Extracted text · highlighting “Susan Strahan”

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May 4, 2019

CIRCULATION: 5,800 RESIDENCES; 200 BUSINESSES

Sponsored by the Rockridge Community Planning Council * 4123 Broadway, PMB 311 * Oakland, CA 94611

April Town Hall Hears More on SB 50

by Stuart Flashman, Chair,
Land Use Committee
he April 18 Town Hall was devoted
to a high-interest program: explain-
ing California Senate Bill 50 (SB 50)
~ a bill to promote housing near train
and ferry stops, along major bus routes,

and in major job centers — and how it
might affect Rockridge.

The program, expertly moderated
by Kathleeen Cha of the Oakland
League of Women Voters, featured a
presentation by Bob Gammon, former
East Bay Express reporter and editor
and now communications director for
tate Senator Nancy Skinner. (Darin
anelletti, formerly Acting Director
of Oakland’s Planning and Building
Department and now Special Assis-
tant on Housing Security to Oakland
Mayor Libby Schaaf — a supporter of
the bill — had also been slated to talk
about the bill’s application to Oakland,

but had to cancel.) The bill, authored by
Senator Scott Wiener of San Francisco
and co-authored by Senator Skinner
and Assembly Member Buffy Wicks,
among others, proposes increased
height and density limits in the desig-
nated areas. The diagram on page 2
shows how it could affect Rockridge.

This bill, like its predecessor SB
827, has proved highly controversial
with many local governments, includ-
ing the Los Angeles City Council and
the San Francisco Board of Supervi-
sors, aS well as tenant and local neigh-
borhood groups expressing opposition:
Chambers of commerce, major labor
unions and groups promoting housing
development support the bill. (As with
SB 827, affordable housing advocates
are split.)

To say the bill is complex is an
understatement. Mr.Gammon struggled

) More on SB 50, page II

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— Stop SB 50 —

My Personal Statement About This
Proposed Legislation

by Jon Gabel, 43-year Rockridge resident

f passed into law, California Senate Bill 50 (SB 50)

would fundamentally change Rockridge as we know
it by permitting the replacement of residences within
either a one-half or one-quarter-mile radius of major
transit stops such as Rockridge, MacArthur and Ashby
BART stations with 3-4 story apartment houses with
revised lot coverages. Little off-street parking would
be required for these; and since the new residents
would be eligible for Residential Parking Permits, it
would likely become impossible to park here. Traffic
congestion would be severe. BART, already jammed
on weekdays except for a few hours around midday,
would become even worse. Trees, plants and flowers
would be replaced by concrete. Those single family
house or duplex owners/renters who wished to remain
in the up-zoned area would be living at the bottom of
canyons. | believe that eventually all of these current
residents would find remaining here untenable and
would sell their properties to apartment developers.
Under these conditions, although land values may
hold, the value of b stop SB 50, page 6

Editor's Note: This personal statement was submitted
to The Rockridge News before subsequent legisla-
tive discussions proposing to merge SB 50 with SB
4. Due to ongoing legislative debate, conditions of
the proposals are subject to change. The Rockridge
News will offer updates as they become available.

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The headline above gives notice of a job

“surge” in the Bay Area. Freelance Jour-
nalist Cindy Warner set out to learn what
that might mean in Rockridge. Her report
begins on page 7.

R cersteree and ready with Kitchen Tour guidebook in hand, an attendee of
an earlier RCPC Kitchen Tour sets off toward her visit to the first home
among the many she will have visited by the end of the Tour. Look for more
Tour information in this issue of The Rockridge News. /D. Kinkead

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9 Rickridge News May 4, 2019

| B pases showing effects of proposed SB 50 (Wiener/Skinner)

sani 5366 College Ay
on the Rockridge area. Shaded areas show where proximity ge Avenu

at Manila | 597-5017
to the Rockridge BART station or to AC Transit bus routes 51 A/B brary program detal/hours: Calendar page 15.

or 6 would increase height limits and/or density limits. The Rockridge News, founded March 1986 by Dor

. , monthly (except in A :
Use Committee _ Kinkead, is published monthly p ugust)
Prepared by Stuart Flashman, Chair, Land and is sponsored by the Rockridge Community

Planning Council (RCPC), a nonprofit public |
benefit organization founded to: preserve ang

enhance the unique character of the Rockridge
neighborhood; promote the health, safety ang

