Major Liquor Retailer Opposed by Neighbors

Beverages and More (BevMo), a liquor and wine chain, has applied for conditional use permits and zoning variances to take over the site at 3868 Piedmont Avenue (at Montell Street).  The project would require two minor conditional use permits, three variances (waivers of zoning codes), and several additional “findings.”  The latter requires that the planning commission “find” that special conditions exist which make the proposal permissible based on “public convenience or necessity.”

At the July 11 Piedmont Avenue Neighborhood Improvement League (PANIL) meeting, a straw vote revealed over 75% of the neighbors present opposed the application; none supported it.

For further information or questions, contact the Piedmont Avenue Neighborhood Improvement League (PANIL): contact@panil.org, contact@piedmontavneue.org, Valerie Winemiller at (h) 653-4552 or Piedmont Avenue Merchants Association (PAMA) at 655-1723.

The visit by a high profile person to Piedmont has necessitated that several streets in Piedmont be posted “NO PARKING – TOW AWAY ZONE” for a six(6) hour duration on Monday afternoon, July 23, 2012.

 PLEASE CHECK YOUR STREET FOR THE PRESENCE OF THESE SIGNS.  If your street is not posted, then you are not affected by the no parking zone.

PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE SIGNS TO AVOID YOUR VEHICLE BEING TOWED.

In addition to the no parking zones, there will be brief periods of street closure during ingress and egress.

Neither the City of Piedmont nor the Piedmont Police Department are at liberty to provide any further information about this event at this time.  Additional information may be available after the conclusion of the event.

 We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

 Sincerely,

 Scott A. Wyatt

Interim Chief of Police

As reported on the Piedmont Patch.

The City will be meeting with State mediators to attempt to work out an agreement with the public safety bargaining units.  Being in the midst of negotiations, the City did not disclose points of disagreement.  However the 2011 Municipal Tax Revenue Committee (MRTC) along with the Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee have pointed out the need for significant changes in compensation for all Piedmont employees.  Recently, certain employee groups have agreed to reducing pension provisions for new employees, creating a “2-tier” pension plan, and  contributing $100 per month to their underfunded retiree health benefit.   These new provisions are intended to provide budgetary relief in future years.  The City currently faces $40 million of unfunded pension and medical benefits.

Council discussion on Monday, July 16, centered on the appropriateness of putting the City parcel tax renewal on this November’s ballot.

Resident Rick Schiller asked the Council not to place the tax on the ballot at this time due to incomplete compliance with advisory committees’ recommendations and the failure of the City to observe appropriate financial oversight.  As a member of the 2011 Municipal Tax Review Committee (MTRC), Council Member Bob McBain defended the City’s compliance with recommendations.  Council Member Jeff Weiler warned of unintended consequences if the parcel tax failed.  City Administrator Geoff Grote named many ways the Council has been financially prudent including revoking approval of the Blair Park sports field based on proponents insufficient sharing of costs.  Grote noted that for 32 years the parcel tax has been an important part of Piedmont’s budget.

The need for a parcel tax in the context of escalating employee pension and medical benefits arose.  The Council is considering getting out of CalPERS, as Vice Mayor Margaret Fujioka pointed out, while noting these matters take time.  Mayor John Chiang stated in regard to employee compensation that a sledge hammer approach was not his preference, as he preferred a serial approach.  Council Member Garrett Keating supported placing the parcel tax on the ballot and allowing voters to decide.  He recalled the reports by the advisory committees, the MTRC and the Budget Advisory and Financial Planning Committee, emphasizing that the current financial path of the City is unsustainable.  He urged residents to read the executive summaries.

The  Council unanimously approved placing the parcel tax on the November ballot.

On Monday, July 16 the City Council considered the establishment of a new Athletic Facilities Preservation Fund.

Looking at the lack of reserves or ongoing funding for capital replacement of sports fields, Board of Education President Rick Raushenbush had previously prepared a document for the School Board suggesting the need for a designated source of funding for facility replacement costs estimated at hundreds of thousands of dollars.  The Athletic Fund proposal is the outcome of several months of discussion between the City and the School District regarding this issue.  The City and the School programs both utilize many sports facilities owned by one or the other, while not always sharing expenses.  Legal limitations on the School District’s ability to charge users for facility replacement, rather than operating costs, is another issue.

The proposal included a $25 annual fee from Piedmont Recreation Program users, but does not require School District users to make a contribution to the fund.  The School District maintains a separate reserve to pay for replacement of field turf, gymnasium flooring, and other structural items.  The allocation amount from the Athletic Facilities Preservation Fund to the School District was not specified.  > Click to read more…

Council Member Keating Highlights Change to New Athletic Fund Plan.  This matter will be discussed tonight, Monday July 16.  –

The Athletic Facilities Replacement Fund on Monday’s agenda has changed significantly from that initially proposed in October, 2011. The principal change is that the $25 fee will apply only to participants in sports activities administered through the Piedmont Recreation Department. Members of the private sports organizations will not be charged the fee when using city facilities – Linda Beach Field, Coaches Field, Hampton Field and the Swimming Pool. Based on this revision, annual revenues of the fund are projected to decline from $145,000 per year to $68,000 per year.

