Application deadline 5pm on Wednesday, March 29th

The City of Piedmont is now accepting applications to fill upcoming vacancies on several Commissions and Committees. Applications can be completed online and are due by 5:00 p.m., March 29, 2023. Mandatory in-person interviews will be held the evening of Tuesday, April 4th.

Serving on a Commission or Committee helps keep Piedmont moving forward. Piedmont is a city of volunteers of residents who serve on one of the City’s 13 volunteer Commissions, Boards, and Committees. The Piedmont residents entrusted to serve on these bodies act as the City’s eyes and ears, listening to community input, identifying and studying percolating issues, and making recommendations to the City Council for action. Many of the programs that Piedmonters enjoy today were initiated and/or first reviewed by Commissions, including pickleball at City courts, Heritage Trees, annual Planning Commission design awards, and the Map Your Neighborhood program.

Apply Online by March 29th

To apply, submit an online application by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29th. When applying, you’ll be asked to provide contact and basic background information (education, occupation), select which body or bodies you would like to apply to serve on, then provide brief written answers to three questions:

• What experience do you have related to this appointment?

• Why are you seeking this appointment?

• What will you bring to this Commission or Committee?

The application also asks whether you have previously attended or watched a meeting of the body you’re applying to serve on. Archived meeting videos are available streaming on the City’s website.

Interviews on Tuesday, April 4th

To be considered for appointment, applicants must attend an in-person interview at City offices in the evening of Tuesday, April 4th. Interviews will be conducted by the City Council and will last roughly 5 minutes each. The interview schedule will be provided to applicants on Friday, March 31st.

Applicants needed for vacancies on seven bodies

This year, there are vacancies to fill on seven Commissions and Committees, as well as two additional appointed volunteer positions. For most bodies, members are appointed to 3-year terms, with a limit of two consecutive terms.

Commission/Committee Duties and additional information provided in link below:

2023-03-06 City Seeking Volunteers to Serve on Commissions and Committees

Starting March 1, 2023, the City of Piedmont will discontinue remote participation for most
Commission and all Committee meetings. Community members will still be able to comment
remotely via Zoom for City Council and Planning Commission meetings. Park Commission and
Recreation Commission meetings will continue to be broadcast live on KCOM and streamed on the
City website.

This format change was prompted by changes to State regulations governing public meetings,
which had been relaxed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to support remote participate
for members of legislative bodies. Governor Newsom has announced his intention to rescind the
COVID-19 State of Emergency at the end of February 2023, at which point members of City
Councils, Boards, Commissions, and Committees statewide will be required to attend meetings in
person, with limited exceptions.

At their January 17, 2023, the City Council was briefed on changes to teleconference regulations
and was asked to give direction to staff on whether to continue providing remote participation
options for community members at Council, Commission, and Committee meetings.

After a detailed discussion, the Council chose to continue offering remote public comment for City
Council and Planning Commission meetings only, due to low remote participation for other bodies
and the strain on staff resources required to support hybrid meetings. Each remote or hybrid
meeting requires an additional staff member, working overtime, to manage the logistics and
operations of the virtual meeting.

More information is available in the agenda report, minutes, and meeting video for the January 17th City Council meeting.

City Press Release – February 14, 2023

City of Piedmont Special City Council Meeting –

Monday, December 19, 2022 6:00 p.m.

Community Hall, 711 Highland Avenue, Piedmont, CA

Reception and Swearing In for New Piedmont Elected Officials

The City of Piedmont invites all community members to a reception celebrating newly elected officials and honoring outgoing Mayor Teddy Gray King following a special meeting of the City Council on Monday, December 19th at 6:00 p.m.

Both the meeting and reception will take place at the Piedmont Community Hall in Main Park (711 Highland Avenue) with the reception commencing immediately after the meeting concludes. Light refreshments will be provided.

Following the Council’s certification of the election results, Mayor Teddy Gray King, who is leaving office after two terms on the City Council, will share farewell remarks. Next, Piedmont’s new Board of Education and City Council members will be sworn in, formally assuming their new offices. The City Council will then elect a Mayor and Vice Mayor.

Everyone is invited to join in this celebration of our democracy!   The City looks forward to seeing many community members in attendance.

This meeting will NOT be broadcast live due to bandwidth limitations at the Community Hall, but will be recorded and available for viewing online and on KCOM-TV afterwards.

