Road diets, designated routes to school, bike lanes, and the crosswalk at Wildwood Avenue and Grand Avenue will be considered. 

The Piedmont Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan will be considered by the Council on Monday, November 3, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers in Piedmont City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.

One of Piedmont’s most comprehensive community based planning projects has resulted in an extensive Piedmont Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan (PBMP). Funding for the plan has come from an Alameda County Transportation Commission (CTC;www.alamedactc.org) grant and through the City’s existing funds for pedestrian and bicycle improvements (pass-through Measure B funds), also distributed by the Alameda CTC.

Great interest and participation by Piedmont’s many walkers, bikers, teachers, students, and residents have brought concerns and issues to the discussion.

On August 20, the Piedmont School Board was presented with the plan by planning consultant, Niko Letunic and Director of Planning Kate Black. Board President Andrea Swenson told the presenters that the School District would wait until the City completed their projects to improve sidewalk and street safety before further encouraging families to walk and bike to school.

At their October 13, 2014 meeting, the Piedmont Planning Commission considered the final draft plan.  Based on discussions at the meeting, the Commission recommended the Council approve the plan with specific additions and amendments.

Will “Road Diets” solve a perceived problem in Piedmont?

Road diets:

 The second paragraph on page 79 was amended to read: “While the PBMP includes general concept drawings for road diets (on pages 79 and 81), detailed design and traffic engineering drawings will need to be made before the projects are implemented, and shall be reviewed by the Planning Commission and Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee. The design for Highland Avenue could consider the possibility of landscaped islands and it will need to ensure the turn lane accommodates left-turning AC Transit buses at Oakland Avenue.”

Planned road diets would eliminate two lanes of through traffic on both Highland and Grand Avenues.  On Grand Avenue, increased congestion in the area around the ACE Hardware store with vehicles stacking up and blocking traffic, plus a possible elimination of one or more parking spaces are concerns.  On Highland Avenue, the island medians could create problems for large buses making turns and create traffic congestion around the Mulberry driveway entrance. Prior concern was expressed over a median in the middle of Highland Avenue impeding the Fourth of July parade activities and preventing homeowners from turning left to enter their driveways, creating multiple U-turns at the intersections.

According to the Federal Department of Transportation, “Road Diets” became increasingly popular in the 1990’s, “with installations occurring in both rural and urban states such as Iowa and Minnesota. A classic road diet typically involves converting an existing four-lane, undivided roadway segment to a three-lane segment consisting of two through lanes and a center, two-way left-turn lane.”

Hazardous crosswalk at Wildwood and Grand Avenues:

 Last paragraph on page 101 be amended to read: “Coordinate with Oakland staff on the funding, planning, design and implementation of bikeways connecting the two cities, and other roadway improvements of importance to both cities, including the intersection of Wildwood and Grand Avenues.”

Repeatedly mentioned in prior hearings, the crosswalk at Wildwood and Grand Avenues is long, hazardous creating pedestrian difficulties. The crosswalk is actually in Oakland and consequently Piedmont does not have control of the design. The new language requires Piedmont to work with Oakland to improve the crosswalks.

At the November 3 meeting –

The City’s consultant will make a presentation to the Council on the development process of the plan and the contents of the Draft PBMP, and will be available for questions. Members of the public are welcome to speak at the meeting. The City Council may choose to adopt the Draft Initial Study/Negative Declaration and October 13 version of the Draft PBMP, or may wish to make further modifications.

As with other Master Plans, if conditions change, adjustments can be made to meet changing needs and funding sources.

Read the staff report to the City Council.

Hard copies of the Draft Plan and draft CEQA Initial Study/Negative Declaration document are available for review between the hours of 8:30 am – 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm Monday through Friday at the Public Works counter at City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, CA 94611

The Draft Plan and Draft of the CEQA document can also be accessed at the following links:

Draft Piedmont Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan dated October 13, 2014

Appendices: Comments received through the two online surveys on the needs assessment and on the improvement options

Draft of the CEQA Initial Study/Negative Declaration

You are invited to attend the City Council meeting and express your opinion.  You may choose to write your opinion and address your comment to the entire Piedmont City Council, c/o City Clerk, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, CA  94611 or send an e-mail to jtulloch@ci.piedmont.ca.us. All comments submitted will become part of the public record and may be posted to the City’s web site.

