– Moraga Avenue is reopened after debris removal. –

Shortly before noon on Friday morning, April 18, a landslide carried trees onto power lines and required the closure of Moraga Avenue at Maxwelton Road. By 8 p.m. Friday night, eight hours after the street blockage, the debris had been removed and the road had been reopened. PG&E, their tree contractor, Piedmont crews and a geotechnical engineer were involved in the effort to reopen the road and restore power to neighbors.  The highly trafficked arterial is the major connection between Highway 13, Montclair, Piedmont and Grand Avenue. The cause of the slide remained uncertain, but it may have been the result of a leaky irrigation pipe.

CBS report

City of Piedmont report

Coincidentally, two years ago in mid-April another nearby landslide downed power lines and closed Moraga Avenue between the eastern city limit with Oakland and Maxwelton Road.  Read about the April, 2012 Moraga Avenue landslide.

Saturday, April 5, 2014, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Save the date.

The Piedmont Fire Department (PFD) and the Public Safety Committee invite Piedmont citizens of all ages to attend the PFD Open House and Disaster Preparedness Fair on Saturday, April 5, 2014, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont.

The PFD will close Vista Avenue to traffic between Highland and Bonita to make room for two jumpy houses, free hot dogs & chips, and the “Sparky” fire and earthquake education trailer. Children will be able to climb on a fire truck and peek inside an ambulance while adults practice using a fire extinguisher and learn about all the programs and services the Fire Department has to offer.

Firefighters will demonstrate their quick response (down the pole!) when called for an emergency. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) will showcase their exhibit on earthquake hazards, and PG&E will have exhibits on electrical and gas emergencies.

Volunteers with the Public Safety Committee will be on hand to help residents sign up for the Piedmont’s emergency alert system, Code Red, and help neighbors get organized to support one another during and after a major disaster. Volunteers from the Recreation Department will have a booth with information of safety for seniors.

Attendees can learn how to create an emergency preparedness kit for the home, car and/or office and see what supplies the PFD has in our City Emergency locker at Havens Elementary School.

This event will be a fun and interactive way for Piedmonters to get a behind-the-scenes look at our Fire Department and get prepared for the next “big one.”

Non-profit organizations’ use of City Hall, public schools and other public facilities for ballot measure advocacy and partisan campaigns are no longer allowed.

On January 1, 2014 SB 594 came into effect in California and may create hurdles for non-profit organizations across the state and in Piedmont.  Sections 54964.5 and 54964.6 of the California Code were approved by the Governor on October 12, 2013. The new law prohibits non-profit organizations from using the property of local governments in their advocacy of candidates or ballot measures.

According municipal law consultant BB&K:

“SB 594, which takes effect on January 1, 2014, prohibits nonprofit organizations from using “public resources” in any communications that expressly advocate for or against a state or local ballot measure, or for the election or defeat of a candidate, or that constitutes a campaign contribution.”

The law defines “public resources” as:

“Any property or asset owned by a local agency, including, but not limited to, cash, land, buildings, facilities, funds, equipment, supplies, telephones, computers, vehicles, travel, and local government compensated time that is provided to a nonprofit organization.”

Piedmont is in the practice of allowing organizations advocating for ballot measures to use public facilities for promoting ballot measures, including partisan forums and programs.  The City has videoed these forums, programs and meetings and allowed use of the City website as a communication vehicle. 

Editors’ Note:  The Piedmont Civic Association (PCA) does not support or oppose candidates for public office or ballot measures.  

– Helicopters, sirens, and a rapid response – 

Residents in central Piedmont on Tuesday afternoon, September 24 wondered why helicopters were hovering overhead from approximately 3 to 3:30 pm.  Based on verbal statements,  a fire was reported on Maxwelton Road to the Piedmont Fire Department (PFD) at 2:25 pm. The  response was immediate, but the fire was well advanced and had consumed the house and threatened the neighboring properties. Eight PFD officers with the assistance of the  Oakland Fire Department had the entire blaze rapidly under control. The apparent origin of the fire was at 150 Maxwelton Road, which was reported to be a complete loss. Two neighboring houses suffered roof damage, smoke permeation and other unknown losses. This is the most serious Piedmont fire since the devastating Oakland Hills firestorm of 1991, Fire Chief Warren McLaren told NBC news.

No one was injured.

