IMPORTANT DECISION ON ADDITIONAL HOUSING BY PIEDMONT CITY COUNCIL JUNE 21.  

AGENDA DETAILS: SCHEDULE AND PARTICIPATION

The Piedmont City Council has for many months strongly and philosophically supported the ABAG (Association of Bay Area Governments), allocation of 587 new housing units for Piedmont between 2023 -​2031.  The allocation is referred to as RHNA  (Regional Housing Needs Assessment). 

Moving ahead of the schedule, in May the Piedmont City Council approved $691,230 for Consulting Services with Lisa Wise Consulting, Inc.,to plan for acceptance of the 587 new housing units.   As Councilmember Cavanaugh opined, Piedmont should be preemptive and not wait until 2023 to start efforts to accommodate these new units.

While numerous cities have appealed their particular allocation of new housing units, the Piedmont City Council has been steadfast in planning for and accepting  587  new housing units.  By 2023 when the 587 new housing units are required to be in place, the current City Council members will no longer be in office.

To achieve this significant increase in housing units could require rezoning properties, adding more multiple housing areas, building housing in City parks and properties, dividing existing parcels into smaller parcels, condemnation of private property, reconfiguration of streets, adding new services, etc.

City Staff and Council unite against appealing required 587 additional housing units allocation.

July 9, 2021 deadline: the RHNA Appeal deadline, is fast approaching. 

The May 25, 2021 release of the suggested 2023 -​2031 RHNA allocations initiated the period in which a local jurisdiction or Housing and Community Development (HCD) can submit an appeal to ABAG requesting a change to any Bay Area jurisdiction’s allocation.  Piedmont  has no plans to appeal.  The City Council and staff intend to accept the 587 new housing units in Piedmont between 2023  and ​2031.

Key dates in the RHNA Appeal process are:

 May 25, 2021: official release of draft RHNA allocations.

 July 9, 2021: deadline for a jurisdiction or HCD to submit an appeal of a jurisdiction’s draft allocation.

 August 30, 2021: deadline for comments on appeals submitted.

 September and/or October 2021: ABAG conducts public hearings to consider appeals and comments received.

 October or November 2021: ABAG ratifies written final determination on each appeal and issues final RHNA allocations that adjust allocations as a result of any successful appeals.

 November or December 2021: ABAG Executive Board conducts public hearing to adopt Final RHNA Plan.

The ABAG website provides more information about the appeals process. The ABAG 2023-2031 RHNA Appeals Procedures includes details about the statutory requirements for the appeals process and how ABAG will conduct the public hearing to consider appeals. In the event an appeal is approved and a jurisdiction’s RHNA is lowered, the net difference in units are allocated proportionally to other jurisdictions across the region. Thus, a jurisdiction may see its RHNA increase as a result of other appeals (if they are successful).

STAFF RECOMMENDATION IS TO ACCEPT PIEDMONT’S 587 ADDITIONAL HOUSING UNITS or RHNA.

As noted in the Executive Summary, City staff recommends that no appeal of the RHNA should be filed and that the City accept the RHNA assigned to Piedmont. Although City staff raised concerns during the development of the RHNA methodology, these concerns do not form the legal basis to appeal Piedmont’s RHNA. As explained in this report, an appeal would only be considered on the three possible grounds per Government Code Section 65584.05. In staff’s assessment, the case for an appeal is unlikely to be meritorious, including because ABAG possesses fairly significant discretion in deciding appeals under the law. Staff’s assessment that an appeal would unlikely prevail are also based on the following considerations:

 the approved RHNA methodology is not related to a jurisdiction’s capacity to accommodate growth under its current zoning limits or City Charter;

 the approved RHNA methodology does not adjust a jurisdiction’s allocation based on natural hazards such as fire, flood, or landslides; Agenda Report Page 4 of 33

 the record for appeals filed in other regions, such as the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), shows that an appeal is likely to fail.