> 12.19.2022 council-agenda

> 2022 Certification Documents of Election Results for the General Municipal Election of November 8, 2022

According to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters for the November 8, 2022 Piedmont General Election, the Piedmont Voter statistics are:

8,813  –  Piedmont Registered Voters

6,498 – Piedmont Voters cast a ballot

6,084 – Voted by Mail or by Early Voting

414 – Voted on Election Day

The Piedmont final certified results elected Andersen, Ramsey, and Long to 4 year terms on the Piedmont City Council.

The Piedmont final certified results elected Medhekar and Thomasson to 4 year terms on the Piedmont Board of Education.

On December 8, 2022, the Alameda County Registrar of Voters published the final certified results of the November 8, 2022 Piedmont Election. 

Members, Piedmont City Council –

Andersen, Ramsey, and Long elected to 4 year terms.

Members, Piedmont Board of Education –

Medhekar and Thomasson Elected to 4 year terms.

Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Community Pool Saturday, December 17th, 11 a.m.

Construction is expected to begin in early 2023, and the new pool could open as soon as summer 2024.

The City of Piedmont invites community members to a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Piedmont Community Pool on Saturday, December 17th at 11am. The ceremony will be held on the grounds of the pool site at 777 Magnolia Avenue.

…………………

The Piedmont City Council voted unanimously to award a contract for construction of the new pool to Wickman Development & Construction at their December 5th, 2022 meeting.

Construction is expected to begin in early 2023, and the new pool could open as soon as summer 2024.

“It took the collective effort of hundreds to reach this point, including current and former Councilmembers, City staff, Commission and Committee volunteers, consultants, and most important – the community advocates who have tirelessly pursued the vision for an aquatics facility that truly meets Piedmont’s needs, some of whom have been working towards this goal for over two decades” said City Administrator Sara Lillevand. “I hope many community members will join us on December 17th to celebrate this monumental milestone.”

Originally opened in 1964, Piedmont’s now-shuttered pool had exceeded its useful lifespan and had long lacked adequate space to meet the community’s diverse aquatic athletic and recreational needs. Although there have been several efforts to explore feasibility of a new facility over the years, work on the pool replacement project began in earnest in 2015, with the development of the Aquatics Center Conceptual Master Plan.

This vision drew closer to reality in November 2020 with the passage of Measure UU, which authorized the sale of $19.5 million in general obligation bonds to fund the new facility. A sharp rise in construction costs beginning in 2020 further threatened the project’s feasibility, leaving a gap of more than $2 million between project cost estimates and available funds even after the City Council scaled back the original design to include only essential components.

To close the gap, the City has partnered with the Piedmont Recreational Facilities Organization (PRFO) to raise $2.1 million for the completion of the new community pool as designed. This capital campaign, which began in August 2022, looks to build on the success of previous PRFO fundraising in support of Hampton Park and the Corey Reich Tennis Center.

As of December 5th, 2022, PRFO is nearly halfway to the fundraising goal of $2.1 million. The City of Piedmont and the Piedmont City Council remain grateful to the community for their ongoing support for the new community pool project.

For more information on the project, visit piedmont.ca.gov/newpool.

For information on the PRFO capital campaign, visit prfo.org/piedmont-community-pool.

Any property in Piedmont can become the site of a new Multifamily density increasing project.

Since all Piedmont zones allow single-family residential buildings, the attorney’s opinion opens all Piedmont properties to multi-family high density housing without voter approval of the increase in residential density. 

With additional votes added to the totals, the elected candidates remain the same.  See updated voting totals for the City Council and School Board positions below.

City Council – Three Seats Up for Election – 3 Candidates with highest number of votes are considered elected pending final official certification.

Board of Education – Two Seats Up for Election – 2 Candidates with highest number of votes are considered elected pending final official certification.

These results were posted to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters website at: 9:17 p.m. on Monday, November 21, 2022.

UPDATED RESULTS NOVEMBER 10, 2022 –

This information is based upon results posted on the Registrar of Voters website.  Results are shown as of Thursday, November 10, 2022.

Results are not considered final until certified by the Registrar of Voters Office, which has 30 days to do so.

City Council –

Three Seats Up for Election – The 3 candidates receiving the highest number of votes are considered elected pending certification.

Board of Education –

Two Seats Up for Election -The 2 candidates receiving the highest number of votes are considered elected pending certification.

These results were posted to the Registrar of Voters website on Thursday, November 10, 2022.