To watch the public hearing on KCOM, cable channel 27. Alternatively, if you want to watch the meeting live or later after the meeting, you can do so by logging on to the City’s website at www.ci.piedmont.ca.us: on the right hand side of the homepage under the “KCOM” heading, click on the “On-line Video” link, then scroll down under the “Sections on this Page” heading, click on the “City Council” link, then on the “October 13, 2014″ link, and click on the “Video” or “In Progress” link and start watching!

Planning staff contacts:

Janet Chang, Assistant Planner, 510-420-3094      janetchang@ci.piedmont.ca.us

Kate Black, Director of Planning, 510-420-3063        kblack@ci.piedmont.ca.us

Election Day is Nov. 4 !  Time to cast Vote-By-Mail ballots !

Voters who have registered for Vote-By-Mail ballots should have received their ballots by now.  Vote-By-Mail ballots must be received at the Registrar of Voters,  1225 Fallon Street, Oakland, Piedmont’s City Clerk, or a polling location no later than 8:00 p.m on Tuesday, November 4, Election Day.  Post marks are not sufficient. 

Voters may turn in Vote-By-Mail ballots to the Piedmont City Clerk’s Office, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, during regular business hours up to and including Election Day. Voters may also turn in Vote-By-Mail ballots to any polling place in Alameda County on Election Day. 

Early voting ballots are available for registered voters at the Registrar of Voters Office at 1225 Fallon Street in downtown Oakland. The office is open for early voting Monday through Friday and on Saturday, November 1st and Sunday, November 2nd from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Drivers advised to take other routes between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

The Piedmont Public Works Department will be conducting sewer work on Moraga Avenue between Highland Avenue and the eastern city limit on Wednesday, October 8th from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. There will be one way traffic control, which will cause delays in the area. Please use alternate routes.

Contact the Public Works Department at (510) 420-3050 with questions.

– Piedmont will continue to meet EPA sewer requirements by borrowing from existing City funds and the California State Water Resources Control Board. – 

On Monday, October 6, 2014, the City Council has on their agenda a plan to resume work on Piedmont’s Sanitary Sewer System.

Controversy has surrounded the Sewer Fund in recent years. When incorrect information developed by the City and falsification of requirements of the EPA was revealed, the Sewer Tax was defeated  by voters in 2011.

Further information dismayed some residents when it was learned that Sewer Fund money is used to pay for purposes unrelated to the sewers, including street sweeping even during dry weather.  The City has justified the use of the Sewer Fund as vital to keeping the storm water drains clear.

In May of 2014, the City Council had proposed a ballot measure requiring voter approval of a Real Property Transfer Surcharge Tax for sewer replacement.  However, on June 24, 2014, Alameda County reported an “historic and unanticipated” increase in Piedmont’s Real Property Transfer Tax, making the surcharge unnecessary.  City Administrator Paul Benoit advised the Council to abandon the surcharge in favor of borrowing from the City’s funds.

In June 2014, the positive position of the General Fund with an unaudited ending fund balance of $4,498,390 amounting to reserves of 20.9% of expenditures allowed for an additional $819,000 to be transferred to each of the Facilities Maintenance Fund and Equipment Replacement Fund.

Significant improvement in Piedmont’s financial condition has been attributed to prudent use of City revenues, large increase in Real Property Transfer Tax proceeds, and employee contributions to their retirement benefits.

 The much belabored sewer renovation program will resume.  Internal and external loans will provide the additional funds by borrowing $600,000 from the Facilities Maintenance Fund ($2,111,246) and $200,000 from the Equipment Replacement Fund ($2,861,650) for a total of $800,000.  The City will continue the practice of utilizing loans from the State Water Resources Control Board to augment funding.

The City Council is being asked to approve loans from the City’s funds with the following conditions:

 – Simple interest rate based on the Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF) rate, not to exceed 1.0%.

– Interest only payments during the replacement of the sewer system. Principal and interest payments would begin approximately FY 2027-28, when Phase VII loan payments begin. Under this schedule the loan is to be retired by FY 2034-35. Council can authorize the loan to be repaid sooner, assuming the Sewer Fund has sufficient funding.

