– Student transfers from other School Districts into the Piedmont School District are proposed on a priority basis.   Children of persons working 10 hours or more per week in Piedmont need no longer work for the City or School District and grandchildren of Piedmont residents will continue to be prioritized.

Expanded qualifications for enrollment in Piedmont Schools will be considered on March 10.

Three separate initiatives were discussed during a February 24th School Board meeting in order to help achieve the Board’s goal:

1. PUSD Athletic Coaches: Paid contracted athletic coaches [children] may be eligible for admittance to Piedmont schools based on verification of employment. Does not pertain to volunteer coaches. When a District Coach ceases employment with the District, he/she shall withdraw his/her child from the District no later than the end of the current semester or at the discretion of the Superintendent.

2. Persons Employed Within the City of Piedmont: Limits Children of Persons physically employed at least 10 hours a week within the City of Piedmont limits may be eligible for admittance to Piedmont schools. Proof of employment via a letter on employer’s stationary verifying schedule (hours and days) and location of employment and a copy of a current pay stub must accompany the application. When the person ceases employment within the City of Piedmont limits, he/she shall withdraw his/her child from the District no later than the end of the current semester or at the discretion of the Superintendent.

3. Children of the City of Piedmont Government Employees The District may admit children of City of Piedmont government employees employed at least 10 hours a week. A City government employee is defined as an employee who is on a regularly scheduled City of Piedmont government employee payroll on which appropriate deductions occur. It does not include consultants or contractors for the City of Piedmont.

Read the proposed priorities for admittance in the links below:

IX_B_BackgroundBPAR5117_0

IX_B_UpdatedBPAR5117InterDistrictTransferAttendance_0

To participate in this Agenda item on March 10, 2021, at the 7 pm, Piedmont Unified School District meeting, click the Agenda below:

https://agendaonline.net/public/Meeting.aspx?AgencyID=1241&MeetingID=82620&AgencyTypeID=1&IsArchived=False

The question of reopening the Piedmont Municipal Pool was brought up under Announcements by Councilmember Betsy Andersen at the March 1, 2021 Council meeting.  Andersen requested a report from the staff regarding the possible reopening of the closed pool.  No discussion was held on the matter. 

The League of Women Voters of Piedmont is sponsoring its second annual essay contest open to all high school juniors and seniors who are residents of Piedmont or are currently enrolled in Piedmont High School or Millennium High School.

Prize: $500 for first place essay; prize may be split among the top two entries.

Contest Rules Content: Your essay should answer the question,

“Given the fragility of democracy as evidenced by the insurrection of January 6, 2021, how can your generation work to ensure that democracy in the United States is strengthened for future generations?”

You may, but are not required to, rely on outside sources that are properly cited within the text and in a bibliography. We do not require a specific format for your citations or bibliography, but please ensure you include enough information to allow us to readily verify your sources. Citations do not count toward your total number of words.

Please keep in mind that this essay is not solely a research paper, but should draw on your personal experiences and insights. Your essay will be judged on originality, clarity of expression, vocabulary and style, proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. Students are encouraged to have a teacher, parent or mentor review the essay prior to submission keeping in mind that all work must be the student’s own.

The essay must be 250-500 words excluding citations. Entries must be typed, double-spaced and in pdf format. Please include the following information at the top of your essay or on a separate cover page: : Your essay should answer the question, “Given the fragility of democracy as evidenced by the insurrection of January 6, 2021, how can your generation work to ensure that democracy in the United States is strengthened for future generations?”  See details below.

Format: The essay must be 250-500 words excluding citations. Entries must be typed, double-spaced and in pdf format. Please include the following information at the top of your essay or on a separate cover page:

• title of essay

• your first and last name

• your city of residence

• name of your school

• your current grade (junior or senior)

Submission: Please submit completed essays via email to lwvpiedmont@gmail.com.

Deadline: April 17, 2021 at 11:59pm, Pacific Standard Time.

Winner will be notified by May 1st, 2021.