The Piedmont Civic Association congratulates those elected to office and thanks all who sought office.  Voters are praised for their attention to this important civic responsibility.

The City of Piedmont is in an untenable situation. The City failed to appeal the allotment of 587 housing units in the city under the stated mandated Housing Element. The City failed to provide options that the residents could consider and then vote upon with sufficient time to then submit a HE plan.

Requirement for a Vote before land can be re-zoned. The areas under consideration for the Housing Element include park and municipal land, such as the Moraga Avenue properties and 801 Magnolia Avenue. These properties are in Zone B. Section 17.08 of the Code of the City of Piedmont is titled “Establishment of Zones; Zoning Map; Interpretation” and provides that the city is divided into five zones. “Within each zone, certain uses of land and buildings are allowed as permitted or conditional uses, and certain other uses of land and buildings are restricted or prohibited. If a use is not permitted or conditionally permitted, it is not allowed.”  Section 17.22.020 states “The following are permitted uses in Zone B: …A single family residence … City building…Public School…Parks…Cemetery…Emergency shelter…”.Multi-family residences are not a permissible use in Zone B (Blair Park and 801 Magnolia).

Section 9.02 of the City Charter provides that “…The Council may classify and reclassify the zones established, but no existing zones shall be reduced or enlarged with respect to size or area, and no zones shall be reclassified without submitting the question to a vote at a general or special election. No zone shall be reduced or enlarged and no zones reclassified unless a majority of the voters voting upon the same shall vote in favor thereof; provided that any property which is zoned for uses other than or in addition to a single family dwelling may be voluntarily rezoned by the owners thereof filing a written document …stating that the only use on such property shall be a single-family dwelling, and such rezoning shall not require a vote of the electors as set forth above.” The Charter clearly states that the ONLY time a vote is not necessary is when property in Zones B, C, D or E is converted to a single family residence.

Requirement to submit a Plan. The state of California wants the City to present a plan showing where 587 units can be built within the boundaries of Piedmont by January 31, 2023. Failure to submit a plan by that date could result in various penalties; most of which do not apply to the city. The one penalty that could apply during a period of noncompliance is the ability of a builder to force the city to approve permits for building affordable housing. This penalty assumes there is property available for development (sale) in  Piedmont and that the cost of construction is such that the builder will reap a profit.

There have been many discussions in the city that we just submit a plan with the understanding that it is unlikely the housing will be built. However, recently the HCD responded to a plan submitted by Santa Monica that the city had to show actual timelines for construction of housing on any city owned sites. If Piedmont submits a plan that includes city owned property the state can then force the city to act on that plan. Any plan that is submitted can be enforced and by then we will have no voice in the process. Further, it will set a precedent that the zones in Piedmont are meaningless. https://smdp.com/2022/04/29/too-many-units-too-little-time/ .

The Choice. The decision is between three choices: 1) Submit a plan that includes park and municipal land without a vote to rezone those lands which is a violation of Section 9.02 of our City Charter and could result in overbuilding in the city center and Moraga Avenue as well as undermining our zoning laws or 2) Submit a plan that is contingent on a vote to rezone certain areas for multi-family housing or 3) Delay submission of a plan, provide the necessary information so the electorate can make informed decisions and schedule a special election with options so that we can decide the future of Piedmont.

If the City Administrator’s letter dated September 30, 2022 had been sent early in 2022 there would have been time for a Special Election. However, at this juncture we must decide which is less harmful to the city of Piedmont; the possibility of the Builder’s Remedy being exercise versus our right to vote on the reclassification of zones in Piedmont.

I believe we should delay submission of a plan. We must bring the matter to a vote in Piedmont which will offer us a voice in the process, resolve the conflict in the community, preserve our Charter, allow multi-family housing projects in areas zoned accordingly and prevent future litigation. The city has already spent almost a million dollars in analyzing where the units could be placed and the people immediately rejected the city center location. This time let the citizens of Piedmont decide by a vote – it will be worth the cost.

Almost two-thirds of Southern California’s cities failed to meet their state housing plan deadline. We should immediately determine locations in Piedmont for affordable housing, summarize the options in a clear format (including maps), mail the information to each residence, prepare for a special election and elect new leadership that keeps Piedmont informed and engaged with a vote.

https://www.ocregister.com/2022/07/11/southern-california-cities-get-more-time-to-rezone-land-for-housing/

Bridget Harris, Candidate for the Piedmont City Council

Editors’ Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.