  Read the full staff report.

Specific sewer mains will be replaced.

The second part of moving ahead with sewer work involves the design and implementation of the work.  Previously, the Council adopted a Risk Management Policy to assure that contracted work does not create conflicts of interest between designers, engineers, construction contractors, and project managers.  The contract on the Council agenda has been drafted with that intention. The sewer engineers (Coastland Engineers) appear to be sole sourced.

When the City renovates the sewer mains in an area, property owners are required to replace any faulty laterals (the pipes going from their property to the sewer main.)  The laterals cost thousands based on length and piping complexity.

To see if your property is in the Phase V project click here to view the map.

This Phase V project will encompass work in Sub-Basins W2, W3, G1, H1, H1A and previously identified high-priority pipes throughout the City for a total of approximately 33,000 lineal feet of sanitary sewer pipe replacement.

The agenda item is:  Consideration of the Preparation of 35% Design Documents for the Phase V Sanitary Sewer Project and Authorization to Apply for a State Fund Revolving Fund Loan for the Project  < Staff report

The Council meeting will be held in City Hall, recorded, broadcast and open to the public.  This item is on the 7:30 p.m. agenda.

Waterways and streets have become cleaner.

The following is a press release from StopWaste of which Piedmont is a member.                                                                                                               

Since it began in January, 2013, the reusable bag ordinance has had dramatic results. In Alameda County, overall bag purchases by affected retail stores have declined by 85 percent. The number of shoppers bringing a reusable bag to affected stores, or not using a bag at all, has more than doubled during this time.

The ordinance, adopted in 2012 by the Alameda County Waste Management Authority, also known as StopWaste, went into effect January 1, 2013, and affects 1,300 stores countywide. The ordinance prohibits the distribution of single-use bags at most retailers selling packaged food, and places a $0.10 per bag minimum charge on recycled-content paper or reusable bags. Alameda County is the most populous county in California to have a reusable bag ordinance.

“It’s fantastic to go grocery shopping and see everyone with their reusable bags,” stated Authority Board President Jennifer West. “I think we can all appreciate fewer plastic bags flying around in the street.”

Store owners have noticed the changes first-hand. “People used to ask for two bags, now they don’t even want one,” said Rubin Dhillon, a manager at a Union City 7-Eleven. Conchita Hung of a Valero station in Dublin added, “I’ve been the owner for over 20 years – it’s been a big change. It’s changed people’s habits because they don’t want to pay 10 cents.” Other store owners reported their bag purchases going down between 50 and 90 percent.

The ordinance was influenced by tough new requirements for cities to reduce the amount of trash entering waterways. In 2007, the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board declared five waterways in Alameda County – Strawberry Creek and Codornices Creek in Berkeley, Sausal Creek and Damon Slough in Oakland, and San Leandro Creek in San Leandro – so polluted with trash that they violated the federal Clean Water Act.

Despite several years of voluntary efforts to promote reusable bags countywide, plastic bags were still consistently collected in large numbers by volunteers in Alameda County on Coastal Cleanup day.

San Francisco and San Jose have seen similar decreases in plastic and paper bag distribution and cleaner waterways as a result of their bag ordinances.

For futher information contact: Jeff Becerra:

(510) 891-6549; jbecerra@stopwaste.org

 

USE OF LAND LINE PHONES NOT POWERED BY PG&E: Think twice before totally eliminating your home land line.  When the electricity is off because of an emergency, earthquake, fire, etc., many of today’s phones will not operate.  If you have a land phone line that operates totally with the power available from the phone service provider, you might be able to continue to make phone calls.

CELL PHONE CALLS: Typically when there is a major emergency, everyone uses their cell phones; however, this causes the service to be overwhelmed rendering most cell phones useless. Additionally, cell towers may be damaged in the emergency.

TEXT MESSAGES: Your cell phone can generally be used to send text messages to others. During the recent earthquake in Napa, text messages continued to flow when cell phone call service failed.

HAVE A PLAN TO CALL SOMEONE OUT OF THE AREA:  Local phone numbers are frequently jammed during an emergency.  If you have a relative or friend residing outside your immediate area or state, you can delegate this person as the point person to call during an emergency.  This person can then relay messages to others.

