On Sept. 8, 2025, Piedmont Planning Commission is scheduled to vote on a recommendation to the City Council on the Moraga Canyon Specific Plan (MCSP). The MCSP calls for building 197 housing units on Moraga Ave. either in Blair Park or on the steep hillside above and around Coaches Field. The housing would be 5-story structures with 60 low-income and up to 137 market rate units.
Some of us who have followed the Plan’s development for three years have questions and serious concerns for Piedmont’s future if it becomes reality.
Here are a few:
Disaster Evacuation: Piedmont Fire Dept. cites Moraga Canyon as a “high risk wildfire” area and predicts a wildfire is “highly likely.” The Canyon is also less than 1 mile from the Hayward Fault. Moraga Ave. is a designated emergency evacuation route and the only way out for the estimated 400 to 1,000 new Canyon residents, as well as for many existing nearby Oakland and Piedmont residents. The Plan expects people to walk or bicycle in a disaster. How likely is that? How will emergency crews reach the Canyon if Moraga Ave. is gridlocked as residents desperately try to leave? Remember the 1991 Oakland hills fire. Does Piedmont want to risk its residents’ lives?
Traffic/Pedestrian Safety: Moraga Ave. is a busy, 24-hour traffic arterial, with 11,000 cars per day traveling an average 40 mph. The MCSP proposes a traffic light with a pedestrian crossing at Red Rock Rd. The City’s traffic consultants say the “safe stopping distance” required for cars traveling 40-mph meets Caltrans regulations for a traffic light. But a CA licensed civil & traffic engineer retained by Friends of Moraga Canyon says the safe stopping distance should be calculated for cars traveling 50 mph, meaning Moraga Ave. likely does not have the required stopping distance for a traffic light. If housing is built in Blair Park, the Plan specifies several driveways off of Moraga, creating even more risk and chaos for cars making left turns to enter or exit the project. Children would be tempted to dash across Moraga without waiting for a green light. Is Piedmont willing to risk serious accidents and children’s lives?
Financial Risks: The MCSP requires the market-rate developer to pay all infrastructure costs, including widening Moraga Ave., adding sidewalks and bike lanes, new stormwater drains and sewer lines, undergrounding all utilities – and expanding Coaches Field. What if the developer declines or defaults partway through development? Does this cost fall on the City and Piedmont taxpayers? Will new residents be able to get fire insurance? Developing the Coaches Field side also requires moving the Corporation Yard to Blair Park
Community Connection: The MCSP creates an “ island community” with no improvements on Moraga Ave. beyond the plan boundaries. No consideration of traffic backups to Hwy 13 or to the sharp curves on Moraga adjacent to Pala Ave., which are already dangerous for bicyclists.
The Plan makes no mention of what happens to daily traffic on Moraga Ave. during years of construction? How will Piedmont residents get to Hwy 13 and Montclair?
Public Transit: The MCSP calls for a bus line on Moraga Ave to serve MCSP residents. How likely is AC Transit to add new bus service when it has cut nearly all service in Piedmont? Where exactly would the bus go? State law requires affordable housing be within .5 mile of public transit. It’s .7 mile from Red Rock Rd. to the closest bus stop on Highland Ave.
School Children: Rather than let young children walk .7 mile to Havens School on busy Moraga Ave,. isn’t it likely parents will drive them, creating more congestion during school drop-off and pick-up times?
Known Obstacles: The Plan, itself, acknowledges constraints to the development, stating that hydrology “could cause dangerous road conditions on Moraga Ave. during significant rain and cause local flooding.” Stormwater storage basins at both site options may have to be replaced. AND “due to the presence of steep slopes (above Coaches Field), much of this land is not conducive to development.”
The City wants to declare Blair Park — a designated Piedmont City park — “surplus land” in order to develop it. But CA State law says that declaring a city park surplus land can only be done for specific reasons. The law does not mention for market rate housing.
What is Plan B? State housing law requires cities to look at alternate sites. What other sites is Piedmont examining? City planners say developers want at least 1/2 acre, which narrows the choices. But the law does allow smaller sites under certain conditions. Wouldn’t it be better for current and future Piedmont residents to spread new housing to existing neighborhoods, closer to schools and transit. Newcomers would feel more a part of the community and need fewer cars.
Other potential sites: The City’s original plan was to build housing on the Corey Reich tennis courts and rebuild the courts on top. The Council rejected this plan, and the City switched to building 132 units Moraga Canyon. With no analysis of the capacity, the Council increased the number to 199, mainly to entice a developer to pay for expanding Coaches Field. Other potential smaller, neighborhood sites are Linda Beach Park; two tennis courts adjacent to the Community Center; the flat canyon area of Dracena Park; and the long-closed EBMUD reservoir at the top of Blair Ave.
Bottom Line: Adding State mandated 587 new housing units in Piedmont is a massive challenge, and our City officials have a monumental task in deciding what to do. They must weigh carefully how they think Piedmont should grow. Should new housing be on the outskirts of town or integrated into neighborhoods? Is Moraga Canyon a safe, buildable site for 197 housing units? Is the MCSP a financially viable choice for Piedmont?