“City Staff is asking Park Commissioners to provide feedback on the Draft 6th Cycle Piedmont Housing Element as community members and key stakeholders. The Park Commission meeting on May 4 gives the public further opportunities to learn about the Housing Element update process and to give their input and feedback.”

Numerous proposals are in the Draft Housing Element many occurring throughout Piedmont.  Density increases, removal of parking requirements, raised height limits of buildings, end to neighbor input on proposals, zoning changes, Charter change, etc.

 All proposals in the 374 page Draft Housing Element document can be read online for public comment.  See link at the end of this article.

6. Proposed Specific Plan: Page B-12, Appendix B, of the Draft Housing Element proposes to prepare a specific plan (Government Code §65450 et. seq) for the area of the Public Works Corporation Yard to accommodate new housing development, incorporate existing amenities, and modernize current city functions. The portion of the site utilized for park Page 2 of 62 and recreational uses, are intended to remain as an amenity for the proposed specific plan area, with the existing vehicle parking reconfigured, as needed.  See map on linked attachment below.

7. Blair Park: The Draft Housing Element identifies Blair Park, which is located on the south side of Moraga Avenue, as a potential alternate site for housing if the proposed specific plan for the Public Works Corporation Yard fails to yield 122 housing units (page B-13). Blair Park is 3.55 acres, with the potential for 210 units if developed at 60 units per acre.

8. Zoning Amendments: In order to meet the 6th Cycle RHNA target with Piedmont’s limited available land, the Draft Housing Element’s Goal 1, New Housing Construction, proposes to increase the allowed residential density for housing affiliated with religious institutions in Zone A (program 1.D, page (37) and increase allowed residential density in Zone B (program 1.F), Zone C (program 1.G), and Zone D (1.H).

READ the Draft Housing Element May 4 presentation to the Park Commission and Agenda, including participation information below:

> 2022-05-04 Park Agenda

Selling desirable naming opportunities has been an important fund-raising tool prior to the current stampede to remove donor’s names.

The current incentive to investigate the individual donor and ancestors to uncover impurity has led to a rash of donors’ un-naming.  Do people really want their lives examined in such punitive ways today?  Giving anonymously has a new appeal for some who don’t want to be publicly shamed for the unknown misdeeds of great-grandparents.

The usual practice was to produce a price list of the donation required to brand a building, plaza, walkway, or other feature with the donor’s name or company.

In light of the substantial costs of the Piedmont Community pools complex, the City Council is eager to encourage donations.  To this end a policy on donations and naming for the pools or other local improvements.  On April 4, 2022, the Council directed staff to develop a policy.  See the policy prepared by the City Attorney’s office here.

Among other points, it authorizes the City Administrator to accept
donations valued (in the case of in-kind donations) of up to $75,000 with the authority for larger donations reserved to the City Council.  The naming requests for facility or capital project must be reviewed by the City Council.

• 1. Amenity: An improvement located on City property, including, but not limited to a wall,
  a plaza in front of a City building, a trail located along City property, room or rooms in a
  City building, gazebos, archways, paths, decks, patios, athletic facilities, playing fields,
  aquatic facilities, picnic areas, play structures, hard courts, and trail segments.
•  2. Donation: A person or entity providing the City with financial support or property of a
  value exceeding the City’s payment for such item. Furthermore, a donor typically does
  not expect to receive a substantial return or recognition from the City in return for the
  donation. A donation may consist of an amenity, cash, real property (land), in-kind
  donation, or work of art. Donations may be unrestricted or restricted by the donor.
• 3. Donor: A company, organization, or individual, who provides the City a donation without expectation of significant return or recognition.
• 4. In-Kind Contributions: A contribution of an item or object other than cash or real
  property, which would serve a useful purpose in the provision of City services. Examples
  may include equipment, materials, or services.
• 5. Restricted Donation: A donation made to the City where the donor has restricted its use
  to a specified purpose. Any proposed restrictions must be made in writing.
• 6. Sponsor: A company, organization, or individual who provides the City with funding
  support for a program, activity, or facility in the form of a sponsorship, and who expects more than nominal recognition in return.
• 7. Sponsorship: A sponsorship typically means a person or entity that provides the City with financial support for an activity, City program, or City facility, typically in exchange for the City providing more than nominal recognition of its financial support, which distinguishes a sponsorship from a donation. Financial assistance provided by a sponsor may consist of cash and/or in-kind contributions
• 8. Sponsorship Agreement: A negotiated agreement between the City and a company,
  organization, or individual who provides a sponsorship whereby the City agrees to
  provide a sponsorship opportunity to a company, organization, or individual in exchange
  for recognition rights related to certain identified City-owned commercial or marketable
  assets. A Sponsorship Agreement may permit a limited form of advertising opportunity for a company, organization, or individual in exchange for the fee paid to the City.
• 9. Unrestricted Donation: A donation made to the City where the donor has placed no
  limitation on its use.
• 10. Works of Art: Includes, without limitation, physical art that may be an integral part of a public site or building, or that may be integrated with the work of other design professionals. Examples of public works of art include: sculptures; murals and paintings; earthworks; neon; glass; organic materials; mosaics; photographs; prints; film; and any combination of media forms or hybrids of any media.