In the SCAG region, which includes Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside Counties, 49 jurisdictions appealed their much larger RHNA assignments. Of the 47 appeals that continued to hearing, only two were partially approved. In the SANDAG region (San Diego) Council of Governments, there were four appeals filed out of the 18 cities in the region. One appeal was partially granted and the other three appeals were denied; and

 the RHNAs for other jurisdictions throughout California, including the San Francisco Bay Area (in the ABAG region), are all significantly higher than in years past, and ABAG member jurisdictions are unlikely to be swayed by any arguments made by a jurisdiction’s officials to lower its RHNA and reallocate the units to other jurisdictions.

Piedmont’s Contract City Attorney, Michelle Kenyon, “concurs with staff’s assessment regarding the City’s likelihood of success in pursuing an appeal, given all of the aforementioned legal and practical factors and reasons outlined herein.”

Read the full staff report below:

Update on 2023-2031 Regional Housing Needs Allocation for the City of Piedmont and Possible Direction to Staff

“In reviewing the City’s long term projections and considering the current economic situation, the Committee reminds the Council of several things:

• The financial projections seek to maintain, over the long term, an 18% General Fund balance (which, the Committee thinks is prudent). Achieving this target, however, requires that the City eliminate or reduce transfers to the Facilities Maintenance Fund, which addresses ongoing and deferred maintenance of city facilities, and eliminate supplemental funding for street and sidewalk repairs beyond the current budget year. Current projections indicate the Facilities Maintenance Fund will be depleted by FY 27-28. Even without incorporating the yet to be determined costs of major capital projects referenced above, the Facilities Maintenance Fund is inadequately capitalized for the duration of the 10- year projections. This underfunding is not sustainable; it will severely affect repair and replacement expenditures within this decade.

• The Committee supports the conservative approach used to establish the budget for transfer tax revenues given their historic volatility. The Committee also supports the modest increase in projected transfer tax revenue, from the $2.8 million consistently used in the recent past, to $3.2 million annually beginning in FY23. This increased budget amount could still be attained with a recessionary pace of sales and/ or drop in sales prices given substantial gains in Piedmont home values over the past decade. The Committee recommends that to the extent actual transfer tax revenue exceeds the conservative estimate, such funds be used to fund the Facilities Maintenance Fund, consistent with prior years.

• The projected pension expenses have increased based on an updated actuarial study completed earlier this year, which assume CalPERS 2 Piedmont Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee investment returns decline to 6.0% over the next 20 years. However, future pension costs could still rise should CalPERS investment performance be below target due to a sustained downturn in financial markets.

• The prior funding of the Public Agency Retirement Services (PARS) Fund, supplemented by the proposed capital transfer from the current budget surplus, will provide the City much needed flexibility in managing future pension cost increases, as the City’s obligations are expected to increase substantially over the course of this decade. However, this flexibility may be adversely affected by stock market fluctuations to the extent there is significant decline in values during the withdrawal years.

• As in prior years, the projections continue to show that the long term financial health of the City is dependent on property-related taxes, especially the continuation of the Municipal Services Parcel Tax. The projections assume that the MSPT continues with a standard CPI adjustment each year, and the Committee supports this approach.

• The City continues to benefit from a robust economic recovery and rising Bay Area housing prices. Given the uncertainty as to how long such favorable economic conditions will persist, it is important to continue with conservative property tax and transfer tax assumptions.”

READ the entire Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee Report 2021-2022

June 21 – AGENDA DETAILS: SCHEDULE AND PARTICIPATION

Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee members:

Deborah Leland, Chair

Andrew Flynn,

Cathie Geddeis,

Robert McBain,

Paul Raskin,

Frank Ryan

Vanessa Washington

The warmer it gets, the more we use air conditioning. The more we use air conditioning, the warmer it gets.  In 1990, there were only about 400 million air conditioning units in the world, mostly in the US, today there are over a billion.  Since 2000 every record for peak electricity use in New York City has occurred during a heatwave, as millions of people turn on their air conditioning units.

Some Piedmonters are concerned about their energy-wasting air conditioners, which pump heat outdoors, blasting their neighbors with hot air. As the City shrinks side setbacks, cross-ventilation becomes less available and less effective.  To avoid this costly contributor to their  environmental footprint, they wonder about experimenting with greener alternatives when temperatures rise this summer.

