The Piedmont Park Commission will meet on Wednesday, March 7 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, located in City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.  The meeting will be broadcast live on cable Channel 27 and on the City’s website.

The Commission will be discussing Community Hall Lighting and Planting, a Civic Projects Donation from Piedmont Garden Club, the City’s Playground Equipment Safety Audit, Linda Beach Master Plan, Heritage Tree Nominations for 2018, Arbor Day, April 27, 2018.

Read the complete agenda here.

Your Tree Nominations are Sought Now!

The Piedmont Park Commission will discuss the nomination process at its meeting on Wednesday, March 7 at 5:30 p.m.  Park Commissioner Jim Horner proposed the heritage trees policy to celebrate notable trees on public property.  Horner, the author of “Trees of the Berkeley Campus,” presented the proposal to the City Council at their January 16, 2018 meeting. The Council unanimously approved the designation of Heritage Trees on public property.

Citizens are encouraged to nominate trees or groups of trees located on City owned property.  Nominations should be promptly forwarded to Nancy Kent, Parks & Project Manager, nkent@piedmont.ca.gov or contact her at (510) 420-3064

Nomination Form > Heritage Tree Application Form 2018 

Nominations: Due by March 16, 2018

Many public City meetings are broadcast live via the City website at > http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/video/ or on Cable Channel 27.  These meetings can be viewed after the meetings from video recordings found on the City website.  Many other meetings are not broadcast requiring those interested in the subject matter to be physically present to observe the meetings.

Below are a list of the City’s selection of which meetings in March 2018 will or will not be recorded and broadcast.

BROADCAST:

• City Council March 5 meeting video can be found > HERE.
• Wednesday March 7  Park Commission 5:30 pm Chambers
• Monday March 12 Planning Commission 5:00 pm Chambers
• Monday March 19 City Council 7:30 pm Chambers
• Wednesday March 21 Recreation Commission 7:30 pm Chambers

MEETINGS NOT BROADCAST:

• Tuesday  March 6  CIP Review Committee 7:00 pm Conference Room – (CIP Committee deliberates on which capital projects to recommend for funding by the City Council. This is an expense related committee.)
• Thursday March 15 City Council Special Meeting 5:30 pm Conference Room Interviews of applicants for Commission and Committee Appointments. (Open to everyone but seldom observed by Piedmonters.)
• Tuesday March 20 City / School Liaison 4:00 pm Conference Room (Representatives from the City Council and School Board discuss subjects of mutual interest as safety, facilities, etc. and return to their respective bodies to share information. Meeting is open to the public.)
• Tuesday March 20 CIP Review Committee 7:00 pm Conference Room ( Deliberations continue on funding choices. This is an expense related committee. )
• Thursday March 29 Public Safety Committee 5:30 pm Chambers.

All public meetings are open to the public to observe and participate. Exception: Closed Sessions.

Agendas for meetings will be posted in City Hall and the Piedmont Police Department at least 72 hours prior to each meeting.  Agendas for some Council, Commission & appointed Committee meetings are also posted online on the City website http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/.  Copies of all agendas may be requested from the office of the City Clerk, John O. Tulloch, 120 Vista Avenue, Piedmont or by calling 510-420-3040.

Notice and agendas of special meetings will be provided by the City at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.

The City Council on Monday, March 5, 2018, will undertake consideration of a number of important and impactful decisions for Piedmont.

Issues include increasing City’s taxing potential (Charter change), exclusionary requirements for candidates to seek election to the City Council (Charter change), new expensive window replacement policy (Expenditure), up to $55,000 for a Special Election in June rather than waiting until November (Expenditure), short term rental parameters (Zoning considerations), Coaches Field study and contingency funding (Expenditures), labor contracts (Expenditure), new position for Fire Prevention (Expenditure).

The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. in City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue, and will be broadcast live from the City website and on Piedmont Cable Channel 27.  The public can address any item on the agenda and during Public Forum speak to any item not on the agenda.