Donation Policy & Naming Policy 522020

council- 522020 agenda

Do you know who is going to be interviewed by the Council for Piedmont’s important Commissions and Committees?

Frequently, Piedmont residents have heard the City Council expound on the need for inclusion and transparency, yet the Council does not provide transparency or inclusion in some proceedings.  

On Monday, March 28, 2022, at a “Special Meeting,” the Piedmont City Council will once again perpetuate a long-held practice of interviewing candidates for appointments to volunteer positions on Piedmont public committees and commissions away from public broadcasts and records.  Although an “official” notice announces the public interview sessions, the meetings are either held in a small conference room, or, as in this case, the Police Department Emergency Operations Center (EOC) making public participation and observation of Council decision difficult. 

The March 28, 2022 meeting has:

• No cameras for a record of the meeting (due to lack of funds)

• No broadcasts for remote viewing (due to lack of funds)

• No publicity of  the applicant’s names or positions they seek

• No listing of the order of the interviews

• No timely release to the public of the applications provided to the Council

• No opportunity for meaningful public participation in the selections

• No record of Council member priorities

• No record of individual Council member preferences

The Agenda for the March 28, 2022;  (see Full Agenda > 3:28:2022 Appointees) states:

“Special City Council Agenda Monday, March 28, 2022 6:00 p.m. EOC, Police Dept., 403 Highland Avenue, Piedmont, CA

Special Session

1. Interview of Candidates for City Commissions and Committees to be Followed by Possible Appointment to Posted Vacancies 0085″ 

[No applicant names, no order of interviews, no positions are noted.  There is no staff report for public information. ]

California’s sunshine law, the Brown Act, requires interviews for appointed public positions to Committees and Commissions to be done in public. Not only should the law be followed by word, but by spirit, allowing the public to readily observe and participate in Piedmont government decisions. 

If the Council is true to a desire for inclusion, transparency, and public participation, the Agenda needs to list the volunteer positions to be filled in addition to the applicants’ names, and the “Special Meeting” would be broadcasted to the public and recorded.

Decades old hidden appointment processes are being perpetuated.  Under current procedures residents of Piedmont cannot know why individual appointments are made.  Applicant information provided to Council members is by law to be timely provided to the public.  Once appointments have been made appointee names have been withheld “until the appointee was notified. “

Past practices of placing the public at arms length from important Council appointments, processes and decisions have been allowed to continue unquestioned by the Council.  For Piedmont to become inclusive, the old ways need to end in favor of accessible, transparent meeting processes.

During the heart of the pandemic, appointee interviews were of necessity held on Zoom allowing the public to view the appointment procedures remotely. However,  Council members indicated during the Zoom selection process that the open broadcasted interview sessions made the process challenging for the public was able to view and hear the decisions being made.  A social club atmosphere prevailed in selecting  the appointees, as Council members privately sent  phone texts to the City Clerk to indicate their appointment preferences.  The Council never asked the City Clerk which Council members favored which applicants, consequently the public could not know the preferences.. 

For Piedmont to become a truly inclusive City, decision processes should be readily and easily available to all Piedmonters in a transparent manner.

Ironically, the City Council is currently paying a contractor thousands of dollars to advise the City on “transparency” in regard to adding 587 new housing units in Piedmont. Expensive banners have been erected by the City at strategic locations on Piedmont light poles to inform Piedmonters of the impending changes to Piedmont’s Housing Element involving zoning changes and 587 new housing units.