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quality of life of its residents; furnish a forum for '
| community involvement; and provide leadership and :
representation of neighborhood interests. |
Rockridge News Production |
Don Kinkead........s-0-cseerencses Editor
JO Ellis ....se.ssesscssscssssersseesaneren Asst. Editor |
Cy Judith Doner Berne.......... Eyes on Rockridge
JO Ellis .....sssssssessnsesessesenesennsens Advertising & }
Anthony Chabot 5 Community Calendar |
ay SO Susan Montauk......--c-cceeeees Business Manager |
Don Kinkead......-cccceceneceves Graphics & Layout
; RCPC Board of Directors, 2018-19
LeEOMOTa SOA... escvenesserereres Chair
Alden Conner ....-ccceresereeees Vice-Chair
VACAM Cn .eccsccacscesssececreececereveees Secretary
Ronnie SpitZer......---r--ccvesees Treasurer

M LAshleigh, Casey Farmer, Stuart Flashman,
M C Haug, Don Kinkead, Andrew Masalin,

Courtney Welch
Contact the board: chair@rockridge.org
For information: info@rockridge.org

claremont” .<t

LT.
oobs

cacia Ave NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTIONS

ch To subscribe to The Rockridge News,
MW Sac send your check for $20, payable to RCPC with
| ho Gir gv Be PAs 5 Sp, “Rockridge News Subscription” on the memo
Ce me Pe OO gf Ly . 7 line. Mail to the address below.

Contacting The Rockridge News
Are there community issues you'd like to see
covered in The Rockridge News? « Do you have
questions about newsletter distribution? * Want to
volunteer to be a Rockridge News block captain’?
* Would you like to write a letter to the Editor?
Contact us at one of the following:
Editor: editor@rockridge.org;
www.rockridge.org;
The Rockridge News,4!23 Broadway,
PMB 311, Oakland, CA 9461 |

Articles submitted for publication may be
emailed to the editor or sent to the address above.
Submissions are limited to 600 words, must include
the author's name, phone number, email address, and
city or neighborhood of residence, and are subject
to editing. Views expressed in articles accepted for
publication do not necessarily reflect those of The
Rockridge News, its editor, or the board of directors
of the Rockridge Community Planning Council. To
| reprint a Rockridge News article, contact the editor.

. Newsletter Advertising/Deadline
ARDEN $5 FREE sie arp - . Price! wine F. orders over $28 Publication date of the June issue is:

* June 8, 2019.
* Submission/Cancellation deadline:

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Shopping Center

Dry Cleaning only ® Present with incoming order

— 7 Garden Cleaners May 16, 2019.
on Advertising rates are $26/column inch. Six-
EXPERT 5808 College Avenue, Oakland month pre-pay rate available. For display ads,
SHIRT 601-1188 call Jo Ellis at 653-3210 (after noon), or email
| LAUNDERING! Mon — Fri 7—7°Sat 8-6 joellisi@hotmail.com. RCPC reserves the right
gon I Across from Trader Joe’s and Zachary’s Pizza to refuse any display or classified ad it deems

inappropriate. (Classified ad contact, page 14.)

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May 4, 2019

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(Note date change.) The May Land Use Committee meeting will be
held Wednesday, May 29 (change of date) at 7:30 p.m. at the Rockridge
Branch Library. The agenda will include updates on the housing study
and on SB 50. Please check at https://rockridge.org the previous week to
confirm the meeting's date, time, and place.

RCPC } Land Use Committee Update — May 2019

The Land Use Committee met on April 24 with a quorum present.

by Stuart Flashman,
Land Use Committee Chair

SB 50 (Wiener, Skinner/Wicks et al .)

| patel. up on (1) the previous
week’s Town Hall featuring Senator

Skinner’s Communications Director, Bob
Gammon, discussing the bill. plus, (2) new
amendments to the bill and news of its
approval by a second Senate committee,
the Land Use committee reviewed the
various aspects of the bill and how it might
affect Oakland and Rockridge. Committee

members raised numerous concerns about
the bill.

Perhaps the biggest concern is that this
bill, like its predecessor SB 827, attempts
a “one-size-fits-all” approach to addressing
California’s shortage of affordable housing.
@ii.. Mr. Gammon had noted that some
ities, including Oakland, were already
making major efforts to add to their housing
supplies, while others — including some
with major jobs growth due to the tech
industry — are doing very little. It would
seem the bill ought to focus its efforts more
on the cities where business expansion is
creating many new jobs but little housing

is being added.

