Upcoming Council and Committee Meetings
Traffic Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC)
Monday, October 19, 2015 at 7:00pm
Sarge Littlehale Room, City Hall
22 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA 9456
City Council Regular Meeting:
Tuesday, October 20, 2015, 7:00pm
Library Auditorium, Orinda Library
26 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA 94563
Planning Commission
Tuesday, October 27, 2015, 7:00pm
Library Auditorium, Orinda Library
26 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA 94563
Finance Advisory Committee
Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at 6:00pm
Sarge Littlehale Community Room
City Hall, 22 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA 94563
Special Meeting:
Study Session on Wilder Art & Garden Center
Monday, November 2, 2015, 6:00pm
Location TBD
Mayor's Community Liaison Meeting:
Tuesday, November 3, 2015, 8:30am
Sarge Littlehale Community Room
City Hall, 22 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA 94563
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Blue Ribbon Award goes to Del Rey Elementary School!!
The video below created by Del Rey mother, journalist and documentary filmmaker Reka Pigniczky memorializes the Del Rey Elementary School, National Blue Ribbon Award for School Excellence. Del Rey is the first school in the Orinda Union School District to be recognized on a national level.
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Del Rey receives National Blue Ribbon Award in 2015!
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Del Rey Elementary was honored with the National Blue Ribbon Award on September 25, 2015. The award was presented to 335 public and private schools throughout the US (34 from California). It is the first school in our district (but not the last!) to be recognized on a national level based on overall academic excellence. The schools represent public and non-public elementary, middle and high schools, including traditional, charter, magnet schools, parochial and independent schools in 45 States, and Department of Defense Education Activity schools in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Germany and Korea. The Department will honor all 285 public and 50 private schools at a recognition ceremony on Nov. 9-10 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. Each school will receive an award plaque and a flag as symbols of their accomplishments. In its 33-year history, more than 8,000 of America's schools have received the coveted National Blue Ribbon Schools award.
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 SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH PLANNING WORKSHOP
The Orinda Union School District is searching for a new Superintendent due to the retirement of Dr. Joe Jaconette.
Date and times have been set for community and certificated staff forums. Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates (HYA) will be facilitating these meetings. Both meetings will take place at: Orinda Union School District Office, Conference Room A, 8 Altarinda Road. Certificated Staff Forum - Monday, October 26th, 4:00 p.m. Community Forum - Monday, October 26th, 7:00 p.m.Additional can be found here.
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Holocaust survivor Dora Sorell to speak at Orinda Library
Thursday October 22, 7:00pm
Dora Apsan Sorell will speak about her memories and her memoir,
Tell the Children: Letters to Miriam at the Orinda Library auditorium on Thursday, October 22, 2015 at 7:00pm. 
The East Bay resident is one of a handful of Bay Area Holocaust survivors still on the lecture circuit. Born in Sighet, Romania, Sorell was deported to Auschwitz along with most of the town's 10,000 Jewish residents. She survived the ordeal but her parents, two of her brothers and over 40 members of her extended family died in the gas chambers. She was liberated two days before the end of World War II, and returned to Sighet and to medical school. She eventually moved to New York and practiced medicine there. After retirement, Sorell and her husband moved to the Bay Area to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
Sorell's memoir, Tell The Children: Letters to Miriam, is written in the form of letters to her granddaughter. Sorell states "It is important that young people know what happened so long ago, and those who already know should not forget."
Noted scholar and historian Elie Wiesel has said of her memoir, "informative, perceptive and poignant. It's emotional impact is powerful. To read it is to come closer to historical events that will forever haunt mankind's conscience."
Co-sponsored by the Orinda Library and Rotary Club of Orinda, this program is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is not required. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing.
Click here for additional information or contact the Orinda Library at 925-254-2184.
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Public Works & Engineering Services
In anticipation of the upcoming rainy season, sand and sandbags, which residents fill themselves, are available for Orinda residents at the following
Moraga-Orinda Fire District locations: Station #43 20 Via Las Cruces (nearest cross street Charles Hill Road) Station #44 295 Orchard Road (nearest cross street Moraga Way) The Moraga-Orinda Fire District Telephone Number: 258-4599
2015 Annual and Measure J & L Pavement Rehabilitation Project
This week Bay Cities Grading & Paving completed paving operations on Ridge and Normandy Lanes. Miscellaneous items such as manhole lids, utility covers, monument re-establishment, and drainage dikes will be completed in a separate operation. The sequence of the project was modified to allow vertical clearance for paving equipment, fire district trucks and other vehicles (e.g. garbage trucks), the City sent tree removal notices to the affected neighborhoods. Some residents were supportive of the removal of these trees; some others were opposed.
While this situation is being analyzed by the City, the contractor prepared a four (4) week schedule to work on other streets. Next week, Bay Cities will move to Charles Hill, Miner Road and Kite Hill. These roads will be pulverized and mixed with cement additive. This mix will harden for about a week before the final asphalt is placed on top. This is essentially a two-week process. During that time, the roadway surface will be gravel, then a compacted cement treated surface, and finally a new black asphalt pavement.