Piedmont Civic Association asked Piedmont City Clerk, John Tulloch, for an explanation on the lack of a recording and broadcast of Council appointment processes. A response is copied below:

“The interviews were conducted in a noticed, open, public meeting, consistent with the City’s past practice for Council vacancy interviews. The meeting was conducted in the EOC to allow for a space in which interviews could be conducted in an open, public, COVID safe way that allowed the Councilmembers to interact with applicants in person.”

Piedmont Civic Association Editors’ Comment:  The size of the Council Chamber (City Hall) 120 Vista Avenue, where Piedmont’s cameras are located and broadcast originate, has a high ceiling making it more airy than the Police Department Emergency Operation Center, EOC.   

During the Commission and  Committee interviews,  the Council has asked candidates  to not be present when other candidates are interviewed. The Brown Act allows all public members to be present for public decision making processes. Volunteers for appointed positions can learn from one another during the interview process, which is an advantage for Piedmont. 

Importantly, many candidates who seek appointed positions might be potential candidates for Piedmont elected office. Interview processes allow residents to observe both the Council and the candidates engendering greater participation, inclusion, and interest in Piedmont policy making.

Various staff members have participated in the appointment processes by advising the Council during their selection process on the pros and cons of some applicants.

Open broadcasted meetings encourage the greatest public participation and strengthen our democratic government.

March  25, 2022 – City notice states:

Special City Council Meeting Agenda – March 28, 2022

The Ralph M. Brown Act Requires that all agendas be written clearly and in sufficient detail to allow the public to understand the question to be decided by the City Council. Piedmont makes every attempt to comply with both the letter and spirit of this law. If, however, you have questions concerning an item on a City Council agenda, please call the City Clerk’s office at (510) 420-3040. Also available are the Staff Reports for each item of business on the agenda. 

[When going to the link for Staff Reports, there is no Staff Report for the March 28, 2022 Agenda. There are no names or positions.]

To send comments to the City Council as a whole, and/or regarding a City Council agenda item, please email citycouncil@piedmont.ca.gov. To send via U.S. Mail, please use the following address:

City Council
City of Piedmont
120 Vista Avenue
Piedmont, CA 94611

To send an individual Councilmember a message, please find their contact information on the Councilmember page. Any correspondence sent to the City may be considered a public record.

Editors’ Note:  The comments made here in no way express an objection to the specific choices made by the City Council to fill positions. 

Selection of the New City Council Member to Fill the Vacancy has Citizens Confused

The Resignation of former Council member Tim Rood makes way for a replacement City Council Member outside of the normal election process.  Citizens reading the public posting could not tell how to participate or observe the February 7, 2022. 4pm City Council meeting focused on the Council member replacement.  The agenda does not notice a virtual/teleconferenced meeting.  See Agenda and Staff report linked below:

2.  Staff report on reasons to hold virtual/teleconferenced meetings > 2.7.2022

SECTION 4. The City Council reconfirms and incorporates the findings made in Resolution 77-2021 regarding the need for the Council and all Commissions, Committees, or advisory bodies of the City of Piedmont to meet by teleconference.

3.  Interviews of candidates

4.  Consideration of Appointment of Candidate to Vacant City Council Seat. > council-special-agenda 2.7.2022  

Council selection process thwarts public viewing and participation.

Per the California Brown Act (Sunshine law), Council candidate interviews and their actual applications seeking appointment to public office are required to be open and available to the public. The City is not following their own meeting procedures on COVID safety for virtual meetings.  The City has also not publicly disseminated the written applications.

The City has decided to hold the interviews and selection process in the Piedmont Police Department Emergency Operation Center (EOC) on Highland Avenue rather than in the Council Chambers wherein cameras can readily record and broadcast proceedings.  Only COVID compliant individuals can physically enter the Police Department to potentially observe and participate in the Council selection process. 

Candidate interviews had originally been scheduled “virtually” and would have been held in the Council Chambers allowing at home viewing through Zoom of the interview sessions and the Council selection process.

For years, the EOC and Council Conference Room have been selectively used for meetings where video recordings were not produced.  Some past noteworthy meetings held away from camera access have been the Piedmont Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee, interviews of candidates for commission appointments, and the City Department Budget presentations. 

