#housing   

We are writing to express our support for more housing in Piedmont. We believe that creating new housing – especially more affordable homes and apartments – will help our beautiful city become an even more inclusive and vibrant community. It also is a way for Piedmont to do our fair share in addressing the region’s dire housing crisis.

In responding to the City of Piedmont’s draft Housing Element – a state-mandated document to show how Piedmont can increase its housing capacity – many city residents have raised important concerns around traffic safety and the loss of open space, which should be addressed. Some residents of specific neighborhoods have suggested that housing should go in a different neighborhood. A handful have even raised the specter of lawsuits against the city or state. 

Rather than pit neighborhoods against each other or focus on where housing should not go, we want to shift the conversation to the changes we do want to see, and how we can achieve them. We hope our community can come together in support of a positive vision that entails the incremental addition of housing, equitably distributed throughout town. We believe that new homes can blend into our existing neighborhoods beautifully and benefit all.

For example, new housing could include: more duplexes, triplexes, and small apartments nestled throughout town; a couple medium-sized multifamily dwellings on Grand Avenue and in Moraga Canyon; apartments above a cafe in place of the closed banks on Highland, or otherwise integrated into the Civic Center; and more backyard accessory dwelling units (ADUs) that are rented out at affordable rates. All should be carefully planned to enhance street safety for pedestrians, wheelchair and stroller users, and cyclists.

None of these strategies alone will be enough. To meet our housing goals and to do so equitably, we must embrace an “all of the above” approach. 

Piedmont is already changing. The number of children and young adults is declining, along with enrollment in the Piedmont schools. The average home price has increased to over $3 million, further widening the wealth gap between Piedmont and our surrounding communities. So the question is not whether Piedmont will change, but how do we want to shape that change?   

Adding a range of smaller homes and apartments will help our city accommodate more young professionals, families, single parents with children, and empty nesters. It will allow teachers and city employees to live close to their jobs if they wish. It will enable our school communities to become more diverse, and broaden access to Piedmont’s excellent public schools. It will increase the likelihood that our children can afford to buy or rent a home in Piedmont when they grow up.

Please sign on to this statement to show your support for more housing, and more housing types, throughout Piedmont. Let’s direct change in a positive way to create a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable community. Thank you.