Due to the narrowness of these roads, vehicular traffic will be restricted out of the immediate construction area. Residents may need to park outside of the construction area and walk some distance in order to use their vehicles during active construction work. Notifications are being sent to residents about possible access restrictions.
Camino Pablo Pavement Rehabilitation
The signalization work at the Camino Pablo/Brookwood Road and Camino Pablo/Santa Maria Way intersections is complete. Earlier this week an outage occurred at the Camino Pablo/Brookwood Road intersection causing major traffic delays. The signal is now back in normal operation. St. Francis is finishing up installing new signage this week and their work is expected to last until early next week. Green thermoplastic paint treatment in the bike lane going westbound on Camino Pablo between the BART access and Santa Maria Way is scheduled for the week of 10/26/15. The work will occur at night and is expected to take one night to complete.
 Coastal Clean-up Days in Orinda, September 19 and 21, 2015 Orinda participated in National Coastal Clean-up Day with a huge, two-site success. On Saturday, September 19, Friends of Orinda Creek board members Michael McGowan and Toris Jaeger, along with Susan and Vivian McGowan, Bob Stoops, and Lisa Hales, supervised 37 volunteers in downtown Orinda, San Pablo Creek. These volunteers, including Daisy Troop #33776 and Boy Scout Troop #57, spread out all along the creek from the back of the Chevron Station to the culvert under the Safeway parking lot; they cleaned up 50 pounds of trash and removed around 300 pounds of invasive plants, including ivy and Scotch broom. On Monday, September 21, Barbara Denny, Miramonte High School science teacher, supervised 91 students on a cleanup of lower Moraga Creek; they covered a mile and a half of creek and picked up 246 pounds of trash.
That is almost 300 pounds of trash that will not make its way to our coastal waters, thanks to these wonderful volunteers. Thank you all for your great work.
Citizens' Infrastructure Oversight Commission (CIOC)
The CIOC met last week and received a presentation from City Attorney Osa Wolff on the Brown Act and conflict of interest that may arise relating to the proximity of a Commissioner's property to a proposed project. There was also discussion of the Commission's recommendations for updating the current Road and Drainage Repairs Plan.
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Planning Department
Planning Commission
The next regularly scheduled Planning Commission Meeting will be held on
Tuesday, October 27th, 2015 at 7:00pm, in the Orinda Public Library Auditorium,
located at 26 Orinda Way.
At this meeting, Staff will be discussing with the Planning Commission criteria to use to determine when story poles will be required to be installed for a proposed project.
Public Hearing(s):
- 4 Sunrise Hill Road - The Planning Commission held a public hearing to consider design review and elevated deck permit applications to allow a new two-story, 4,955 adjusted square foot, single-family residence on a vacant parcel. - APPROVED (7-0 vote) UNANIMOUSLY
- 89 Dairy Creek Lane - The Planning Commission held a public hearing to consider a design review application for a new 6,058 adjusted square foot, two-story, single-family home in the Wilder subdivision. Commissioner Adamson recused herself, as she represents a developer within the Wilder subdivision. - APPROVED (6-0 vote) UNANIMOUSLY
- 106 Camino Don Miguel - The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to consider an Appeal to the Zoning Official's decision to permit grading on a slope greater than 15% for a new rear yard lawn area and new wood retaining walls approximately three feet in height.
- ITEM CONTINUED TO THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION ON OCTOBER 27, 2015 AT 7:00pm IN THE ORINDA LIBRARY AUDITORIUM LOCATED AT 26 ORINDA WAY
Zoning Administration Postings:
- 17 Keith Drive - On 10/15/2015, A Notice of Receipt of Development Application and Pending Zoning Administrator Decision, was posted and mailed to neighboring property owners within a 300 ft. radius.
New Projects:
- 28 Paintbrush Lane (Wilder) - Application submitted to build a new, 4,227 sq. ft., single-family, single-story residence on an empty 23,397 sq. ft. lot.
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BART Crime Statistics - 10/9/15 Robbery is up by 11% compared to last year
Assault/ Battery is down by - 6 % compared to last year
Aggravated Assault is down by - 35 % compared to last year.
All property crimes in all categories are down compared to last year.
Stolen Vehicle is down by - 11 % compared to last year.
Auto Burglary is down by - 3 % compared to last year.
Bicycle Theft is down by - 20 % compared to last year.
Catalytic Converter Theft is down by - 46 % compared to last year.
Other Property Crime is down by -16 compared to last year. 