CITY PAY PHONES:  The City Council at their September 3, 2014, meeting voted to remove pay phones from all Piedmont public facilities with the exception of the Police Department reception area pay phone.  This phone will be available 24 hours 7 days a week.  The staff has found the other phones located throughout the City on public property are rarely or maliciously used costing taxpayers thousands each year to maintain the unneeded phones.

– Where does it all go?  What should be recycled?  What should be composted? – 

League of Women Voters View Recycling and Compost Operations

On a recent tour of Republic Services’ recycling and compost operations in the city of Richmond, members of the Piedmont League of Women Voters got a close-up look at the massive and complex business of sorting, storing and transporting our discarded cans, bottles and paper and composting our food and garden waste. The group also learned first-hand what should and should not go in recycling and green-waste bins.

Peter Nuti, a 30-year Republic Services employee and currently Municipal Relations and Contract Manager, led the tour, patiently answering dozens of questions. Republic Services acquired Piedmont’s former contracted waste collection firm, Richmond Sanitary Services, in 2001 and has had a waste collection contract with Piedmont since 2001.

The company, headquartered in Phoenix, is the second largest waste collection firm in the U.S. First on the tour was a cavernous, high-ceiling, aluminum warehouse, where all curbside recycling trucks unload their daily collections. The loads are metered and transferred to a conveyer belt that screens and successively drops out garbage, paper, bottles and cans. Cardboard and non-recyclables are pulled out by hand. Larger plastic containers, those labeled PET #1 and #2, go to a different sorter and ultimately are sent to a processor to be converted into a raw material. The plastic is shredded, washed and made into products, such as carpet fibers. The final separator screens and breaks up glass, and a “waterfall” sucks up the smallest pieces of debris. Mountains of paper are stacked in the warehouse by forklift operators, packed onto pallets for transport to the port of Oakland and from there most likely shipped to Asia to be remade into new paper products.

According to Peter Nuti, there are strong markets for newspapers, cardboard and PET #1 and #2 plastics. “We have to close the loop,” he said, “by buying recycled products and products with less packaging.”

From the warehouse, Mike Davenport, President, Davenport Securities whose company provides security for both Republic Services’ operational sites, drove League members to the composting area, located high above the Bay, atop a 356-acre, capped landfill. Surrounded by 2-story hills of maturing compost, Nuti explained the process of transforming food and green waste into reusable compost. Through various stages, the mountains of waste are separated and ground into small pieces of similar size and texture.

In one critical stage, pieces of plastic, the bane of compost, are separated out by hand. Wood products, such as plywood and wood pallets, are ground into chips for erosion control products or shipped to co-generation electric plants farther north for fuel. During the 90-day composting process, the material is monitored daily to ensure it is not overheating and tested periodically for contaminates such as pesticides, chemicals, or salt. The final compost product is sold wholesale by the cubic yard to wineries, farmers, and the general public ($12 to $18 per cubic yard). The compost dregs that contain plastic and cannot be sold are used as cover at Republic Services’ Keller Canyon Landfill in Pittsburg.

Republic Services produces its own electricity from methane gas released by garbage in the closed landfill and uses reclaimed water collected during the rainy season and wastewater from Contra Costa County Waste Water District The company is working on a new system to collect “industrial organic waste” (food waste) from restaurants and grocery stores to compost.

Asked about the economics and environmental costs of recycling, Nuti acknowledged that recycling processes do require more energy, water and labor than burying waste in the ground. “But, he said, “Recycling paper saves a lot of trees; recycling aluminum, for example, saves 90 percent of the energy required to produce aluminum from bauxite. And composting enables us to recover and utilize the nutrients from the green/food waste.

Furthermore,” he said, “with the high cost of buying, permitting and operating a landfill, it’s important to us to recycle everything we possibly can.” The view from the compost facility looks out on the barren hills of the vast Richmond landfill created by garbage collected from the 1940s until September 2006.

Recycling and Green Waste Tips from Republic Services:

• The less paper in green waste, the better for composting.

• Some paper plates and utensils that are labeled “compostable” or “biodegradable” are not what they claim and not worth buying. Better to purchase old-fashioned paper plates.

• Badly soiled paper plates, pizza boxes and other such paper products can go in the green waste bin. If they are relatively clean, they should go in the blue recycling bin.

