The City of Piedmont released the following statement on housing and equity on Friday, Nov. 19:
The City of Piedmont is dedicated to ensuring that our town is anti-racist, inclusive and embracing of the East Bay’s diversity. In light of a recent real estate advertisement that contained implicitly racist language, the City of Piedmont wants to reiterate our shared values in support of equity and justice. Righting past wrongs includes acknowledging historical racism in Piedmont and continually reevaluating existing systems and practices.
To ensure that Piedmont better reflects this diversity, the city is planning to convene a community dialogue in early 2022. Invitees will include the Piedmont Racial Equity Campaign (PREC), the Piedmont Anti-Racism and Diversity Committee (PADC), local realtors, housing activists, and leaders from diverse groups in Alameda County. Promoting a discussion among these groups is an important step toward building a more welcoming and inclusive city.
“The community needs to come together and talk about housing in Piedmont. For too long, families of color were made to feel unwelcome in town. I want to believe those days are long gone,” said Mayor Teddy King. “One of the best parts of living in the Bay Area is all of the richly diverse communities in our region. Let’s make sure we embrace this diversity — not shut anyone out.”
In August 2020, the Piedmont City Council passed Resolution 60-2020 which states the City’s unequivocal rejection of racism and commits the city to “… review and revise its policies, procedures, ordinances, values, goals, and missions through an anti-racism lens to foster an unbiased and inclusive environment that is free of discrimination, harassment, and negative stereotyping toward any person or group.”
Piedmont is putting this resolution into action to make our community a more fair and equitable place to live, learn, recreate and thrive. The proposed dialogue will be a step in that direction.
What is the city of Piedmont doing to provide affordable housing so that there is more socio-economic diversity?
Reference piedmontishome.org
You have sundowner laws disguised as parking regulations. You are surrounded by one of the most diverse cities in the country—what actions do you take to include and welcome that community? You steal parking from the economically disadvantaged of Oakland so your people can park their cars right in front of their houses, full well knowing that means your neighbors, including the elderly and disabled, will struggle to walk home safely at night and be placed at risk while your marked areas sit half-empty at night. The fact that the police are called every time someone who looks like they “don’t belong” are on the streets after the specified parking hours speaks volumes about why the regulations stand despite entreaties from your neighbors. Words are easy when they’re not backed up by actions or meaningful change or sacrifice.