PG&E Advice on Cooling Your House in  Hot Weather :

Keep shades, drapes, and curtains drawn

Ventilate your attic.

Your attic can reach temperatures exceeding 140 degrees.

Plant shade trees.

Shading your house with trees can make a surprising difference. Deciduous trees planted on the east, south or west side of a house, the sunniest sides, can reduce your cooling load in hot summer months by up to 30%.

Planting shrubs next to your home can also help. Vines or trellises placed directly on a west wall can lower the wall’s surface temperature by as much as 40°, making it easier to keep your home cool inside. Ground covers and lawns can also help keep your home naturally cool. A lawn is 10-15° cooler than bare ground.

Install shade devices.

Shade screens and tints on windows and glass doors, as well as window and wall awnings, are very effective forms of passive cooling. Shading windows and walls on the sunny sides of your home can cut your cooling needs considerably.

Ventilate when it’s cool outside.

Opening windows when it’s cooler outside than inside can often cool your home down into the 60’s with simple ventilation. In the morning, close up the house to trap the coolness inside.

Consider a whole-house fan.

Because some nights are cool, but have no breeze, you may benefit from using a whole-house fan to force cool air through your home.

If you use air conditioning:

Set it at 78°. You can cut your system’s operating costs by 20% or more simply by setting your thermostat higher. If everyone did this, the U.S. could save the equivalent of 190,000 barrels of oil per day.         Read all PG&E Advice

Air Conditioners Are not Green, Compromising Piedmont’s Stated Climate Action Goals

Window air conditioning units and through-wall sleeve air conditioning units typically leak large amounts of energy. Central air or ductless mini-split systems are significantly more efficient. In addition, their  hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) emit pollutants that put holes in the ozone. AC systems require enormous amounts of energy to operate.

Piedmont’s Climate Action Plan and Goals do not require elimination of AC when an existing home is sold or even prohibit AC in new construction.  The townhomes developed on Linda Avenue were designed with cross ventilation for natural summer cooling.  However, the City insisted they be equipped for air conditioning instead.  Some older Piedmont homes have lost their access to natural cross-ventilation, as infill building has reduced air flow.

Shaded Public and Private Open Space Offers Natural Cooling

Piedmont loses open space every year as construction project gobble side setbacks and diminish backyards.  Preserving Piedmont’s remaining vacant land as private open space or public parkland not only would bolster quality of life, protect environmental assets and but offer citizens an alternative to energy draining air conditioning.  

Advice on Treatment Overheated Individuals

The combination of  overheating and dehydration reduces the body’s ability to cool itself.  Wired magazine recommends the Wilderness first responder treatment, “sip cool water, and nibble a salty snack.”

As Piedmont attempts to find housing locations to meet its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA ) of 587 new housing units within 1. 7 square miles in our built-out city, other Bay Area cities are being questionably assessed fewer housing units.

Atherton, certainly a fine city and one that adds significantly to the Bay Area, has over 4 square miles with a very low housing density of 7,168 high income people.  Yet, it is being assessed to provide only 298 new housing units, while Piedmont is being assessed to provide 587 new units.

For this cycle, the town [Atherton] is required to plan for the development of 298 new housing units. Some 74 would need to be very low-income housing, 43 low-income, 51 moderate-income and 130 for above moderate-income, according to the report.

Atherton is in the midst of Silicon Valley where housing demands have rapidly multiplied,  especially for hotel maids, restaurant dishwashers, gardeners, office cleaners, and other low income workers.  Why is their assessment less than Piedmont’s? This is merely one example of the questionable methodology being used when assessing and allocating housing units to various cities and communities.

Many cities, as Piedmont, have barriers to safe and appropriate increases to population including: open space, roadway widths and designs, infrastructure, limited public transit, fire safety issues, pandemic impacts, etc.  Yet, these factors appear not to have been considered when the Association of Bay Area Governments assigned allocations.

Cloverdale, CA’s population before the pandemic in 2019 was 8,754,  three-quarters the population of Piedmont.  It’s proposed RHNA for 2023 -2031 is only 278,  less than half the allocation to Piedmont despite Cloverdale’s available open space  (more than 3 sq miles compared with 1.7 sq miles).