Read flyer below:

ESSAY CONTEST

Piedmont Anti-racism and Diversity Committee (PADC) condemns the latest incidents of anti-Asian hate in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the United States.

We call on the Piedmont Unified School District and the Piedmont community to acknowledge and support its Asian American and Pacific Islander students, teachers, staff and community members.

Language such as the “China virus” and “kung flu” is mean, harmful, inappropriate, and should not be tolerated at school or in our community. This kind of rhetoric has led to increased xenophobia, harassment and violence against Asian Americans. In addition to the recent attacks in Oakland and San Francisco, Stop AAPI Hate recorded more than 2,800 incidents of anti-Asian discrimination across the United States, including the bullying of children. 

PADC also applauds the recent show of solidarity among Asian, Black and Latinx communities. Please join us in a unified response to anti-Asian violence. PADC aims to work for an inclusive Piedmont community for all through activism and connection, grounded in the principles of anti-racism. Ways to get involved: Attend a meeting, join a working group, apply for a PADC grant.

Please see our website for links to recent relevant articles and resources, which were compiled by the Asian American Journalists Association’s San Francisco Bay Area Chapter. 

Piedmont Anti-racism and Diversity Committee

2021 Design Awards Presentation Ceremony on March 8, 2021

Each year, the City of Piedmont Planning Commission hosts a Design Awards program to recognize design projects completed in the past year. Awards are given to the property owners of projects that not only meet Piedmont’s design and planning guidelines, but exemplify excellence in design.

Design awards will be presented for the following categories:

Excellence in Accessory Dwelling Unit Design               778 Kingston Avenue

Excellence in Historic Restoration                                 55 Craig Avenue

Excellence in a Seamless Addition                                 457 Mountain Avenue

Excellence in Outdoor Living Design                             20 Greenbank Avenue

and Landscaping

Excellence in Architecturally Consistent Design             46 Nace Avenue

Excellence in Integrated Indoor/Outdoor Design            135 Requa Road

The City of Piedmont will host a virtual Design Awards Ceremony on Monday, March 8, 2021 starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Planning Commission meeting. The virtual Planning Commission meeting will be held on Zoom. Anyone interested in celebrating excellence in architectural design is welcome to attend.

To attend the virtual ceremony, please use one of the following methods:

• Computer or smart phone: Click on https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88479798987
• Computer or smart phone: Click on https://piedmont.ca.gov/government/meeting_videos and select the Planning Commission meeting
• Telephone: Dial (669) 900-9128 and enter webinar/meeting number 884-7979-8987
• Television: Watch on KCOM, Comcast Channel 27 or AT&T UVerse Channel 99

– Click below for photos –

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/scte31rpctwp342/AADTfJTAEaIOATH8wTIHhN6Fa?dl=0

For more information about the Design Awards, please contact Assistant Planner Steven Lizzarago at 510-420-3094 or at slizzarago@piedmont.ca.gov.

Mayor Teddy King stated under Announcements at the end of the March 1, 2021 Council meeting,  her interest and pursuit of the possibility of converting to housing the defunct EBMUD reservoir at the top of Scenic and Blair Avenues.

Having met with the Piedmont Racial Equity Campaign (PREC), who expressed an interest in developing the site for housing, King had requested the Piedmont staff to contact EBMUD to determine if it was a possibility to convert the property to housing.  According to King, EBMUD showed a lack of enthusiasm for converting the site to affordable housing.

King suggested to the City Council that it would likely require the involvement of Piedmont’s elected representatives in the California Assembly and Senate, Buffy Wicks, Assembly and Nancy Skinner, Senate, if the site was to be converted to housing.  King stated her intention of continuing to pursue the conversion of the EBMUD site to housing.

Decades ago, it was determined by EBMUD that the reservoir was not properly constructed to withstand a catastrophic earthquake.  Consequently, the reservoir was fenced off and abandoned as a reservoir.  Mature redwood trees dot the property.  Public access to the area is not allowed.