Persons interested in participating in the interview process may enter the Police Department EOC on Highland Avenue at their own risk and observe the interviews and the selection process Monday, February 7, 2022 at 4 p.m.

City of Piedmont 2022 City Council Vacancy Applicant List:

Robert Dickinson

Connie Herrick

Deborah Leland

Jennifer Long

Hugh Louch

Thomas MacBride

Richard Raushenbush

Steve Roland

Andrea Ruiz-Esquide

Billy Rusteen

Ruchi Shrivastava Medhekar

Agenda council-special-agenda 2.7.2022

Staff report continuing virtual meetings.2.7.2022

Editors’ Note:  On February 7, 2022, at the Special Council meeting held away from broadcast capability in the Police Department EOC, Jennifer Long was selected by the City Council to fill the Tim Rood vacancy. Once the City Clerk releases information about Jennifer Long, it will be published on this site.

NOMINATION PERIOD FOR 2022 ARTHUR HECHT VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD

This award is presented annually to individuals who have volunteered their efforts over a period of time and made a difference because of their involvement and commitment to Piedmont’s youth. Following are the previous recipients: Hunter McCreary (1998); Ann Chandler (1999); Ruth Cuming (2000); Lisa Lomenzo (2001); jointly by Cathie Geddeis and Marion Souyoultzis (2002); jointly by Fritz and Mary Wooster (2003); Elizabeth (Betsy) Gentry (2004); Cynthia Gorman (2005); Grier Graff (2006); Julia Burke (2007); Maude Pervere (2008); jointly to Anne-Marie Lamarche and Mark Menke (2009); Janiele Maffei Tovani (2010); Andrea Swenson (2011), June Monach (2012), Bill Drum (posthumously) and Mary Ireland (2013), Ray Perman (2014), Jennifer Fox (2015), Katie Korotzer (2016), Hilary Cooper (2017) Holly Hanke (2018), Cathy Glazier (2019), Sue Smegal (2020), and Ken Li (2021).

Art Hecht was a tireless community volunteer, and was dedicated to students in both Piedmont and Oakland. He served on Piedmont’s Board of Education from 1970 to 1982. Art also was very active with the Piedmont Continuation High School (now called Millennium High School). In 1998, the Art Hecht Volunteer of the Year Award was established in his memory.

Nominations for this award are now being sought and will be kept strictly confidential. The deadline for nominations is 4:30 p.m. on March 18, 2022. A selection committee will vote on the award recipient, who will be recognized at the May 11, 2022 Board of Education meeting, where the honoree’s good works will be acknowledged. They also will receive the gift of a work of student art. The student will receive a monetary award and commendation from the Board.

Nomination Forms are available on the PUSD website, in the District Office or by calling Sylvia Flores Eggert, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent, at (510) 594- 2614.

Art Hecht press release for 2022

Successor procedures to be determined in early January.

At the conclusion of its meeting on December 20th, Councilmember Tim Rood announced his intent to resign from the Piedmont City Council effective December 31, 2021. Councilmember Rood was first elected to the City Council in 2014, re-elected in 2018, and served as Piedmont’s
Vice Mayor from December 7, 2020 to December 6, 2021.

Councilmember Rood served as the Council’s liaison to the Park Commission, Planning Commission, and the Recreation Commission. He also represented Piedmont on the boards of the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and East Bay Community Energy. Long active in community affairs, Councilmember Rood served on the Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee and was the President of the Piedmont Swim Club before being elected.

Councilmember Rood indicated that he is resigning because he will no longer be a resident of Piedmont, as he is in the process of purchasing a home in the Laurel District of Oakland.

“I’m grateful to the voters of Piedmont for entrusting me twice with the responsibility of being your Councilmember,” said Rood. “Even as a private citizen in Oakland, I’ll be cheering Piedmont’s progress in doing its part to address the state and region’s housing crisis, creating opportunities for greater diversity of households and incomes in its housing stock, and
acknowledging and trying to make amends to those hurt by the shameful injustices in Piedmont’s past, including the descendants of Sidney Dearing and others excluded from Piedmont by racial prejudice.”

Under the City Charter, the Council must appoint a successor no later than sixty days after the effective date of the resignation. The Council will hold a meeting in early January to determine the process for appointment of a successor.