The New York Times May 30, 2021 reported that 36,000 people moved out of San Francisco in the final quarter of 2020.  Many moved several hours away from the Bay Area, especially east to the Sacramento area or the Sierras or north to wine country or beyond. 

The LA Times wrote that Fresno is the hottest real estate market in the US, and rents are skyrocketing .   A new 255 unit rental development opened in 2020 and all units were taken within months, despite it’s high rents “one-bedrooms go for as much as $2,600 a month — a price rivaling those in Los Angeles beach communities.”  Since 2017, average rents in Fresno have increased nearly 39%, the fastest in California.   Read the Los Angeles Times article here

Fresno’s population is reported as 525,010 as of 2019.  In 2020 Fresno had 11 units of affordable multi-family rental housing constructed, falling 503 units short of its RHNA allocation.  An enormous shortfall in the current assigned housing production to be completed by next year.   Read Report here.

Piedmont resident Michael Henn points out that Oakland created an Area Specific Plan that “protects” Rockridge from high densities, despite its excellent walkability to  the BART station and major bus lines. 

PIEDMONT P D LAUNCHES TRANSPARENCY PORTAL WITH LICENSE PLATE READER DATA

Piedmont Police Department  ALPR Transparency Portal is First-of-Its-Kind in the Nation

 – Acceptable uses, usage statistics, number of cameras the agency owns, other law enforcement agencies they share data with, specific statistics on the number of vehicles captured, Hotlist alerts, and searches performed over the past 30 days.

PRESS RELEASE –

In our ongoing effort to strengthen our relationship with our community and increase transparency, the Piedmont Police Department is pleased to unveil the public ALPR Transparency Portal, a partnership with Flock Safety.  The Transparency Portal is intended to encourage open communication between police and the public around Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) technology.

Chief of Police Jeremy Bowers stated, “This first-of-its-kind program demonstrates the Piedmont Police Department’s commitment to openness, accountability, and integrity.  ALPR technology has been a critical tool in our public safety efforts. It’s important that our community has the ability to understand how we are using this technology in the furtherance of public safety.”

The Transparency Portal serves to provide the public a view into the Piedmont Police Department’s ALPR usage specific to its use of Flock Safety cameras, data retention, and policies. It provides a landmark approach to transparency and accountability by providing the public with anonymized audit logs of police usage of the technology. It also displays usage statistics, including the number of cameras the agency owns, other law enforcement agencies they share data with, and specific statistics on the number of vehicles captured, Hotlist alerts, and searches performed over the past 30 days.  The Piedmont Police Department is working to transition its ALPR system entirely to Flock Safety which will eventually provide the public with more insight into the Piedmont Police Department’s ALPR usage.

While ALPR technology has proven to be an effective tool in preventing and solving crime in Piedmont, the Piedmont Police Department also recognizes the importance of being transparent and effectively demonstrating its use of this technology.

Flock Safety has provided license plate reader technology to the Piedmont Police Department since 2020.

Flock Safety does not employ facial recognition, adheres to strict security standards and encryption standards, and does not share or sell customer data to third parties.

The Piedmont PD Transparency Portal can be accessed through: https://transparency.flocksafety.com/piedmont-ca-pd

Piedmont Police Department

“In the last housing cycle, Piedmont was asked to plan for 60 new homes and the city fell short, issuing permits for just 37 units*. This cycle, the city is expected to plan for nearly 600 new homes.  …

Piedmont’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA)

Jumps from 60 to 587 housing units in the next

Planning Cycle that begins in 2023

An “equity adjustment” formula was proposed that increases the allocations of lower-income units for some jurisdictions identified as having racial and socioeconomic demographics that differ from the regional average. Five jurisdictions that met the formula were excluded.  These jurisdictions were excluded from the equity adjustment to avoid directing additional lower-income RHNA units to jurisdictions with racial demographics that are different than the rest of the region but that already have a high share of lower-income households.