• Not all compost pail liner bags are biodegradable, as claimed. Use green “Bio Bags” (available at Piedmont Grocery, Berkeley Bowl) newspaper or a paper bag for pail liners.

• No need to rinse cans and bottles before placing them in the recycling bin. Put plastic bottle caps back on the bottles.

• Milk cartons and ice cream cartons have interior plastic linings and are not compostable. They should go in the blue bin.

• Better to buy milk in plastic containers that can be recycled instead of cartons.

• Juice pouches are not recyclable. Do not buy them!

• Large, plastic containers, such as for yogurt, are easier to recycle than small ones.

• Combine all junk mail and shredded paper into a paper bag for recycling. No need to shred paper for privacy purposes.

• Plastic bags should be combined, “bag in bag in bag,” and tightly knotted before putting in recycling bin.

• Used aluminum foil should be balled into larger balls and put in recycling bin.

• Do not put auto parts, garden hoses, or barbecues in the recycling bin! (Yes, people do!)

• Think big! Combine like items together into larger packages to recycle.

And purchase larger sizes to discourage production of small sizes. Since manufacturers track the type of containers you buy, “Vote with your dollar.”

League members and Republic Services staff

Information provided by the Piedmont League of Women Voters

Emphasis added.

Piedmont’s much belabored efforts and those by other public entities to meet legal obligations to reduce sewage inflow and spills into San Francisco Bay has resulted in a settlement agreement.  

Weeks prior to the settlement, the City Council had considered whether or not to place an additional tax before the voters for approximately $1 million derived from an increased Real Property Transfer Tax. When the Council learned of significant unexpected funds garnered from existing Real Property Transfer Taxes, they decided it was not appropriate to ask voters for more money.

The EPA law suit and overstated sewer costs were used as the impetus to ask Piedmont voters to increase taxes in 2012.

 In February 2012, the City Council asked Piedmont voters to double their already high sewer property tax to gain $11 million to increase the  Sewer Fund.  When citizens calculated the City’s sewer cost numbers and discovered large overstatement of costs through miscalculations and unsubstantiated EPA threats, Piedmont voters rejected the heavily endorsed 2012 Sewer Tax Measure.

Questions remain on the large differential from $11 million to the now $1 million to accomplish the same amount of sewer replacement work.  The city has recently stated costs were miscalculated.

Sewer Fund expenditure records were previously not kept in a manner to verify proper use of the Fund.

The City now states that the current funds generated by the ongoing Sewer Tax will allow rehabilitation to proceed in a timely and cost-effective manner without additional tax revenues.  

There have been no statements by the City on the long term impact of sewer rehabilitation on the sewer tax amount.  Will the sewer tax be reduced once sewer lines are updated and operating properly? 

The consent decree imposes civil penalties on EBMUD and seven communities totaling $1.56 million to be paid to the US EPA and the California Water Quality Control Board (CWQCB). The civil penalties to be paid to the US EPA are identical to the penalties due to CWQCB except that Oakland is penalized $850,000 by US EPA and EBMUD is penalized $170,800 by US EPA and $30,800 by CWQCB.  Piedmont’s penalties are approximately $20,500 to CWQCB and the same amount to US EPA for a total penalty of approximately $41,000. 

The Council’s consideration of the Consent Decree and Piedmont’s Sewer System Management Plan revisions are on the August 4 Council meeting agenda. There are three staff reports related to Piedmont’s sewer system.

http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/html/govern/staffreports/2014-08-04/consentdecree.pdf

http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/html/govern/staffreports/2014-08-04/ssmp.pdf

8/4/14 – Consideration of a Revised Sewer System Management Plan (SSMP) Pursuant to the Consent Decree and the State Sewer Audit of June 26, 2014

The  7:30 p.m. meeting in the Council Chambers will be recorded and broadcast.

– READ MORE BELOW – 

EPA press release of 7/28/2014 follows:

Historic Clean Water Act settlement will prevent millions of gallons of sewage discharges into San Francisco Bay

Seven East Bay communities and municipal utility district to repair systems and pay civil penalties

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a Clean Water Act settlement requiring the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) and seven East Bay communities to conduct extensive system repairs aimed at eliminating millions of gallons of sewage discharges into San Francisco Bay. Under today’s agreement, EBMUD and the communities will assess and upgrade their 1,500 mile-long sewer system infrastructure over a 21-year period. 