Staff reports for March 5, 2018 Council meeting:

03/05/18 – Consideration of an Agreement for Development of a Master Plan for Coaches Playfield with Callander Associates in the Amount of $24,985 and an Additional Appropriation of $10,000 to Fund the Project’s Contingency

03/05/18 – Consideration of the Following Actions Related to the Possible Amendment of the City Charter

a. Approval of a Resolution Proposing Amendments to the City Charter Modifying Term Limits for the City Council, Eliminating the 25% Cap on the General Fund Reserve, and Amending Sections Related to the Filling of Vacancies on the City Council and Board of Education

b. Approval of a Resolution Calling a Special Municipal Election for June 5, 2018, Requesting the Consolidation of the Special Municipal Election with the Statewide General Election, and Adding a Measure Relating to Amendments to the Charter of the City of Piedmont 

03/05/18 – Consideration of Options Regarding a Direct Argument and a Rebuttal Argument Regarding the Charter Amendment Measure on the June 5, 2018 Ballot 

03/05/18 – Consideration of Regulatory Parameters Related to the Permitting of Short-Term Rentals 

03/05/18 – Consideration of Memoranda of Understanding with the Following Labor Groups for the Period of 7/1/2017 through 6/30/2020:

a. Piedmont Firefighters Association – Captains Unit – 7/1/2017 through 6/30/2020

b. SEIU Local 1021 – General Unit – 03/05/2018 through 6/30/2021

c. SEIU Local 1021 – Public Works Unit – 03/05/2018 through 6/30/2021

 03/05/18 – Approval of a Part Time Fire Prevention Officer Position in the Fire Department for a Two Year Period

 03/05/18 – Consideration of a Resolution Amending the Interim Design Guidelines Regarding the Recess of Windows and Making Technical Corrections

The Window Guidelines have been acknowledged as not having received generalized public input considering the impact to homeowners and staff costs.

Piedmont League of Women Voters Joins Individual Citizens Expressing Great Concern About the Lack of Citizen Participation and Quick Timing of Proposed Revisions to the City Charter – 

Councilmember Jen Cavenaugh suggested the newly proposed office holder limits appeared to be a solution looking for a problem.

As Piedmonters find out about proposed Piedmont City Charter changes, concern has grown.  In years past when important City Charter changes were proposed, community involvement was primary.  The majority of the City Council at their February 5, 2018 meeting made no attempt to require outreach to Piedmonters.  Only Councilmember Jen Cavenaugh desired more civic engagement prior to placement on the June ballot, which would postpone the Charter ballot to November, 2018.

The City Charter requires all proposed Charter changes be placed on a Piedmont ballot and approved by Piedmont voters prior to becoming law.

The Charter changes were agendized by Mayor Bob McBain and the City Administrator with little time for general public input.  After the February 5 introduction of Charter changes, the next Council meeting for consideration has been scheduled for March 5, 2018.  A Council meeting typically would have been held on February 20, following President’s Day of February 19, however that meeting was cancelled making the Monday, March 5, 2018 the next and last regularly scheduled Council meeting to take action on the ballot measure for it to qualify for the special election in June.

City Attorney Michelle Kenyon told the City Council the numerous changes to the Charter came from the City Administrator, the City Clerk and the Council members. The public was not involved or informed of Charter changes until release of the staff report for the February 5 Council meeting.

Mayor Bob McBain immediately suggested that the June 2018 ballot measure only offer two proposed Charter changes, which evolved to: 1. Exclude former two term officials from seeking public office until an eight-year waiting period has elapsed.  2. Remove from the Charter the budget limitation of 25% in Piedmont General Fund reserves. 

 The Council has shown interest in changing the limit on General Fund reserves from the current 25% limit. To avoid the accumulation of reserves in the General Fund, the Council has recently established various reserve funds where excess money has been placed in an effort to avoid exceeding the 25% limit. 

