The Montclarion has just posted an evenhanded article about development in Moraga Canyon entitled Athletic fields vs. space at heart of battle over Piedmont’s Blair Park. Here’s an excerpt:

“As a resident in Moraga Canyon, both projects put a large burden on one area of Piedmont,” said Joannie Semitekol, who lives above Coaches. “Soccer fields on our doorstep, a skate park. Soccer, baseball, lacrosse at Blair Park. That’s contrary to the environment we live in. The canyon is a natural setting with views and greenery, like living in the country. (Preservation) is essential to the value of our property and quality of life.”

Currently, Blair Park is green open space, a popular spot for dog walkers and a nature habitat.

But in Piedmont’s new general plan under review, it is identified as a “special use” park, implying it could be developed in some way.

Resident Bill Schwartz is concerned.

“(To think of) the relatively pristine Blair Park being destroyed is very disturbing,” Schwartz said.

Thank you for visiting the Friends of Moraga Canyon website. We’re launching this site in order to make the broader Piedmont and Oakland community aware of the beauty and value of Moraga Canyon, and to make our voices heard with respect to issues surrounding proposed projects in the Canyon.

We’ll keep this blog updated with news and information about the Canyon and related projects. In the meantime, to get started learning about Moraga Canyon, please explore the links in the navigation bar above. We recommend starting with the Gallery to get a taste of what the Canyon is all about, then reading our Issues page to learn where we stand. You can find more interesting information about the Canyon on our About Moraga Canyon page.

If you’d like to help us out, or would just like to start a dialogue with us, please contact us through the Get Involved page.

Thanks again for visiting!