The work is expected to cost approximately $1.5 billion. The entities will pay civil penalties of $1.5 million for past sewage discharges that violated federal environmental law.

Since 2009, EPA, state and local regulators and environmental groups have worked to reduce sewage discharges from East Bay communities. During that period, interim actions required EBMUD and the East Bay communities to improve their sewer maintenance practices and gather information to identify priorities for investment. 

The San Francisco Bay covers 1,600 square miles and is the largest Pacific estuary in the Americas, a host for millions of migratory birds and a hub of commerce and recreation for more than 7 million Bay Area residents. 

Unfortunately, the Bay is under threat from many sources of pollution, including crumbling wastewater infrastructure that allows sewage to escape from the system. During rainstorms, in particular, older sewer systems can be overwhelmed, releasing rivers of sewage before being fully treated.

In addition to polluting waterways, raw and partially treated sewage can spread disease-causing organisms, metals, and nutrients that threaten public health. Sewage can also deplete oxygen in the bay, threatening fish, seals and other wildlife.

“For many years, the health of San Francisco Bay has been imperiled by ongoing pollution, including enormous discharges of raw and partially treated sewage from communities in the East Bay,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Many of these discharges are the result of aging, deteriorated sewer infrastructure that will be fixed under the EPA order.”

Today’s settlement is the result of a Clean Water Act enforcement action brought by the EPA, U.S. Department of Justice, State Water Resources Control Board, San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board, San Francisco Baykeeper and Our Children’s Earth Foundation.

“This settlement will result in major reductions of sewage discharges into the San Francisco Bay,” said W. Benjamin Fisherow, Chief of Environmental Enforcement in the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “These improvements will help reach our goal of eliminating pollution in the neighborhoods in these cities and in the Bay so that citizens may rest assured that they reside in a safe, clean environment.” 

The seven East Bay communities in the EBMUD settlement are:

City of Alameda
City of Albany
City of Berkeley
City of Emeryville
City of Oakland
City of Piedmont
Stege Sanitary District (serving El Cerrito, Kensington, and a portion of Richmond) 

“The public has been required to repair their own sewer laterals for over two years now, so it is past time that the local agencies aggressively repair their sewer systems,” said Bruce Wolfe, Executive Officer of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board. “This settlement spells out how the agencies will work with the public over the next 21 years to do just that and protect the Bay.”

“Baykeeper will be watching the progress of these repairs closely to ensure that pollution of San Francisco Bay is reduced and eventually eliminated, and we will take action if the repairs fall short,” said Baykeeper Executive Director Deb Self. 

On an annual basis, hundreds of millions of gallons of raw and partially treated sewage are discharged directly to San Francisco Bay. Also, as much as 600,000 gallons of raw sewage from community sewer systems is first discharged onto streets and other public areas—through outlets such as manhole covers—before it drains to the Bay.

As part of the agreement, EBMUD and the seven communities will:

repair and rehabilitate old and cracked sewer pipes;
regularly clean and inspect sewer pipes to prevent overflows of raw sewage; 
identify and eliminate illegal sewer connections;
continue to enforce private sewer lateral ordinances; and
ensure proactive renewal of existing sanitary sewer infrastructure.

EBMUD will also immediately begin work to offset the environmental harm caused by the sewage discharges, which are expected to continue until these sewer upgrades are completed, by capturing and treating urban runoff and contaminated water that currently flows to the Bay untreated during dry weather.

Keeping raw sewage and contaminated storm water out of the waters of the United States is one of EPA’s National Enforcement Initiatives.

The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. 