[See the equity adjustment tables which begin on page 31 of this report.}

The equity adjustment identified 49 jurisdictions in the Bay Area that exhibit racial and socioeconomic demographics that differ from the regional average using a composite score developed by several members of the Housing Methodology Committee (HMC). The purpose of the equity adjustment is to ensure that each of these 49 jurisdictions receives an allocation of lower-income units that is at least proportional to its share of the region’s total households in 2020.

For example, if a jurisdiction had two percent of existing households, it would receive at least two percent of the very low- and low-income RHNA units. The composite score is calculated by adding together the jurisdiction’s divergence index score (which measures segregation by looking at how much local racial demographics differ from the region) and the percent of the jurisdiction’s households with household incomes above 120 percent of the area median income (AMI).

Jurisdictions with a composite score greater than the median score for the region are included in the group of “exclusionary” jurisdictions. Accordingly, a jurisdiction does not necessarily need to have an extremely high divergence score or percent of households above 120 percent AMI to be considered “exclusionary,” as a jurisdiction’s composite score only needed to be in the top half for all Bay Area jurisdictions.

The equity adjustment excludes five jurisdictions who have composite scores above the region’s median, but median incomes in the bottom quartile for the region. These jurisdictions were excluded from the equity adjustment to avoid directing additional lower-income RHNA units to jurisdictions with racial demographics that are different than the rest of the region but that already have a high share of lower-income households.

The equity adjustment is the last step in the allocation methodology, and is applied after the methodology’s factors and weights are used to determine a jurisdiction’s allocation by income category. If the allocation of lower-income RHNA units to one of the 49 jurisdictions identified by the equity adjustment’s composite score does not meet the equity adjustments proportionality threshold, then lower-income units are redistributed from the remaining 60 jurisdictions.

Understanding the formula by reading the long tables is challenging.  Piedmont residential locations were rated virtually identical (18, 19) in terms of very low income job proximity via auto (18) and very low income job proximity via public transit (19), and low income job proximity via auto (10) and low income job proximity via public transit (11) despite the fact that most of Piedmont is more than a quarter mile pedestrian path walk from public transit with service for work schedules.

In comparison, Pinole scored 13, 13 low income job proximity via auto, transit. Portola Valley scored 7, 5 very low income job proximity via auto, transit, and 4, 3 low income job proximity via auto, transit.   Ross scored 2, 3 very low income job proximity via auto, transit and 1, 2 low income job proximity via auto, transit.  Tiburon scored 14, 15 very low income job proximity via auto, transit and 8,8 low income job proximity via auto, transit.  After adding other factors, low density Tiburon with a land area of 4.4 square miles for a population nearly as large as Piedmont, was assigned an RHNA of 639, slightly more than Piedmont.

Often lost in the local enthusiasm is the fact that the planning cycle is 2023 through 2031 and the State law explicitly does not require local jurisdictions to produce or pay for the new housing units it is asked to plan for.

4th OF JULY EVENTS CHANGED FOR 2021

Unfortunately in 2021, the City of Piedmont will not hold the annual 4th of July parade and party in the park due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As disappointing as this is, the City recognizes that the most important thing right now is to keep the community safe and healthy. Because of the nature of the parade and party in the park, the determination has been made that hosting a large group event in Piedmont is still not a good idea, even with the progress we’ve made fighting COVID-19.

Bringing the Parade to the Community

While we can’t gather together on Highland Avenue, there will be a small flotilla of vehicles that brings the parade to you (or nearby)! A small group of vehicles as well as a flatbed truck carrying the venerable Barrelhouse Jazz Band will slowly make its way around town to bring a little bit of parade spirit to the community.

Keep a look out for the caravan driving down your street (or close by) between at 12:00-1:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 4th.

4th of July House and Car Decorating Contest

Decorate your house, yard, or car to show our Independence Day Spirit, with the theme to be announced soon. The following awards will be given:
• The Highland Cup (Best Entry)
• Highland Saucer (Most Patriotic)
• Highland Spoon (Best Team Entry)
• Best Car in Place

• Most Artistic Award
• Best Spirit Award
• Best Theme Award

Judges will visit each entry on Saturday, July 3rd between 5:00–7:00 p.m. and winners will be announced on Sunday, July 4th.