It was also pointed out that the bill
doesn’t consider infrastructure limitations.
Most notably, some transit stations and bus

lines, including many in both San Francisco
and Oakland, are at or near capacity during
the peak commute hours. It makes no sense
to add housing at these sites when there
will be no transit capacity available for the
added residents. Also of concern is the lim-
iting capacity for street traffic and parking,
as well as for adding to water supply and
sewage treatment demands.

Also, in many cities, including Oakland,
even “transit-rich” areas often don't allow
good transit access to all household needs
~e.g., child care, schools, and multiple job
locations for two- or three-worker house-
holds. Further, lower income households,
who most need good transit access, will
largely be priced out of the transit areas,
since SB 50 allows In-Lieu Fees instead
of on-site affordable units, and its loose
language likely will result in the affordable
units being built elsewhere, in areas where
land prices (and hence construction costs)
are much lower. Further, smaller buildings
(less than 10 units) have no affordability
requirement, but such smaller buildings
will likely be most of what’s built in Rock-
ridge, due to the small lot sizes.

Thus, ironically, SB 50 will likely do
little, if anything, to restore the “missing
middle” to Rockridge. In addition to direct

» Land Use Committee Report, page 10

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Be a Part of the

Rockridge
Kitchen Tour as

a Sponsor.

by Leonora Sea, RCPC Charr,
and Kitchen Tour Co-chair
he 2019 Rockridge Kitchen Tour is
coming September 22, and the Kitchen
Tour Committee is again offering sponsor-
ship opportunities. Sponsors are vital to the
success of the Tour, and it’s the perfect way
to reach hundreds of local potential clients.
At least 400 people take the Tour and about
60 percent live in or near Rockridge.

Sponsors receive a range of perks, de-
pending on sponsorship level, and the deep
satisfaction of contributing to the success
of the Kitchen Tour.

All sponsors are also offered a display
table at a Tour house where they can in-
teract directly with guests, and will receive
complimentary tickets to the Tour. They
are further recognized with a logo on the
Kitchen Tour website and a notice of their
sponsorship in the Kitchen Tour brochure
given to all Tour-goers at the start of the
Tour.

For more information about sponsor-
ship levels and how to become a sponsor,
contact the Tour Committee: kitchentour@

rockridge.org.

Be sure to bring your camera
on the Tour.

May 4, 2019

RCPC Election Confirms Incumbents, Adds a a Members

Mia Ashleigh
Broadway

New Member: | have

a passion for the envi-
ronment and commu-
nity service. A clean
and healthy environ-
ment is fundamental to our quality of life
and community service is a cornerstone
of a healthy and functioning society.

Rodckridge News

Alden Conner
Hillegass Ave.

Inc: | will continue
my work in the area of
transportation. Our
re-launched Transpor-
tation Committee will
help address concerns
about our roads. The
committee will continue to monitor city

projects and keep the community informed.

We Deliver The Rockridge N ews and So Can You

e haven’t found a replacement for Gail

Giacomelli, block captain for Broad-
way Terrace residents for the last 9 years, or
for David Herrenbruck who was a district
captain for the Taft and Kales area. Let’s not
leave those parts of Rockridge in the lurch
and out of the news loop! Please let us know
that you can take over one of these routes:

¢ Route 08B: Block Captain:
Deliver to both sides of Broadway
Terrace, odd numbers from Broad-

way to 5409, even numbers from
Broadway to 5400.

e Route 11: District Captain:
Drop seven bundles at houses
along 5400 and 5500 Taft, Kales
and Manila between Broadway
and College.

e Route 16D: Block Captain:
Delivers to both sides 5200 Cla-
remont, including apartments at
5248.

istrict Captains deliver bundles to the
Block Captains; Block Captains deliver
newsletters door-to-door. The newsletter is

Reckridge Dental Dental.
510.653.6677. rockdent.com

v7! Pe i oe WS | , Ir ; ae C

Sam, left, and Matthew Martin deliver
The Rockridge News to their neighbors on
62nd Street.

published the first weekend of each month
except August, and your bundle will be
delivered to your doorstep. Call 510/547-
3855 or email Susan at smontauk@gmail.
com to volunteer.

/THe MARTIN FAMILY

3rd Floor
Market Hall

Ste. 312

Bruce D. Fong, D.D.S.
Filippo Cangini, D.D.S, M.S.