The PFD intended to remain at the site of the fire throughout the ensuing night to arrest potential sparks or flame ups.

The three circling helicopters were news media.

Click for a photo and further information.

Click to view video of fire.

Click for more information on the fire.

Click for TV news.

A $15,000 contract for landscape design improvements to Blair Park is up for approval by the Piedmont City Council on Monday, August 19.  Public Works Director Chester Nakahara is recommending the contract be awarded to Restoration Design Group (RDG) of Berkeley, in partnership with HortScience, Inc., a horticulture, arboriculture and urban forestry firm. 

Improving Blair Park’s landscape is part of a 2012 settlement agreement between Friends of Moraga Canyon (FOMC) and the City in a lawsuit filed by FOMC against the City’s Environmental Impact Report for construction of a sports field in the park. The settlement called for the City to retain a professional landscape architect “who has experience in creating and/or implementing plans for natural open space parks similar to Blair Park.”

After extensive review, RDG/HortScience were rated the most qualified by City staff and by an FOMC subcommittee, which reviewed proposals from three local firms. According to Nakahara, “Restoration Design Group possesses extensive experience in natural open space restoration, and combines that with a distinct qualitative character that will be brought to their approach in designing a plan suitable for the unique conditions of Blair Park.”

During the 12-week project, RDG and HortScience will assess the health of every tree in Blair Park, recommend risk abatement, such as pruning, and tree preservation. They will conduct a survey of existing pathways and trees and recommend proposed site improvements, plant species, pathway design, erosion control measures, and provide a preliminary cost estimate of the recommended improvements.  RDG will present its plan at a public hearing of the Piedmont Parks Commission on October 2, 2013.

In its proposal letter, RDG stated, “The landscape improvement plan will focus on ‘low impact’ changes to the open space.  However, if the City is interested, the plan could lead to a bolder, more long‐term vision for the site.  Blair Park is at the headwaters of the Glen Echo Creek (sometimes referred to as Cemetery Creek) watershed.  The creek flows below the park in a storm drain.  The landscape improvement plan could set a long term vision to daylight the creek through the site.  The addition of a water feature would greatly benefit birds and create an even more tranquil, soothing setting for park users.  The proposed low impact landscape improvement plan could design the site to accommodate and even stimulate future large scale improvements.”

RDG concluded, “We understand that Blair Park has had competing proposals in the recent past, and we intend to design a project that will help heal relations and reinforce the decision to keep Blair Park in a natural condition.”

Staff report

The Board of Regents will vote on Thursday, July 18 on the candidate recommended by the search committee to be the next President of the University of California.  U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano was the unanimous recommendation. Sherry Lansing, Chair of the search committee, said, “As Secretary of Homeland Security, she has been an ardent advocate for the federal Dream Act and the architect of a policy that protects from deportation young undocumented immigrants who are pursuing a college education.” In Arizona Napolitano served as Governor (2003 to 2009), Attorney General (1998 to 2003), U.S. Attorney (1993 to 1997) and before that practiced at a law firm in Phoenix. She earned a B.A. degree from Santa Clara University and a  J.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. In its Saturday, July 13 report on the nomination, the New York  Times noted Napolitano’s lack of faculty or administrative experience in the academic world.

If approved by the Board of Regents, Napolitano will follow the five-year term of Mark Yudof, who oversaw steep cuts in state funding combined with annual instate resident tuition increases from $6, 636 to $12,192. Yudof famously told the New York Times in 2009 that he didn’t know how he became UC President, “It’s all an accident. I thought I’d go work for a law firm.”

Yudof refused to live in UC’s ten acre Kensington estate overlooking the bay, claiming the home “needed $8 million of repairs and I decided that was not the way to go.” In 1957 the Blake estate was deeded to the University of California for educational use by Berkeley’s Department of Landscape Architecture, which superintends the extensive gardens. Mr. and Mrs. Anson Blake retained the right of lifetime occupancy of the house only, so it was not used by the University until 1963. Since Yudof was unwilling to live in the house without massive improvements, he was given a housing allowance of $10,000 per month to rent housing of his preference. In 2010 the Bay Citizen reported on Yudof’s relations with his Oakland landlord, “a two-year housing drama that has cost the university more than $600,000 and has drawn senior U.C. officials into an increasingly time-consuming and acrimonious ordeal over the president’s private residence.”