Cost to the City of up to $55,000 to vote on the Charter changes in June instead of November 2018.

The unexpected urgent placement of the ballot measure requires Council action within weeks of their first public introduction.  The incomplete and unavailable form of the possible ballot language must receive Council action by March 8 if it is to be on the June 2018 ballot.  (See Alameda County election deadlines below).  The expedited timing eliminates the opportunity for broad citizen participation prior to a ballot measure and would cost Piedmonters up to $55,000 than  waiting for the November election when there would be one ballot measure at a reduced cost. 

Some Council members suddenly want Charter changes for Special June Ballot, rather than waiting for November Election.

City Clerk John Tulloch told the Council that City Administrator Paul Benoit had informed the Superintendent of Education Randall Booker the Council wanted to place further limitations on out-of-office former officials seeking election to the Board of Education.   Benoit’s conversation took place prior to public information or Council consideration.

City Attorney Michelle Kenyon explained that the City Council and ultimately the voters rather than the School Board would make the decision on term limit requirements.  Kenyon acknowledged that this was an “important change” to the Charter.  

Importance of the Piedmont City Charter 

The Piedmont City Charter is the underlying legal basis of Piedmont governance.  Previously when significant changes to the City Charter were considered, a Charter Review Committee was appointed by the Council to review, carefully consider issues in open meetings, and then make recommendations to the Council.

The proposed Charter change limiting former office holders’ return to the City Council or School Board originated with Mayor Bob McBain.  McBain explained to the Council he had been approached about office holder term restrictions and had decided it would be beneficial to end prior officer holders ability to ever serve again.

McBain stated he felt it was unfair, and created an uneven election if past officeholders, who he referred to as “incumbents,” sought election after an absence of only 4 years.  He noted that many people want to serve and there are many volunteers.  This City Council has had the practice of recycling prior commissioners and committee members between the various boards, raising a question of the appointments excluding new willing volunteers. Though he had suggested a permanent exclusion, McBain was later convinced during the meeting that an eight year absence from  service was an acceptable time limit for an individual to once more seek election.

Council member Jen Cavenaugh stated that only one person in recent years had wanted to come back and returning past office holders were able to hit the ground running.  She was repeatedly interrupted by other Council members during the meeting when she attempted to speak. 

City Clerk John Tulloch had initiated outreach to other cities to see what exclusions on past officials they included  in their Charters.  He spoke of no outreach within Piedmont. 

On February 13, Mayor McBain and City Clerk Tulloch made a presentation to the School Board.   Following McBain and Tulloch’s presentation, the School Board was not prepared to take a position on the Charter changes.  See Superintendent’s report below.

The City Council has not taken final action to place the term limit issue on the June 2018 ballot and despite the School Board’s inaction, Mayor McBain preemptively proclaimed to the School Board that the service limits impacting the Board members would be on the June 2018 ballot and he hoped that the School Board would vote for the new limits on public service. 

McBain’s proclamation was on a split Council vote with Council member Cavenaugh seeking further information and citizen involvement prior to expending money for the ballot measure in June. 

Given the few past office holders out of office for only four years, the limitation and barring of candidates appeared to be targeting specific individuals.

Deadlines for June 2018 Election Ballot:

Close of Nomination Period for the June 5, 2018 Direct Primary Election –  March 09, 2018

Deadline to file Arguments In Favor/Against a Measure on the June 5, 2018 Direct Primary Election – March 14, 2018

Deadline to file Rebuttals to Arguments In Favor/Against a Measure on the June 5, 2018 Direct Primary Election – March 19, 2018

Ballot arguments are filed with the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.

