and seeking citizen input into the capital budget process.”  However, due to limited funding no public input was solicited this year.  A list of pending projects and highlights from staff’s “wish list” of proposals from the CIP staff report are provided below.

Following the tour, the CIP committee will review the draft CIP priority list and its  CIP recommendations.  These recommendations will be considered by the City Council at 9:00 am on Saturday, May 21, 2011 in the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) of the Police Department.   It will not be videotaped.

The CIP fund represents the largest amount of discretionary spending by the Piedmont City Council.  Due to CIP funding being utilized to satisfy Piedmont Hills undergrounding cost overruns, the CIP budget has been reduced.  It is now $573,000.  New funding is not anticipated for 2011-12.

> Click to read more…

A number of citizens appeared before the Piedmont City Council on April 18 to endorse the idea of having an arts center in Piedmont.  The Council was swept up in the new proposal and eager to turn over city property for $1 per year to a new group,  The Piedmont Center for the Arts, which is likely to acquire nonprofit status before the end of 2011.

On April 23 all homes in Piedmont received a letter from the group announcing itself and requesting that tax-deductible contributions be sent to its Center at 801 Magnolia Avenue.  A mailing processor was paid to manage the mailing on its permit and standard bulk rate mailing rates were paid.  Once certified as a nonprofit corporation, the arts group can acquire nonprofit mailing permit, saving money for equipment, art shows, children programs, possibly book reviews, community meetings, etc.

What will the program for the arts center be?  It would be nice to invite all Piedmont citizens to contribute ideas for arts activities and other uses for the publicly owned property. To inform citizens about the building, a public walk through might be included on some of the days City Staff provides access to the new group.  Plans for the “newer” portion of the building (the Sunday school rooms not part of the Arts lease) could be opened for community discussion as part of this process.

Is the enthusiasm for an arts center causing the City to skip over normal steps?  Since Zone B section 17.6.1 requires use of the building only by governmental or nonprofit entities  compatible with their surroundings, why not wait until a certified nonprofit organization has had the benefit of wide citizen input and put together a comprehensive proposal of use, fees, and time allocations to school and recreation programs known to benefit the community as a whole?  The arts center would be even more welcome after the community has been consulted and feels ownership of the idea.  Shall we slow down in order to have a better planned arts center and other uses for all portions of the City-owned property at 801 Magnolia Ave?

The terms of the lease require careful thought. Improvements will be accomplished through community donations and/or community fees, while the lease requires the City to pay the group for costs not amortized at termination.  Water, sewer, garbage, landscape and sidewalk maintenance will be provided by the City.

A long-term lease was required by the Swim Club in order to operate on a public/private basis, but it was a known program that had been developed and operated for almost 50 years.  In the case of the Arts Center, a long-term lease is proposed without knowing the particulars. What Arts Administration expertise and credentials does the group have to run it in a professional manner, a past prerequisite for City owned public benefit property?  While everyone anticipates the facility will enhance our community in many ways, it seems prudent to ensure the Council retains ultimate control over fees and use.

If the arts program is as successful as all hope and anticipate, it could generate significant revenues. These revenues would appropriately be shared with the community by keeping fees as low as possible for residents and providing free use to certain community groups, as the pool did.

In speaking before the Piedmont City Council on April 18, one Art Center Board member and founder confirmed:  “We want this to be used. Our pricing structure for using it is geared toward being always used.” Although this represents a strong commitment to maximizing use, the lease is missing any provisions to keep fees as low as possible, revenue-share with the City, or ensure ongoing reporting and oversight by the City Council of this newest public-private partnership in our town.

Undergrounding problems, the costs of the pool takeover, and the recent League of Women Task Force Report have made citizens more aware and attentive to the potential costs and risks presented from insufficient information and incomplete processes.  The City needs lease provisions which enable appropriate oversight of use, revenue-sharing, fees, and maintenance, while relying on this dedicated volunteer group of arts supporters to manage the facility at great cost savings to the community.