Blake House photo

As Police Departments Shrink, New Software Seems to Aid Crime Prevention

Tight budgets have forced many California cities to reduce the size of Police Departments.  At the same time crime rates are rising. To offset the loss of police officers some cities are turning to Predictive Policing (PredPol), a predictive analytics technology tool developed in California and named one of the “Best Inventions” of 2011 by Time magazine. Using the crime date, time and address data already recorded by police departments the software analyzes it and forecasts the time and location for the same crime in the future.

Small and medium cities using PredPol —  including Alhambra, Campbell, Los Gatos, Morgan Hill, Salinas and Santa Cruz—are reporting reduced burglaries. The Santa Cruz police personnel decreased by 20% in 2011 while crime increased by 30%.  After the first year using PredPol printouts of predicted hotspots at the start of each shift, Santa Cruz Police reported a 19% reduction in burglaries and added predictions of bike thefts, battery, assault and prowling in late 2012.

Putting visible police patrols in the locales at times when burglaries are most likely is thought to be the reason burglaries are prevented.  Predictive Policing is applied to the most frequent crimes in each community and is dependent on the specific crime patterns of each city.  The goal is to make the best use of available police officers.  According to Co.Exist Fast Company, “Predictive Policing is charging cities based on population, with costs ranging from $25,000 to $250,000 per year for the largest cities.”

The Alhambra Police Department explains their decision:

“Developed over a period of six years by cops, mathematicians, criminologists and anthropologists, PredPol is a predictive policing program that looks at burglaries and car thefts and other crimes in a similar manner as predicting aftershocks from an earthquake.  Agencies that have deployed the PredPol tool have seen marked reductions in targeted crimes.  PredPol gives medium sized cities like Alhambra access to complex, large analytic capabilities normally only available to big cities or massive corporations.  The inputs are straightforward: previous crime reports, which include the time and location of a crime.  The software is informed by sociological studies of criminal behavior, which include the insight that burglars often ply the same area.”

Los Angeles experimented with Predictive Policing in just one precinct—Foothill—for six months.  At the end of the trial, the Police Department reported that burglaries in the Foothill precinct decreased 36 percent while crime rose across Los Angeles over the same period. 

Read “Don’t Just Map Crime, Predict it”

Seniors/Adults or Child Care Use Discussed – 

The May 6th City Council meeting engendered long deliberations and lively public participation — but no final decision  —  on the use of the east wing of the city-owned building at 801 Magnolia Avenue.  Currently, the west wing and some of the east wing houses the Piedmont Center for the Arts.

The Arts Center has proposed, at no cost to the City, to provide improvements and management of the facility and to continue with their goal of providing art-focused activities, along with a regular time for seniors to use the facility twice a week, a place for Piedmont historical records, arts programs, and an ability to accommodate diverse interests.

Two other proposals were made.  One could be combined with the Arts Center usage and the other dealt primarily with children and required extensive equipment.

City Recreation Director Mark Delventhal and City Administrator Geoff Grote strongly recommended that the City retain usage of the facility rather than relinquishing it to the Arts Center.  They envisioned the space for child care and made available for other purposes when not in use for child care.  Delventhal acknowledged that transforming the room for other purposes would likely require a janitor, for instance, to roll up rugs, move furnishings, and child equipment.   It was pointed out by speakers that a child care program conflicts with the current use of the Arts Center and questioned the joint use of restrooms and other features of the building.

Residents Hedi Gerken, Margie Bowman, and Bob Cheatham stated it was time for the City to consider adults in their programing, noting their need for a place to gather and be with contemporaries.  Delventhal acknowledged the need in stating the once a month program dedicated to seniors had high usage of approximately 70 participants.

Nancy Lehrkind, President of the Board of the Piedmont Center for the Arts, presented the Arts Center’s offer to pay for all needed improvements, including windows, flooring, cabinets, furnishings, paint, and a new  sink, estimated at $25,000.  Additionally, the Arts Center would provide management and scheduling of the facility at no cost to the City. The highly successful Center has drawn over 10,000 to its events.  Lehrkind, although  initially requesting a concurrent lease with the use of the west wing, was amenable to a trial period of approximately 3 years, to permit amortization of improvement expenses.  The Arts Center has already invested approximately $125,000 to reroof, replace windows, paint, remodel restrooms, landscaping, and make other improvements to the previously neglected building.