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The Board of Education current Policy 9110 states in regard to terms of office:

“BB 9110 Board Bylaws Terms Of Office:  The Piedmont City Charter contains the following provisions relative to the Board of Education: 1. The Board shall consist of five members elected from the city at large for a term of four years. Board members shall be elected at the times and in the same manner provided for members of the city council. Only qualified voters of the city shall be eligible to hold the office of Board member. No person who has served two full consecutive terms as a members of the Board shall be eligible to hold office until one full intervening term of four years has elapsed. Any person who serves as a member of the Board for more than eighteen months of an unexpired term shall be considered to have served a full term.”

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Three Linda-Beach Designs Address Stormwater Drainage

On Thursday, January 18th, the City of Piedmont held its second meeting regarding the Linda Beach Master Plan in the hopes of gaining community input on the matter. The development project, taken on by Recreation Director Sara Lillevand and landscaping firm Groundworks Office, is set to revamp the large area between Howard and Linda Avenues near Beach Elementary School. The meeting was designed to allow Piedmont’s citizens to share their opinions about three existing proposals to assist in the process of creating one final master plan.

    The new concepts were designed based on the expectations of the community and the existing features of the area that give the park its character. The first concept presented was called the “Sports Plan”. Including two regulation size tennis courts and a skate park area, the plan encouraged play for families with children of all ages. The second concept was known as the “Nature plan” which replaced the tennis courts with planted terraces and open event spaces. This concept would create a more traditional park feel with lots of greenery and open space, as well as stadium seating and a picnic deck. The final concept offered was a “Hybrid Plan” which involved what Groundworks viewed as “the best of both worlds”.  The layout would feature one regulation size tennis court as well as an outdoor classroom, greenspace, and bocce courts.

    There were also necessities that the new park will have no matter what. All three plans would include treatment planting to address stormwater drainage as well as a variety of different surfaces with varying levels of porosity to prevent flooding. Picnic tables, event space, and increased access to the area were deemed a must to the project early on and will most likely be included in any final plan. Another element included across the board was interactive art to add color and life to the park as well as support local artists. The city has also requested that the plan provide space for Beach Schoolmates to expand to accommodate its large number of students.

    One of the main concerns expressed throughout all three plans was how to make the best use of the very limited amount of land allocated for the project. City Council member Jen Cavanaugh expressed concern that the storage space beneath the Oakland Avenue bridge would remain empty in all three proposed plans and could be renovated into bathrooms to preserve space.

In my personal opinion, the third plan presented was the most efficient use of land and met more of the communities wishes. I believe it will make the best use of the city’s money and time and, in return, will become a place of great popularity. The city needs a park with a classic park feel that also offers a safe variety of activities for a wide variety of ages. I strongly support the city’s decision to include the community in formulating a plan that is going to create an idyllic new space.

After the meeting concluded Recreation Director Sara Lillevand explained “There are so few opportunities in town to develop available square footage and it is exciting to see what the community wants to do with it”.

The new Linda Beach Playfield is going to be an exciting new place for the city and through this collaborative process it is really going to reflect what we want as a community.

by Ellie Roberts, Piedmont High School Senior

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

Application Deadline Fri. Mar. 9th – 5:00 p.m.

How many Tennis Courts do we need?!

Who doesn’t love free pizza and talking about parks of your childhood? That’s just what I did January 18th, 2018 in the Piedmont Community Hall. This was the second meeting of the Groundworks Architecture and Landscape Firm with the Piedmont Community, hosted by the Piedmont Recreation Department, to discuss the redesign of the Linda Beach Playfield.

    At the previous meeting, the Groundworks team gathered ideas from about forty attendees about what the community wanted and valued. They put this information  into a list of guidelines. They then used guidelines to come up with designs.

    We were presented with three options: sports, nature, and hybrid.

    The sports option focused on expanding the tennis courts to fit two regulation size courts with colorful mural like retaining walls as well as a skatepark for teens under the bridge.

    The Nature design gave a serene and peaceful vibe, bringing a sculpture garden/public art space under the bridge, a terraced amphitheater/event space at the north end of the field.

