Apr 24 2022
Piedmont is scheduled to adopt a new Housing Element to accommodate 587 new housing units in Piedmont. You can play a role in deciding how!
For development potential, some residents and City staff have suggested, amongst other areas, the area around the City Corporation Yard on Moraga Avenue. Undeveloped areas are unlikely to provide housing space for 587 new housing units leading to new units added in single family neighborhoods.
Once the Housing Element is approved, the City will be prohibited by law from informing neighbors of certain proposed projects, potentially turning garages into housing, subdividing properties, adding new housing units on existing properties, restructuring existing homes as apartment buildings, etc. .
The Housing Element is important to all areas of Piedmont, for after parameters and requirements for housing are approved in the new Housing Element, “ministerial” permits are to be issued by the City Planning Department for all conforming proposals without neighborhood notification or input.
The Piedmont Planning staff, along with outside consultants, have devised the new DRAFT Housing Element. Attempts have been made by the City to involve Piedmont residents in the process. The result is a 374 page DRAFT Housing Element document outlining conditions for approval of housing units.
Go to the end of this article to learn how you can voice your preferences and read the DRAFT Housing Element.
TIME FOR WRITTEN INPUT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION IS ENDING ON MAY 5, 2022.
If you are not able or need assistance with submitting your ideas to the City, contact City Clerk John O. Tulloch at 510-420-3040 or Senior Planner Pierce Macdonald at 510-420-3050.
The Piedmont City Council has planned a limited comment period based on an earlier State deadline for submittal of Piedmont’s new Housing Element.
State Housing Element Update Timeline was Extended to May 2023 due to a recent state law requiring additional review and longer comment periods.
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- May 12, 2022: Special Planning Commission public hearing, starting at 5:30 pm to discuss and consider the Draft Housing Element. Approximately one month comment period.
- June 2022: City Council public hearing. Approximately one month comment period.
- May 2023: NEW deadline for adoption of the final draft of the updated Housing Element, date amended due to recent state law requiring additional review and longer comment periods!
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Special Planning Commission Meeting – May 12, 2022 – City News Release Below
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Piedmont’s Planning Commission will hold a hybrid, in-person and virtual meeting on May 12, 2022, at 5:30 pm to consider a recommendation to the City Council on the >Draft Piedmont 6th Cycle Housing Element. On April 8, 2022, the City of Piedmont published the Draft Housing Element for public review and comment. The Draft Housing Element is posted to the homepages of the City of Piedmont website and Piedmontishome.org. Other formats are available upon request. The Planning Commission agenda will be published on the City website and posted by May 9, 2022.
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The 374-page Draft Housing Element, shown above, includes policies to increase housing access and affordability in Piedmont.
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Purple arrows identify the locations of the links to the Draft Housing Element on the homepages of the City website and Piedmontishome.org
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Win $50 Gift Card To Ace Hardware!
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The web-based Piedmont Housing Puzzle supports the development of the next Housing Element by giving you the tools to imagine sites for 587 new housing units in Piedmont. Links to the Puzzle are posted here:
Over 300 Piedmont community members have already visited the Piedmont Housing Puzzle or submitted their housing plans and comments. We would like to reach more!
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Please share the City’s Facebook page at the link above, or share the link to the Piedmont Puzzle on social media or via email. People are 100 times more likely to follow a link online if it is recommended by someone they know.
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There are only 10 days left to provide comments about new housing sites through the Piedmont Housing Puzzle. The Puzzle ends Sunday, May 1, 2022.
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Win a $50 gift card to Grand Lake Ace Hardware by submitting your housing plan, email, and comments in the Piedmont Housing Puzzle. Click below to start!
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How to Read and Review the Draft Housing Element
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The Draft Housing Element enables construction to occur, but does not force property owners to build or otherwise change the ways that they use their property. [Notification to neighbors of certain proposals is prohibited by State law.] The organization of the Draft Housing Element begins with an executive summary and then the following four sections:
- Introduction
- Projected Housing Need
- Housing Resources
- Housing Plan: Goals, Policies, and Programs
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There are six technical appendices that provide analysis of housing law, demographics, constraints, and other issues in greater detail, including Appendix F, an analysis of compliance with AB 686 and goals to affirmatively further fair housing in Piedmont.
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Community members (everyone that lives, works, attends school, or cares about housing in Piedmont) are encouraged to review the Draft Housing Element and provide comments to City decision-makers. Comments can be made using any of the following methods:
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-Mail to: Draft Housing Element, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont, CA 94611*
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-Attend a public meeting: Planning Commission is May 12, 2022, starting at 5:30 pm. City Council is tentatively scheduled for June 2022.
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*Comments received by May 5, 2022, will be forwarded to the Planning Commission the weekend before the first public hearing.
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STAY CONNECTED & INFORMED
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The City of Piedmont wants to keep you up to date on planning-related issues regarding transportation, sustainability, housing and changes to development regulations that affect you. Community participation is key to the success of new City policies. Contact pmacdonald@piedmont.ca.gov to learn more.
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Leave a Comment
City Council should extend the deadline for public comment and a final vote on the Housing Element until after the November 2022 election. That way a robust public discussion about the plan can occur during the selection of the new council. A majority of Council seats are on the ballot so city residents could really have a say in giving direction to Council about the Housing Element. Is there a reason not to take advantage of the deadline extension?