To enter, email Carla Betts (carlabetts@hotmail.com) the following information by Thursday, July 1st at 5:00 p.m.
• Name
• Address
• Cell Phone

• Email
• Yard or car description

4th of July Block Parties Are Back

Coming back this year in 2021, 4th of July block parties will once again be permitted this year.

If you would like to host a 4th of July block party, please fill out the form on the City’s web page at
https://piedmont.ca.gov and submit by Friday, June 25th at 5:00 p.m.

Please make sure to follow current State COVID Safety guidelines. City of Piedmont Public Works staff will deliver barricades by Friday, July 2nd.

If you need more information about 4th of July block parties please call (510) 420-3040.

Press Release > 2021-05-25 2021 4th of July Events Changed

The Piedmont Recreation Department (PRD) is pleased to announce the selection of Eva Phalen as Piedmont’s newest recreation supervisor.

Ms. Phalen was selected through a rigorous interview process from a group of thirty-eight applicants. Ms. Phalen will join the department on June 7th.

Ms. Phalen is currently employed as the Recreation Manager at the City of Albany, an organization at which she has held several other positions, including Recreation Supervisor, since being hired in 2014.

Prior to her work in Albany, she served with the City of Orinda and Sunny Hills Services, now known as Side By Side.

In her position as Recreation Supervisor with PRD, Ms. Phalen will spend the majority of her time managing the City’s general recreation programs, including classes, facilities, special events, adult/senior programs, and inclusive programs. She will also help supervise PRD’s preschool programs.

“I am so thrilled to join the Piedmont Recreation Department team and work directly with the Piedmont community, said Ms. Phalen. “Living just a stone’s throw away in the Oakland Hills, my family and I utilize Piedmont’s gorgeous parks on a weekly basis. My kids have participated in various PRD camps and classes over the years. We’ve participated in the annual Turkey Trot and I actually grew up taking swim lessons in the Piedmont Community Pool. I’m continually impressed by Piedmont’s robust offerings and I am excited to bring my experience, creativity and passion for building community and family-focused programs to the city.”

“I am looking forward to working with Eva and thrilled to have her join the Piedmont Recreation Department,” said Recreation Director Chelle Putzer.” She brings a wealth of recreation experience to our PRD team and will be able to hit the ground running on her first day in Piedmont!”

Award winner Ken Li, Piedmont Community Service Crew founder and adviser, was presented with this year’s Arthur Hecht Volunteer of the Year Award at the May 12th, 2021. Board of Education meeting.

The award is presented each year to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the community and to Piedmont’s youth through volunteer service over a period of many years.

Art Hecht was well known as a volunteer dedicated to serving students in Piedmont and Oakland. He was a member of Piedmont’s Board of Education from 1970 to 1982, and instrumental in developing Millennium High School, Piedmont’s alternative high school.  Established in 1998, the Arthur Hecht Award honors both Hecht’s memory and extraordinary individuals who continue his legacy of service.

Mr. Li has been an active volunteer since 1998 with several groups such as, the Boy and Girl Scouts of America, Piedmont Community Service Crew, Piedmont Service Group for Middle School, Piedmont Food and Cooking Crew, and High Adventure Group.

“Most every weekend throughout the year, if you showed up at the Tiny House Empowerment Village, St. Mary’s Senior Center, Native Plant Nursery, or a Rebuild Together Oakland family home site you might find Ken Li behind the camera photographing his students painting, cooking, or planting. What you won’t see is the thousands of hours Ken spends planning events, coordinating with community groups, mentoring students, recruiting youth and parent volunteers, and rolling up his sleeves to work side-by-side with students,” commented Jen Cavenaugh, Piedmont Parent and City Council Member.

“Ken’s positive impact on the Piedmont and surrounding community is evident by the large number of nominations he received,” commented Randy Booker, Superintendent. “He is well-deserving of this award and exemplifies a true heart of service to students everywhere.”

Mr. Li was presented with an art piece created by PHS AP Art Student Eleanor Andersen.