    The Hybrid design was a perfect combination of both. Hybrid updates the tennis court to regulation size, while adding an event space with outdoor classrooms and a green space at the north end. The Tot Lot was moved in this design to the south end of the park featuring a slide into the park from Howard Street.

    After the presentation of the three designs, the audience was split into five table groups to discuss the options. Most of the people at the meeting were advocates for having as many tennis courts and sports areas as possible. On the other hand, many others were excited about having a green area to relax and hang out as a community. The skatepark was a big topic, but we students at the table were insistent on not including the area. Ryan Stokes, a Piedmont resident, was an advocate for the skatepark.

I spoke to Lorri Arazi, a listing agent for the newly built townhomes on Linda Avenue, about the plans. “I initially came on a fact-finding mission, I thought I’d be a listener and less of a participant. But I felt strongly, I had a strong gut reaction when I saw the skatepark next to the bridge,” Arazi told me, “I think that’d be really noisy for the people buying the condos.”

    More issues were brought up about the bathrooms, flex space for group activities, noise complaints, and wasting the space by planting more trees everywhere. Many younger people showed up to voice their opinions as well as the adults. “It was really really wonderful to see people of all ages here and involved and interested,” Arazi commented. Everyone had a positive reaction to the plans, were excited to voice their opinions and see this area remodeled.

    Arazi told me that, “I’ll definitely come to the March 21st meeting. If [the skatepark] shows up on the next iteration, then I’m going to want to voice my concern.” She also explained that by then she will hopefully have a few units sold, and can bring those families to voice their input as part of the community. The city will be having an online survey about this topic, in addition to a City Council Meeting being held on March 21st to talk about the final design. I look forward to seeing the final design, and the community support around the area.

by Maeve Andrews, Piedmont High School Senior

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Courts or no Courts?

    As the Piedmont Community Hall began to fill up with intrigued families, city officials, community members and Civics students, I could tell that I was in for an interesting evening. The debate over what to include in the new Linda Beach Playfield design had just begun.

    On Thursday, January 18th, at 5:45 p.m., I attended the Linda Beach Master Plan meeting to learn more about the city’s project and to share my thoughts on the subject. The project, headed by Piedmont’s Parks and Recreation Director, Sara Lillevand, is intended to landscape, renovate, and redesign the land surrounding the Beach Playfield on Linda and Howard avenue. A similar meeting had convened on November 16 of 2017 to introduce the project and present the Groundworks Office firm which was chosen to landscape the park.

At the beginning of the Master Plan meeting, the project leaders reviewed the notes from the past meeting and revealed three detailed design concepts that the Groundworks team had put together. We then broke off into groups and worked to address the pros and cons of each of the three designs. Design one was labeled as the ‘sports’ design and consisted of two regulation size tennis courts, a skate park, a community activity space, and a boardwalk entrance to the park from Howard Avenue. The second design, known as the ‘nature’ design, featured several community flex spaces, lots of planted trees and seating areas, and no tennis courts. The third design was labeled as the ‘hybrid’ plan and consisted of one full size tennis court, an adult exercise area, a bocce ball court, and some community flex space.

As a tennis player, I advocated for a version of the sports oriented plan because it included two regulation size tennis courts. Other community members spoke up about how the tennis courts take up lots of area and that the land should be allocated to multipurpose or flex spaces that can be utilized by any and all community members at different times.

One community member spoke about how the tennis courts are a much desired aspect of the Beach Playfield and eliminating them would upset many residents. He also brought up the interesting prospect of installing night lights for the courts which would increase the hours of use. There was much debate over what to include and what to not include during the meeting but the council decided to take the copious amount of community member input and work to build at least one new plan which will then be reviewed at the next meeting.