Read the settlement at: http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html

Learn more about the settlement and earlier EPA wastewater enforcement in the East Bay at:http://www.epa.gov/region9/water/npdes/compliance.html#ebmud 

EPA is working to restore San Francisco Bay, learn more at: http://epa.gov/sfbay-delta 

Learn more about EPA’s national wastewater enforcement initiative at: http://go.usa.gov/5pak

Contact Information: Suzanne Skadowski, 415-972-3165 (d) / 415-265-2863 (c), skadowski.suzanne@epa.gov

Excerpts from the decree follow:

“11. No later than 30 Days after the Effective Date of this Consent Decree, each Defendant identified below shall pay to the Water Boards the sum appearing next to its name, as a civil penalty, together with interest accruing from the date on which the Consent Decree is lodged with the Court, at the rate specified in 28 U.S.C. § 1961 as of the date of lodging:

City of Piedmont $20,519 “

Following is Piedmont’s  July 29 press release:

“City and EPA Agree to Consent Decree Regarding Sewer Suit

On Tuesday, July 15  the California Water Resources Control Board approved mandatory restrictions on water use in urban areas, including Piedmont, with fines ranging up to $500/day.  If also approved by the State Office of Administrative Law, any public employee with law enforcement authority can issue the tickets.

The following water use will be prohibited:

• Run-off from landscape watering onto adjacent property, sidewalks or streets.
• Washing sidewalks and driveways with drinking water. (Recycled water is permitted.)
• Using a hose to wash a vehicle unless the hose has a shut-off nozzle.
• Using drinking water in an ornamental fountain unless the water is recirculated.

The restrictions will go into effect as soon as they are approved by the State Office of Administrative Law. They will remain in effect for nine months.

While agriculture uses 75% of the state’s water, agriculture is exempted. Also exempted is the power-washing of sidewalks, streets and buildings.

Each water district is charged with implementing mandatory water use restrictions and adopting a sliding scale for the new state water restriction fines. Up to this point the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) has requested only voluntary reduction of water use because the agency is in a less dire water supply situation than other California water providers due to its efforts to plan for long-term water supplies.

Meanwhile, the State Legislature is trying to draft a new water bond. (Read about the challenge in the Sacramento Bee.)

Is Phase I of the Blair Park Plan going to be implemented?

On July 14, the Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) Review Committee visited Blair Park and Coaches Field during its tour of a number of possible projects for potential funding from the CIP Fund and the WW Bond funds of $575,000.  (Other sites visited included: the Veterans Hall; Aquatic Center; Dracena Park; Linda Beach Field Entrance; Linda-Kingston intersection; Crocker Park; Hampton Field; Piedmont Park; and Community Hall Plaza, amphitheater, terraces.)

When in 2012, the Blair Park Sports Complex proposal was rescinded by the City Council, it was done in large part because residents in Oakland and Piedmont joined together to mount a legal challenge to the project as Friends of Moraga Canyon (FOMC), a group legally opposing the project. In a settlement agreement between the City of Piedmont, Piedmont Recreational Facilities Organization (PRFO) and FOMC, the City payed FOMC $15,000 to assist with their legal costs and committed to spending $15,000 for a plan to improve Blair Park maintenance and make it more useful to residents.

The Council approved Blair Park Plan, Phase I, valued at $300,000, was to be considered through the Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) Review Committee for funding recommendations in 2014.  Phase II valued at $350,000 was also to be considered for future funding.  Read PCA article on details of the Blair Park Plan.

Blair Park, viewed by some as a development opportunity and by others a respite from asphalt and concrete, has been neglected for decades, needing maintenance and safety improvements.  Recently, the City undertook an emergency removal of 14 diseased trees.

Landscape improvements are lacking.  Pedestrian access to the park is missing. Sidewalks on Moraga Avenue are missing from Monte Avenue to Blair Park. The sidewalk dead ends halfway between Monte and Pala Avenues. Pedestrians or bikers face great hazards to cross at that point.  A boardwalk is built immediately adjacent to Moraga Avenue on the opposite side of the street.  The boardwalk dead ends at Red Rock Road, location of the Corporation Yard.  There is no identified pedestrian crossing in the area. 

Bikers going up Moraga Avenue from Monte Avenue toward Blair Park face extreme hazards from vehicles coming behind them on the blind curve near Pala Avenue. Interested participants in the developing Piedmont Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan have identified the need for improved access to and beside the park. However, to date the Plan’s consultant’s reports have not placed a priority on Blair Park access.   

Piedmont is entitled to $575,000 in East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) WW bond funds for specific purposes related to parks and recreation.   The use must remain in place for the 25 years.

For more information on Blair Park, as reported on this site, go to the left column on this page and Search > Blair Park.