Council member Garrett Keating during prior Council consideration had requested staff to provide specific numbers on the cost of the City’s proposed child care plan, but none were provided.  The costs to the City were loosely estimated at $125,000 to $150,000.  The number of children served would be in the range of 20 – 30.

Council member Jeff Weiler wanted to know if the Arts Center had complied with its current lease.  Grote stated the lift for disabled access to the rest rooms had not been installed.  Lehrkind, surprised at the question, informed the Council the installation had been held off by staff pending a decision by the Council’s on how to use the east wing. In February she had presented plans and specifics, requesting these be provided to the Council.  The Arts Center has reserved funding to fully comply with providing the needed restroom access via a lift or a ramp.

Weiler, who has a disability, spoke of the importance of having disabled restroom access in the building. The Americans with Disability Act requires access in new or  remodeled public facilities.

Because of the high demand for use of the space and conflicting opinions, the Council attempted to reconcile proposals by asking the staff to meet with the Arts Center leadership and attempt to work out a plan to satisfy both the City’s and the Arts Center’s concerns.   Action on the matter was deferred until further information is available.

Childcare Facility Or Adults’ Room of Their Own?

The use of the Piedmont Arts Center east wing use will be considered at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 6, 2013, by the City Council.  The Piedmont Recreation Department has proposed use of the former Sunday School section of 801 Magnolia Avenue as a childcare facility.  Objections to that use induced the City Council to allow time for proposals other than the City’s childcare proposal.  Objections to the childcare facility appeared to center around incompatibility of use and need for an adult facility. > Click to read more…

Echo Avenue view of future library

playground view of future library

On Tuesday, July 3, the Oakland City Council (OCC) approved a five-year $150,000 lease and $200,000 for moving costs and tenant improvements to relocate the Piedmont Avenue Branch of the Oakland Public Library to a modular unit on Echo Avenue.

The Oakland Public Library (OPL) administrators have been in negotiation with the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) for several years about moving the library to the grounds of the Piedmont Avenue Elementary School at 4314 Piedmont Avenue.   The used modular unit has been an OUSD classroom for some years and, according to the contract, is leased to the City in “as-is condition.  …City acknowledges that neither District nor District’s agents have made any representation or warranty as to the suitability of the Modular Building…”  The modular unit is approximately 1600 square feet (compared with the current 1700 square foot library building) and is located four and a half blocks from the current library location.

The modular unit will be rented for $2500 per month or $30,000 per year –  $150,000 for the term of the five-year lease agreement.  According to the lease contract, it commences as of “February 1, 2012 or when the modular has been delivered to the City.”  Utility expenses will be estimated by the OUSD and paid by the City of Oakland.  The terms of this agreement with the OUSD were recommended for approval by OPL staff.  On June 26, the Life Enrichment Committee of the OCC also recommended the proposed agreement and tenant improvements funding.

The rent will be paid from Measure Q fund 2241, the Oakland library parcel tax approved by 77.2% of voters in Oakland.  The $200,000 for the cost of the move and tenant improvements to the modular unit will come from Library Trust Fund 7540. 

The Piedmont Avenue branch library has been the original and only tenant in the architect-designed library building since 1932.  When Citibank offered to sell the library building to the City of Oakland in 2008 and 2009, Oakland declined.  Citibank then required the private purchaser of the adjacent bank building to buy the library building and library building lot as a condition of the purchase of the bank building and its lot.  For an entire year the new owner privately subsidized the library by providing it with free rent.  When the City remained uninterested in buying the library building, the new owner offered a 10-year lease at $4250 per month.  The City declined this offer as well, but in the fall of 2010 entered into a one-year lease with a one-year optional extension.  When the first year of the lease expired, the City declined to exercise the extension.  In order to have more flexibility, the City preferred a month-to-month tenancy with a 30-day intention to vacate notice provision and a monthly rent of $4900.  It is expected that the 30-day notice will be given by the City Administrator this summer.

Three libraries in the OPL System are not City-owned: the Cesar Chavez Branch Library in the Fruitvale BART transit village, the Eastmont Branch Library in Eastmont Mall, and the Piedmont Avenue Branch Library at 160 41st Street with convenient parking across the street in the Key Route Parking Lot.  The move into the modular unit is viewed as a temporary situation, lasting at most five years, until a permanent library facility can be planned and financed.