After the meeting I spoke with the project leader and Recreation Director, Sara Lillevand, to discuss her opinion on the project and the project’s next steps. She explained to me how her main goal of the meeting was to bring as many community members together as possible to receive input on what should be included in the design. She said that the meeting exceeded her expectations primarily due to the fact that there were so many young community members present. Moving forward, Lillevand will collaborate with the Groundworks team to gather the community input from the meeting, work with the city contractors, and develop a final plan to present. This project is moving quickly and I am excited to follow it in the coming months and utilize the final project. Let’s hope for tennis courts!

by Andrew Pinkham, Piedmont High School Senior

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

Big changes have been suggested for how Piedmont is administered. 

City Administrator form of government is evolving toward City Manager form of government, further limits on Council terms, increase in tax funds held in reserve, reduced meeting requirements, etc.

On the Monday, February 5, 2018 Council agenda is an item that potentially starts a change to long held principles within the Piedmont City Charter. The City Charter is in the domain of the voters of Piedmont, who must approve any changes to the City Charter..

When the Charter was updated and revised approximately 35 years ago, a citizen Charter Review Committee appointed by the City Council was established to develop recommendations for City Council consideration.  After review of the recommendations, the City Council placed the recommended revised Charter on a Piedmont ballot, and it was readily approved by Piedmont voters.

The Piedmont City Charter specifies expenditures, revenues, budgeting, decisions to be made by the Council, decisions to be made by voters, personnel roles, zoning, loan mechanisms, etc.

City staff actions are subject to Council direction and Council action in many instances is subject to citizen approval of major issues such as zoning, taxation, borrowing, and reserve fund limits.  Some staff members over the years have resisted  the requirement of gaining Council approval in a public forum before taking action on policy matters.  The result has led to some policy actions taken without Council authorization.

The City Council has exceeded its authority in some instances, supporting a reinterpretation of the City Charter diminishing voter controls.

Recent issues questionable under the City Charter reinterpretation have been:

• Election process for selecting a mayor following a resignation
• Loans taken out without voter approval
• Refusal to allow a citizen vote prior to making zone use changes

City Administrator form of government evolving toward City Manager form of government –

Piedmont has for generations benefited from its City Administrator form of government, giving citizens and their elected representatives the primary authority and responsibility over numerous governmental actions.  The proposed Charter changes in a number of instances would alter this authority.

Unlike the proposed changes, the City Council, rather than the City Administrator, currently has the responsibility to appoint the top administrators of the City.  Some of these positions include:

•  Police Chief
•  Fire Chief
•  Public Works Director
•  City Clerk
•  City Engineer
•  Finance Director

The process for changing the Piedmont City Charter, foundation of Piedmont governance, will receive consideration by the City Council on Monday, February 5, 2018, on how to proceed with review and any updating of the Charter.

Residents interested in following this issue can attend the meeting, observe the Council live on Cable Channel 27 or from the City website under videos. This item is last on the agenda.

Read the staff report regarding Charter changes HERE.

Read the agenda HERE.

The City of Piedmont is seeking resident input on three concepts to be included in a master plan for Linda Beach Playfield and Park, which were presented to the public at a Community Workshop on January 18^th. The City and its consultant, landscape architecture firm Groundworks Office, have developed a survey to gather resident input on the proposed designs.

Take 5-10 minutes to complete > the Linda Beach Playfield Master Plan Survey. The City is asking that all comments be submitted by February 8^th.

The City of Piedmont engaged the services of landscape architecture firm Groundworks Office for development of the Linda Beach Playfield Master Plan. The intent of the project is to create a logical, cost-effective, and flexible conceptual plan to meet the present and future needs of the City of Piedmont within the context of the neighborhood, the needs of the community and the constraints of the existing site. With the exception of the field itself, all areas from the Oakland Avenue Bridge to Beach School and between Howard and Linda Avenues will be on the table for possible enhancements, improvements and renovations.

The City invites any and all interested community members to engage in this exciting opportunity to examine an existing park with fresh eyes. The City wants to hear the communities ideas.

Read previous article on three concepts for Linda Beach Playfield and Park here.