Garrett Keating, Piedmont City Council Member

PCA LINKS:  PCA Article and City Staff Report

On Wednesday and Thursday, July 18 and September 19, the Piedmont Recreation Commission will hear testimony to improve the utilization of Beach Playfield.  Groups of adults have frequently dominated field use and discouraged use by neighborhood youths and families.    Persistant neighborhood concerns have included scheduling, safety and access for casual play on weekends after organized use by the Piedmont Soccer Club/Baseball-Softball groups.

In 2007, after public hearings the Recreation Commission recommended modifications to the Beach Playfield Use Restrictions. In February 2008, the City Council approved new rules limiting adult use of the playfield by groups of 12 or more persons 21 years of age or older concurrently participating in the same activity (ies) or game (s). Again in 2010 and 2011 the Recreation Commission held public hearings on the Beach Playfield. Decisions on rule changes or modifications were not made pending the establishment of a park monitor program to document use patterns.

The Commission will now consider rule revisions at the July 18 and September 19 hearings, including a rule dividing the playfield into two equally sized “east” and “west” fields with one of the fields being designated only for children and families.  Safety between the two fields has not been described.

The Recreation Commission hearings to solicit public comment will be held on Wednesday, July 18 and Thursday, September 19, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, California.

Written comments may be directed to Dick Hunt, Chairman, Piedmont Recreation Commission, 358 Hillside Avenue, Piedmont, CA 94611 or mdelventhal@ci.piedmont.ca.us. The hearings will be televised live on KCOM Channel 27 and through streaming video on the City Web Site: http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us under “online video”.

After the Recreation Commission consideration, their recommendation will be made to the City Council for any use modifications.

For further information, contact Recreation Director Mark Delventhal at 420-3073.

Parcel Tax on November ballot –

On Monday, July 16, at the Council meeting starting at 7:30 p.m., the Council will consider establishing the Athletic Facilities Preservation Fund and establishing a $25 fee per user dedicated to the fund.  The funding issue was brought up a few years ago when calculations were presented showing the unfunded cost of maintaining gymnasium and field facilities. Budget constraints on the schools and the City, facility maintenance require an independent funding source.  The agreement with the schools will be considered at the meeting.

The Council will finalize the November 2012 ballot measure for renewal of the Municipal Services Tax effective July 1, 2013.  The proposed tax will have an inflation escalator of up to 4% annually to be determined by the Council.  The measure requires a 2/3rds approval by those voting on the measure.

The Mid-Year Crime Report from the Interim Chief of Police will be presented. Requests for more police presence in the areas closest to Grand Avenue were made at the recent Town Hall meeting.  A suggestion was made to place outdated police cars strategically around the City as a deterrent to crime.

Negotiations between the City Recreation Department and the Piedmont Swim Team (PST) have resulted in an agreement extending the current contract until December 31, 2012 for  $9,000.  This will be an increase to $17,250/year from the $16,000/year rate previously being paid, but less than the $44,000 per year cost for the PST use of the pool.  The Piedmont Swim Team is an organization independent of the City Recreation Department.  The High School and Water Polo teams do not currently pay for use of the pool.

The 2012-13 pool deficit is now anticipated to be $138,156. The cost of use by the Swim Team and Piedmont Unified School District (PUSD) is calculated by staff as:

                                         Cost of Pool Hours*              Pool Fees

• Swim Team                     $44,000                                $17,250 (new rate)
• PUSD                                $35,000                                $0

*Hourly cost based on operating costs divided by total pool hours times hours of use.  Estimates do not include any facility replacement costs.  Staff indicated looking at “marginal cost” would not be a standard industry calculation.

The Council will meet in closed session to continue “discussion regarding pending litigation in the matter of Friends of Moraga Canyon v. City of Piedmont and relating to potential litigation (Blair Park).”

Staff reports for the meeting can be viewed here.

City and Team Both in Transition Over Pool Use-

On Monday, July 16, the City Council will consider a new, six-months lease for the Piedmont Swim Team’s (PST) use of the city pool, increasing the team’s fee through December from $8,250 to $9000.  The one-year contract between the City and the team expired June 30, 2012.

According to Recreation Director Mark Delventhal, “The short-term extension is based upon both the Swim Team and the City being in a transition phase. The Swim Team is in the process of recruiting new coaches while the City, as we all know, continues in the process of assuming management of the pool and transitioning to a public facility.  Therefore, both parties agreed that a long term agreement at this time did not make sense.”