Crime Statistics
October 11, 2015 to October 17, 2015
| Description | Statistic | Location | | Petty Theft | 2 | 50 Block La Cuesta Road |
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| Safeway |
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| | Battery | 1 | 10 Block Van Tassel Lane |
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| | Arrest - DUI | 3 | Camino Pablo/Claremont |
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| EB 24 at Oak Hill Road |
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| Miramonte High School |
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| | Arrest - Petty Theft | 1 | Safeway |
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Celebrate Discover & Go Month in October!
October is Discover & Go Month! Contra Costa County Library is celebrating our ongoing
Discover & Go partnership with Bay Area museums and cultural venues. Visit a participating library branch, enter our drawing for some great prizes, and help give back to your community at the same time! We will be partnering with the Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano - for every donation of a non-perishable food item you bring to a participating branch, you can enter to win special premium awards for some of our most popular Bay Area attractions. Discover something new this month! Additional information can be found here.
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Parks and Recreation
I'm a Park and Rec Kid SM
City Clerk Michele Olsen shares why she's a Park and Rec Kid. To watch her video, click here. Now it's your turn, create and share your own "I'm a Park and Rec Kid" short video and post it on Twitter, Facebook and/or YouTube. Just make sure to use #ImAParkandRecKid and #OrindaParksRec in your post.
The Orinda Parks and Recreation Department is accepting the challenge from the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) to share their "Park and Rec Kid" stories. The goal is to inspire individuals of all ages to use their community parks and recreation as a solution for happier, healthier lives.
City of Orinda employees, City Manager Janet Keeter and Parks and Recreation Director Michelle Lacy have shared their parks and recreation memories and others will do so over the next few week ( Click here to see all of the videos), but now it's your turn! Share your experiences with us on video. What experiences you ask? Think about any park and recreational experiences you had as a child; Did you go to camp every summer? Did you learn how to swim at your community pool? Did you fish at the lake with your dad? Whatever it was, think about the experience and how it shaped you.
All it takes is 15 to 20 seconds then post it on Twitter, Facebook and/or YouTube. Just make sure to use #ImAParkandRecKid and #OrindaParksRec in your post. To view a few employee videos click here.
The Orinda Parks and Recreation Department is accepting the challenge from the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) to share their "Park and Rec Kid" stories. The goal is to inspire individuals of all ages to use their community parks and recreation as a solution for happier, healthier lives.
Early Registration Deadline for Basketball Approaching
With temperatures dropping and El Nino looming, winter is on the way, and so is Orinda Youth Association (OYA) Basketball.
The OYA Developmental League is geared towards Kindergarten and 1 st grade children who are just being introduced to the game. Each Saturday consists of a 30 minute practice filled with drill work followed by a 30 minute game for the players to develop their newly acquired skills. All activities take place at the Wagner Ranch Community Gym. This program is Saturdays only from January 10 through March 7. The OYA Youth Basketball League is for children in grades 2-5 and it exposes players to the game of basketball in a fun, fast paced, team oriented, and positive environment. Teams have one weekday practice and one weekday game for 8 weeks from January 12 through March 6. All games and practices take place at Del Rey and Glorietta Elementary Gyms. Games and practices are not held during the weekend.
If you are interested in registering your child for OYA Basketball do it now for the discounted fees; early registration ends on November 8. To view more information click here.
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Drought conditions intensify, for more information click here.
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 A big "Thank You" goes to the City of Lafayette! At their recent Food and Wine Festival, "Adore Orinda" bumper stickers were distributed.
In a nod to the Lamorinda area and the residents who Adore, Love and have Amore for this community, a limited number of the bumper stickers are available on a first come basis at the receptionist area of the Orinda Community Center located at 28 Orinda Way. |
NOTICE FROM PACIFIC GAS AND ELECTRIC
We are performing tree work in your neighborhood.
Please read for more information.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company is currently performing tree work on city property in your neighborhood. Our licensed tree workers will clear trees and brush identified during our recent routine inspection as potentially posing a fire or power line safety risk. This work is part of our commitment towards providing safe, reliable and affordable clean energy to our customers.
Our tree workers perform this work for you
Unless properly pruned and maintained, trees can cause dangerous conflicts with power lines. The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) requires that persons working within certain distances of overhead power lines be qualified and trained properly. There are strict state regulations that dictate the requirements for working around power lines. We hire only qualified power line clearance specialists. Hiring unqualified tree workers can jeopardize their personal safety since they are not trained on the dangers of working near power lines.
What you can expect
Work is expected to begin on September 21 and last until October 31. We will clearly mark all work areas. Please plan for potential minor delays when driving through Orinda. You will see PG&E and our line certified tree contractors on site with trucks and other heavy equipment. Our work should not interrupt your electric service, but we will contact you if there are any changes. Weather and other factors affecting safe working conditions may impact our schedule.
Questions
We encourage you to contact PG&E with any questions at
We appreciate your patience as we work to reduce fire risk and
enhance the safety and reliability of our service in your neighborhood.
Victor Baker, MBA
Diablo Division Senior Manager
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
P.O. Box 770000, San Francisco, CA 94177-1490
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