In a letter to the City Council, Melanie O. Robertson, chair of the Planning Commission for the City of Piedmont, raised concerns about potential damage to the properties above Blair Park as a result of the Moraga Canyon sports fields project, and the City’s liability in such cases. Here is an excerpt:

What happens if there is any damage, real or perceived, to any of those 24 properties?
That question needs to be seriously explored in the EIR. Because of bedrock, the
excavation likely will require jackhammering into the slope, which will generate large
amounts of ground vibration and potential slope stability issues. The City recently spent
over $400,000 defending itself against one lawsuit brought by only one dissatisfied
property owner regarding the undergrounding of utilities, and there were no actual
damages in that lawsuit. It also spent over $2.5 million to complete the undergrounding
work that the assessment district was unable to pay when bedrock-related change orders
almost doubled the cost of the project. Multiply that amount by 24 and it becomes
apparent that the City’s financial exposure from potential lawsuits is huge. Currently the
EIR does not address those potential liabilities.

Her full letter is on page 44 of the Staff Report for the Dec. 6 City Council meeting.

Monday, December 6^th, at 7:30 p.m. in Veterans Hall the last public hearing will be held before certifying the Environmental  Impact Report. If you have objections to this project and the findings of the EIR, It is imperative that you make your voice heard now! Attend the meeting if possible to voice your concerns directly to the City Council. If that’s not possible, please write a letter.  Now is the time for action.

It is very possible that City Council will take a vote on certifying the EIR on this night.  They may also have discussions about the design of the project.  If there is an agenda item regarding the design, it would be very important to voice your concerns at this time.

We have added some recent letters from Piedmont residents to the Responses to Draft EIR letters page. They will give you some additional background and a look at the issues at hand. As a whole, we feel that the EIR document is inadequate and full of flaws so that Council should not certify it without further review.

We appreciate your support and hope to see you on Monday night!