An Opportunity to Serve Your Community!

Vacancies on Piedmont’s commissions and committees offer an excellent opportunity for Piedmonters to get involved in Piedmont activities important to the ongoing success and quality of the City.  These citizen volunteer positions allow individuals to use their abilities on a wide range of subjects.  Being on a commission or committee engages a person in a high level of civic involvement.

Each commission has a special role in making decisions and advising the City Council.  A full term on a commission last for 3 years with a two term limit.  Positions without an incumbent are ready opportunities for new participants.

Interested residents may download the Application for Appointive Vacancy. Applications are due to City Hall on or before the deadline of Thursday, March 17, 2016.

Interviews with the City Council for these positions will be scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, 2016. No appointments will be made without a Council interview.

On Monday, February 29th, the City of Piedmont will continue the removal of aging and beetle infested Monterey Pine trees from Blair Park that began on Friday.  An arborist identified the 22 trees selected for removal, as the third of three phases of tree removal in the park. Blair Park will be closed while this work is being conducted.

Questions regarding the project may be addressed to the Public Works Department at (510) 420-3050.

The developers of the 408 Linda Avenue condominium project have asked that their request to eliminate utility undergrounding of overhead utilities serving the properties across Linda Avenue not be considered at the Monday, February 8, 2016, the Planning Commission meeting.  The condominiums are under construction on the site of the former PG&E building site next to the Oakland Avenue bridge.  In the past, the issue has proven to be controversial.

The agenda had listed the item as:

MINOR AMENDMENT TO A VESTING TENTATIVE MAP

408 Linda Avenue

“An application for Minor Amendments to an Approved Tentative Map has been submitted by Piedmont Station LLC, project developers of the Piedmont Station Townhouse development proposed at 408 Linda Avenue (the site of a former PG&E Substation). The Application seeks to modify the utility plan of the approved Vesting Tentative Map so that overhead utilities serving the properties across Linda Avenue remain in place on the project’s Linda Avenue street frontage, and to modify Condition SUB-5 placed on the approval of Vesting Tentative Map (Application #11-0062).”

The Planning Commission meeting is an open public meeting and broadcast live on Cable Channel 27 and live streamed on the City website.

The Planning Commission annually presents design awards to selected projects constructed during the prior year.

The Regular Session  of the Commission will start at 5 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers and will be suspended for a “Special Session,” open to the public, in the City Hall Conference Room at approximately 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. during the time when the Commission takes their dinner break. During their break, the Commission will review projects completed in 2015 for the City’s annual Design Awards program, and will select winners for the March 14th Design Awards Presentation and Reception.

The “Special Session” will not be recorded or broadcast.  The Regular Session will resume immediately after the Special Session dinner break.

At the February 1, 2016  Council meeting starting at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, the Council will hold a second reading of the ballot proposal for renewal of the parcel tax with a 30% increase on the June Primary Election. The ballot argument process and procedural matters for the ballot proposal will be considered at the meeting.

Last on the agenda is an update on the implementation of the Grand Avenue pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements that the City Council adopted in 2014 as part of the Pedestrian/Bicycle Master Plan. Piedmont’s implementation will occur in two phases, not yet scheduled. Oakland will soon replace four travel lanes on Grand Avenue with two travel lanes plus bike lanes and a two-way center turn lane.

Agenda staff reports:

• 02/01/16 – Second Reading of Ord. 721 N.S. – Regarding Renewal of the Municipal Services Special Tax Effective July 1, 2017 and Placing the Measure Before the Voters
• 02/01/16 – Consideration of a Resolution Approving Procedural Details for the Special Municipal Election of June 7, 2016
• 02/01/16 – Consideration of Options Regarding a Direct Argument and a Rebuttal Argument Regarding the Municipal Services Special Tax Measure on the June 7, 2016 Ballot
• 02/01/16 – Receipt of a Report from the Public Works Director Regarding the Status of the Grand Avenue Bicycle and Pedestrian Project

The meeting is open to the public and will be broadcast live via cable channel 27 and on the City website.

$3,000 available for earthquake work to qualifying homeowners.

The Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) program provides homeowners up to a maximum of $3,000 for approved construction projects to strengthen their foundation. Homeowners who are accepted in the EBB program are required to agree to and adhere to the full Program Rules and Terms of Use posted on the website. (Read the 15 page Rules and Terms here.)

The EBB program requires adherence to the California Building Code, Appendix Chapter A3, which sets prescriptive standards for seismic retrofits of existing residential buildings.

Homeowner registration is open until February 20 to apply for participation in the program. Homeowners will be notified via email if they have been selected or if they are on the wait list. Selected homeowners will receive detailed information and next steps for participation in EBB.

Highlights of qualifications for homeowners :

• Homeowner must be the owner of record and live in the house that will be retrofitted.

• The house must meet the structural requirements of a Chapter A3 retrofit which is done completely in the crawl space around the perimeter of the foundation.