City of Piedmont Press Release

  On July 27, 2021, a robbery occurred in the 300 block of Sheridan Avenue. A Piedmont resident was exiting his vehicle in front of his house when a subject approached him and demanded all his money and an envelope he was carrying.

The victim had just returned from the bank prior to the robbery. Detectives conducted follow-up with the victim’s bank and were able to identify a possible suspect vehicle that matched the description provided by the victim, a silver Acura MDX.

Upon collecting and reviewing several additional security videos from different locations along the direction of travel, detectives determined the victim had been followed home by the suspect. Detectives also discovered similarities to other robbery cases in Berkeley, Oakland, and Castro
Valley.

Upon continued follow-up and collaboration with those agencies, detectives were able to identify the suspect as 27-year-old, El Sobrante resident, Eddie Ray Nute.

Nute is in custody and awaiting trial for the robbery in Piedmont and six other Bay Area robberies involving similar characteristics.

This is another outstanding example of the collaboration between local law enforcement and the District Attorney’s office.

Anyone with additional information and/or inquiries related to this case are asked to please contact Detective John Lagios at (510) 420-3013.

Piedmont Police Department Press Release

Pedestrian Bicycle Advisory Committee to Consider Recommendation on Piedmont Safer Streets Draft Plan

Thursday, October 7, 2021, 5:30 p.m., Virtual Meeting

AGENDA and PARTICIPATION > HERE

Piedmont’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan consultants Eisen | Letunic significantly contributed to the plan being considered.  The consultant produced  a program  of seven main phases, resulting in the proposed plan under review by the committee for their recommendation to the Piedmont City Council for their consideration and action.

Most comments received during the PBMP planning process were related to pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, damaged sidewalks, traffic safety on Grand Avenue and Oakland Avenue, lowering speed limits, wayfinding signage, prioritizing SR2S programs, and offering educational programs for traffic safety and biking in Piedmont.

Key input themes that emerged from the round of public engagement for the PSS plan are described below.

• The primary concern expressed was speeding traffic. Several suggestions were received for curbing speeding such as installing traffic calming measures (speed humps, cushions, stop signs, sharrows), lowering speed limits, increasing police enforcement and offering educational campaigns.

• Related to walking, the main concern among participants was regarding unsafe crossing conditions at intersections including: poor sight lines and visibility, insufficient street lighting, and speeding drivers failing to yield to pedestrians. Gaps in existing sidewalk coverage were another concern.

• Related to biking, all comments pointed to the lack of a comprehensive bikeway network and gaps in existing limited bikeway network.

• The Grand Avenue road diet project received mixed opinions, but with a general consensus that the reduction from four lanes to two resulted in vehicular congestion. However, improved safety for pedestrians and bicyclists was noted by participants.

• In general, the installation of low-cost intersection improvement measures was not favored. The prevailing opinion of participants was that the low-cost installations are effective in slowing down traffic and ensuring pedestrian safety, but that they are unattractive and confusing.

• Finally, the elimination of on-street parking close to intersections and overgrown vegetation on corner lots were a concern for most participants.

Read the complete report and plan with street maps, recommendations, and public input > here.

Prior Projects:

• Intersection improvements including flashing beacons installed on Oakland Avenue at Jerome and El Cerrito and painted island cross walks
• Installing bikeways and marking designated bike lanes on Cambridge way (between Grand and Ricardo Avenue), Sheridan Avenue (between Highland and Caperton Avenue), Magnolia Avenue (between Hillside and Nova Drive) among others.
• Road diet on Grand Avenue between the City limit to the south and Greenbank Avenue
• Bulbouts at Linda Avenue/Kingston Avenue and bulbouts, flashing beacons and new street lighting at the mid–block crosswalks on Linda Avenue around Beach School.
• Landscape triangle at the intersection of Kingston, Linda and Rose Avenues.
• Safety railings along both sidewalks of the Oakland Avenue bridge. The last phase of the project is scheduled to complete soon.
• New and improved curb ramps and street resurfacing projects on locations throughout the City.
• Three schools near Piedmont Middle School are enrolled in the Safe Routes to School (SR2S) Program.
• In 2019, Piedmont staff featured a second energizer station for the Bike–to–Work Day event.
• In 2017, the City Council adopted a crosswalk policy to better ensure consistency and objectivity in the review of residents’ requests; provide transparency on the process to the public; and allow for flexibility to industry standards in addressing unique conditions on local streets.