No discussion or action on the matter was undertaken during the meeting.

Learn about the Linda Beach Park Master Plan and Proposition 68 grant opportunities.

The City of Piedmont needs your ideas for potential California Playscape volunteer projects!

VIRTUAL NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2021

10-11 AM https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89959577946

Call-in: +1 (669) 900 9128; Meeting ID: 89959577946

For more information contact: Nancy Kent at nkent@piedmont.ca.gov

LindaBeach Virtual Meeting Flier

Piedmont Police Department Press Release –

On February 18, 2021, a jury found Christopher Ware guilty of second degree robbery with personal
use of a firearm, an additional second degree robbery, identity theft, possession of a firearm as a
convicted felon and several other firearms and ammunition offenses.

On July 10, 2020, the defendant followed the victim (a 76 year old woman) from an In-N-Out in East
Oakland to her home in Piedmont. When the victim parked in front of her house, the defendant
forced her driver’s door open and robbed her at gunpoint. The defendant fled the area in his white
Lexus RX300. The victim was able to provide a limited description of the suspect, his vehicle and
the handgun he used. Also, City of Piedmont license plate readers and public safety cameras
recorded the defendant’s vehicle driving behind the victim into Piedmont city limits minutes before
the robbery. This information was shared with other law enforcement agencies in the area.

On July 31, 2020, Oakland Police officers noticed the defendant on Douglas Avenue in Oakland.
Officers watched the defendant get into the driver’s seat of his white Lexus RX300 and detained him
before he could drive away. Officers found an unregistered and loaded black Smith & Wesson .45
caliber handgun next to the driver’s seat. The handgun had multiple distinctive markings on it
consistent with what the Piedmont victim described.

This is another example of the successful collaboration between local law enforcement and the
District Attorney’s office combined with the use of technology to apprehend the suspect in these
crimes.

Anyone with additional information and/or inquiries related to this case are asked to please contact
Detective Jeff Spranza or John Lagios at (510) 420-3013.

Housing Element Update for the 6th Cycle 2023-2031

Piedmont expects a Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) 6 of approximately 587 new housing units, compared to 60 units in RHNA 5, representing a 979%  increase from the last planning cycle.

The expected allocation includes:

• 163 very low income units
• 94 low income units
• 92 moderate income units
• 238 above moderate income units
• 587 total units

To ensure adequate inventory of adequate sites, City staff anticipates the element update will necessitate modifications to the uses and regulations for each of the City’s five zones.

The 3rd, 4th, and 5th cycle Piedmont Housing Elements were prepared by Barry Miller, FAICP, a contractor who has provided certain long-range planning services to the City since 1991. Mr. Miller has advised the City that he does not have the capacity to be the prime contractor on the City’s 6th Cycle Element, given the significant increase in the RHNA and need for a multidisciplinary team to complete the work.

While a number of important housing issues will need to be considered and addressed through the update process, the most significant work effort is expected to be meeting Piedmont’s RHNA numbers in the site inventory. To achieve that, the City expects the need to consider several approaches, including: amending the site development standards and densities for key housing opportunity sites and for one or more zones, implementing AB 1851 (a bill that allows the conversion of parking areas for religious institutions to housing development), and streamlining review of proposals for the construction and development of affordable housing projects.

Click below to READ the full staff report being considered by the

City Council at 6:00 pm, Monday, March 1, 2021. 

RFP for a Housing Element Update, a Safety Element Update, Other Related General Plan Amendments, and Related Regulatory Modifications as Required by State Law

Send comments to the City Council to> citycouncil@piedmont.ca. gov

Agenda > https://piedmont.ca.gov/UserFiles/Servers/Server_13659739/File/Government/City%20Council/Agenda/council-current-agenda.pdf

Park Commission will consider Street Tree Plans for Manor Drive March 3, 2021.

Read the Agenda, prior meeting minutes and Street Tree staff report by clicking below.

Park Commission 3-3-2021 Agenda Packet_