The team’s new schedule:

The City will also allow use of additional lanes in the main and medium pools when they are available.

Meanwhile, the team’s longtime coaching staff is leaving town at the end of the summer and planning to start a new swim team in Albany, which has a newly remodeled, 10-lane outdoor pool. Approximately 15 of the PST’s 105 members (most of whom live in Berkeley or Oakland) are expected to follow the coaches to Albany.

According to Leslie Pannell, president of the PST Board, “The team is practicing in Albany this summer, and it takes anywhere from 25 – 45 minutes to get there during commute hours, which is not acceptable for most Piedmont families.” She said that the overwhelming response from a survey of current team members “is that it’s important to have a team IN Piedmont that kids at all levels can walk to.”

The problem is providing enough of the pool’s six lanes for the team’s 2.5 hours of daily practice time. Since the City took over management of the pool a year ago, the team has been restricted to 3 lanes, resulting in multiple swimmers in one lane.  Pannell said because of this, “we are now looking to shrink the team to 80 members to maximize the swim experience of the kids on the Team and not have 8+  kids swimming in one lane at any given time.”

The City did offer the PST all 6 lanes for 2 hours, from 3 to 5 p.m., but the team turned it down. (This proposal included giving the High School team all 6 lanes from 5 to 7 p.m., and lap swimmers from 7 to 9 p.m. The latter also objected to this proposal.)

Pannell said “PST would like to work more closely with the Recreation Department to develop synergistic swim programs that meet both organizations’ revenue needs and objectives.”  She said PST originally planned to expand the team to the point where they could rent the entire pool during practice, but to do that, they would have to take less skilled swimmers, which she said, competes with the Rec Department’s plans to expand its own swim program. During contract discussions, Pannell said, “This growth was seen by the Rec staff as cannibalizing their plans to grow their lesson revenues by expanding it to more skill levels.”

If the PST reduces the team size, its revenue will shrink accordingly, limiting its ability to rent additional pool space.  Pannell said, “Our fee structure is competitive with the market, and although we plan to raise fees slightly for the Fall Quarter, we cannot significantly raise them without pricing ourselves out of the market. “

Pannell said PST historically had a good relationship with the Swim Club and for the most part, co-existed well.  “With the change to City management,” she said, “we have a good relationship with the Rec Department management, but the budget constraints that they are forced to work under has impacted the team’s access to the pool and has become increasingly restrictive.

“Without increased lane access, we are becoming a team that grows good competitive swimmers only to see them leave when their skills reach a level where they lap other swimmers in their workout lanes due to lane overcrowding, or they simply need to seek a larger competitive peer group to swim with.   Coaches wishing to develop and grow a team want to keep swimmers, not develop them for another program to profit from.   It is still too early to tell, in our Coach search, however we are concerned this will impact our ability to find a seasoned, good caliber head coach.”

It is Delventhal’s job to grapple with balancing the PST’s needs with those of lap swimmers and recreational (individual and family) swimmers —  who support the pool’s operations — as well as accommodate the Piedmont High School swim team and water polo team, which do not pay for use of the pool.   “We’re doing all we can to fashion a solution with the Swim Team,” Delventhal said. “There is talk of merging the Rec Department swim program and the PST. We are interested in that and want to work together, but not now.” He added, “We will have a Swim Team here, no matter who runs it.”

Planning Commission to consider reducing setbacks and other changes to zoning requirements –

On Monday, July 9, the Piedmont Planning Commission will hold a public hearing regarding potential amendments to the setback provisions of alleys, lanes and driveways that serve two or more properties including reduction of required setbacks.

These proposed Chapter 17 Zoning Code changes are some of many being considered to facilitate planning and implement the  2011 Piedmont Housing Element resulting from lengthy negotiations with the State of California.  The zoning item will be number 9 on the Agenda.

The purpose of the hearing is to take public testimony on the subject, and provide an opportunity for Commission comments. The Planning Commission may give direction to staff for future hearings, but no formal action will occur at the meeting. Zoning changes will ultimately require City Council approval through the City’s ordinance process including further public hearings.

Staff encourages interested individuals to attend the hearing and express opinions and ideas. Alternatively, one may wish to watch the hearing on KCOM, cable 20 or by logging on to the city’s website at www.ci.piedmont.ca.us: on the right hand side of the homepage under the “City Council” heading, click on the “Online Video” link, then scroll down under the “Sections on this Page” heading, click on the “Planning Commission” link, then on the “July 9th meeting”, click on the “Video” link, and scroll down to Agenda #9 and start watching!

Comments may be made at the public hearing, submitted in writing to Kate Black, City Planner at 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, CA 94611, or emailed to  kblack@ci.piedmont.ca.us.
For more details contact Kate Black at 510-420-3050.