  1. For houses with cripple walls 4-feet or less, a contractor or homeowner may complete the retrofit using an approved standard plan set.
  2. For houses with cripple walls taller than 4-feet an engineered solution is required.

• The house must not have a completed brace and bolt retrofit previous to being accepted into EBB.

• The building permit must be received and dated after acceptance into EBB.

• The building permit must state the retrofit is in accordance with Chapter A3. If the retrofit is an engineered solution, then the signed and stamped letter from the engineer must state the retrofit is in accordance with Chapter A3.

• In addition to the brace and bolt retrofit the work must include strapping the water heater.

• The homeowner must meet all program deadlines and submit the required documentation.

• The house must successfully pass a final inspection by a local building inspector, confirming the retrofit was done in accordance with Chapter A3.

   

“At the open, public special meeting at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 4th, the City Council appointed current Alternate Tom Ramsey to the regular seat on the Planning Commission vacated by the resignation of Philip Chase. Aradhana Jajodia was appointed to the alternate position vacated by Mr. Ramsey.”

The Piedmont Park Commission will meet on Wednesday, January 6 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, located in City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.  The meeting is open to the public and will be broadcast live.

Agenda for the meeting:

• Public Forum
• Report on PG&E Tree Pruning
• Public hearing on the requested removal and replacement of 12 street trees in the 1100 block of Warfield Avenue by residents
• Street lighting options for Linda/Kingston Triangle
• Update on replacement of Tea House oak tree
• Update on Hampton Sports Field project
• Update on Arbor Day April 27, 2016
• Monthly Maintenance report

Read about removal of the  Tea House oak tree and Hampton Sports Field project in the October 7, 2015 Park Commission minutes.

Playground Hazards in Lower Dracena Park,  by Piedmont Resident Bernard Pech –

I took my 14 month old granddaughter to the playground in lower Dracena Park a while back and was dismayed by how poorly the playground is designed. The sand box is located in the middle of other play structures and at the same level as the ground around, resulting in sand being dragged all over. Apart from the poor look, it creates a dangerous situation, in particular on the concrete slope nearby surrounding the slide.

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Dracena Park concrete slope

The sandbox needs to be deep and isolated on the side. Take a look for example at the  Presidio Heights Playground in San Francisco:

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Presidio Heights Playground

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​Given the push of dog lovers to expand the leash-free dog run area at Dracena, a redesigned park needs to relocate the playground out of the way of free running dogs and to surround the playground with a fence. The  Piedmont Director of Recreation (who I have contacted and was very responsive) should take a good look at the Presidio park, which was clearly very well thought out.

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

Public Hearing by Planning Commission on Marijuana Growing in Piedmont –

City staff will present recommendations to the Planning Commission on modifications to the Municipal Code to address cultivation, dispensing and delivery of marijuana.  After hearing testimony from the public and discussion, the Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the City Council.

In October, Piedmont police served a search warrant on a Scenic Avenue home, seized 30 pounds of processed and packaged marijuana worth an estimated street value of $150,000, and arrested the two rental tenants living in a unit suspected of cultivating the plants.  They also found more than 13 fully mature marijuana plants in what police described as “a sophisticated marijuana grow operation” in the 100 block of Scenic Avenue.

According to FindLaw:

In general, it is a crime to grow marijuana or manufacture controlled substances and illegal drugs in California. The criminal charges related to the cultivation or manufacturing of drugs depend on the type of drug.

…

The recommendation by the Planning Commission to prohibit short-term rentals will be on a Council agenda in January as announced by  Interim Planning Director Kevin Jackson.

The Piedmont City Council will hear the Planning Commission’s recommendation regarding the regulation of short-term rentals at one of their regularly scheduled hearings in January 2016. You can find more information regarding the Planning Commission’s recommendation to the Council by reviewing the draft minutes and/or video of the November 9, 2015 Planning Commission hearing. [Found on the City of Piedmont website]

To receive a copy of the 141 page staff report prepared for the Planning Commission dated November 9, 2015; ask to be added to the email notice list; or make inquiries – contact:

Kevin Jackson, AICP    kjackson@ci.piedmont.ca.us

Interim Planning Director

120 Vista Avenue,  Piedmont, CA 94611

Tel: (510) 420-3039   Fax: (510) 658-3167

Comments and opinions regarding short-term rentals may be addressed to the City Council via:

 City Clerk John Tulloch jtulloch@ci.piedmont.ca.us.\

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Interim Planning Director:  kjackson@ci.piedmont.ca.us

City Clerk and City Council:  jtulloch@ci.piedmont.ca.us

Piedmont website where draft minutes of the draft Planning Commission are posted next to the video listing of the November 9, 2015 meeting > http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/video/

Piedmont website where the November 9, 2015 Planning Commission meeting video may be viewed in its entirety > http://piedmont.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=1365