Detail:  Zone B (government zone) requirements per City Code: 17.6.1: Intent.  Zone B is established to regulate and control development of public facilities which are compatible with the character of existing and proposed surrounding uses. (Ord. No. 488 N.S., 10/87)  City Building, Veterans’ Building, or other public agency building, and accessory structures located on the same lot of parcel, for use by governmental entities or other nonprofit entities as allowed by the City.”  (Emphasis added.)

The Council is scheduled at the May 2 Council meeting to take final action on the ordinance approving a lease.

The Friends of Moraga Canyon announce an event at Crocker Park on Arbor Day

Friends of Moraga Canyon (FOMC) is pleased that Piedmont is planting one new oak tree in Crocker Park in honor of Arbor Day, Friday, April 22nd. At the same time, FOMC has invited its supporters to take part in a  quiet “witness” for the 55 mature oak trees and the existing ecology and terrain at Blair Park that the organization is striving to preserve.

The City’s celebration will take place at Crocker Park on Friday, April 22, at 12:30 pm. FOMC supporters will stand nearby on King near Hampton, holding banners and signs.

FOMC’s goal is to save the oak woodland, plus 100 more trees, that would be sacrificed to build soccer fields in Blair Park. FOMC, with over 950 endorsers, seeks a win-win solution to end the divisiveness in Piedmont over the proposed sports field project. FOMC supports an alternative plan to enlarge Coaches Field into a full-size soccer field that could serve much of the need for field space without destroying the environment.

The city has invited Smokey the Bear to attend the tree-planting to remind everyone of the “importance of urban forests, which provide shade and habitat for birds and help clean the air.”

Here are some of the other benefits trees provide:

–A single urban tree can provide up to $273 a year in pollution fighting, erosion and storm water control, air conditioning and wildlife shelter benefits. (Source: American Forests)

–Trees can reduce noise by up to 50 percent. (Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)

–A mature tree can often have an appraised value of between $1,000 and $10,000. (Source: Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers)

–Trees not only brighten city streets and delight nature-starved urbanites; now scientists are discovering that they also play a crucial role in the green infrastructure of America’s cities. As we humans wrestle with how to repair the damage we have wrought on nature, and how to slow climate change, urban trees offer an obvious low-tech solution. (Source: “What Is a Tree Worth?” by Jill Jonnes, Wilson Quarterly, Winter 2011)

–A study in NYC found that the average street tree intercepted 1,432 gallons of water runoff, a service worth $61. (Source: “What is a Tree Worth?” by Jill Jonnes, Wilson Quarterly, Winter 2011)

–The new natural science gallery being created at the Oakland Museum is focusing on stewardship and conservation of our own habitats. Nature is not just a place in a state park 3 hours away, but the incredible biodiversity in our backyard!

(This letter expresses the personal opinions of the author. All statements made are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily those of the Piedmont Civic Association.)

A letter from a Piedmont resident providing history and analysis on storm water runoff:

Are Mountain View Cemetery’s 3 Earthen Dams Safe?

A.  Before obtaining a building permit for construction of the Blair Park (BP) project, PRFO (Piedmont Recreational Facilities Organization) and the City of Piedmont has to meet the RWQCB C-3 provisions and obtain a NDPES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit from the RWQCB (Regional Water Quality Control Board). The NDPES permit entails how all storm water runoff and discharge from the BP project will be handled into the existing storm culvert water infrastructure system, eventually reaching Lake Merritt (LM). The Piedmont Blair Park-Coaches Field projects will need specialized solutions to meet C-3 requirements to properly discharge their storm water > Click to read more…

Piedmonters gathered in the Science classroom of Havens School to hear about water use and conservation opportunities in California and across the nation.  Using rainwater and greywater instead of fresh drinking water for some tasks could lessen the strain on Piedmont’s sewer system and reduce EBMUD bills.  > Click to read more…