Advanced Preventive, Restorative, Periodontal Gum Care, and Dental Implants.

Offer your se service to help bring the _
RCPC Board to its full strength,
Visit www.rockridge.org for more
information.

Stuart Flashman
Ocean View Dr.

Inc: My most important
duty is spearheading
the Land Use Commit-
tee’s Rockridge Housing
Study to analyze how we
can add more housing
Rockridge and increase
its affordability, while maintaining the com-
munity’s desirable qualities.

Ronnie Spitzer
Kales Avenue [f&;

Inc: | have served
on numerous local
boards and am vice-
chair of RCPC’s
Transportation
Committee,
addressing traffic,
transit and pedestrian and bicycle safety.

RCPC Board election results: 38 ballots
were cast. One ballot was voided for being
marked impropererly. All candidates were
elected. The detailed vote count is avail-
able upon request to the RCPC Secretary.

Free Walking Tours Offer Glimpse
of Downtown Oakland’s History and

Ongoing Renaissance

Ro and visitors can glimpse today’s hap-
pening scene and landmarks from Oakland's
past during the 2019 Oakland Tours season. The
twice-weekly guided tours are held Wednesday
and Saturday, May to October, and showcase the
city’s changing skyline, landmarks, churches and
high-rises.

Take in each of the eight different tours. <@
tour, led by a volunteer guide, begins at 10 a.m
from starting locations depending on the itinerary.
Reservations are recommended. Leave amessage
on the Tours’ 24-hour hotline: 238-3234 or email
aallen@oaklandca.gov. The tour brochure, itinerary
descriptions, more: oaklandca.gov/walkingtours

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May 4, 2019
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Rockridge News _

Scenic Streets Invites You toa May Weeding Event

This street tree wel] has been
invaded by marauding plants. We

will clean it up during the May I8
weeding event.

5332 SHAFTER AVENUE

Represented the Buyers with a swift
pre-emptive offer that earned them
the keys to this highly sought after,
architect-owned property!
A+ location, great natural light, and a
beautiful garden!

Congratulations on a fine purchase!

MAXI! LILLEY

The Rockridge Realtor”

with A Designers Eye

510.919.8997
maxi@redoakrealty.com

3 DRE¥01919653
OAK

REALTY

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S cenic Streets of Oakland is sponsoring
a weeding event from 9 — 11 a.m. on
Saturday, May 18. We’re the people who
like to keep the Hwy 24 ramps and some
near-by street trees looking cared for. We
plan to tackle the on-ramp and some street
tree wells during the event. Please come!
We'll meet on the east side of Claremont
Avenue at the south end of Hardy Park (near
the Dog Park). Bring your favorite weeding
tools (marked with your name) and wear
appropriate clothing. Since our priority will
be weeding, a pad to kneel on would also be
a good idea. Gloves and drinking water will
be provided. If you plan to attend, an RSVP
to Lee would be appreciated but not nec-
essary. For more information, contact lee.

scenicstreetsoakland@gmail.com.

ABOVE TEXT AND PHOTOS
BY LEE PATTERSON

Right: Scenic Streets stalwarts warming up
for the May 18 Weeding Event. /D. Kinkeap

Friends of the

Oakland Public Library

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The growth on this section of the

Highway 24 on-ramp is verging
on becoming a potential hazard.

We will tame it during the May 18
weeding event.

Bay Area built Bay Area focused.

Visit us at College & Claremont Avenues.
6300 College Avenue, Suite 160
(510) 851-7741

© Equal Housing Lender | Member FDIC | NMLS #478471 | PR-0976-0218

a c

Rockridge News

8 >.>

May 4, 2019

Letters to the Editor

appear with your letter. Letters may
be edited for clarity and brevity at the
editor’s discretion. Views expressed
in any letter are the writer 's own, and
may not necessarily be shared by the

editor or by RCPC.

he Rockridge News welcomes
posted letters and emails to the
editor. Your name, address, phone
number, email address and city/neigh-
borhood must be included in either
for verification. Only your name will

our customers away.
Nobody gave more support to neighbor-

hood recycling than John Wagers; he still
goes through the garbage at his apartment
house on Claremont to make sure the tenants
did as they promised when signing their
lease. If all property owners cared as much
about quality goods going off for recycling,
there’d be no Green Fence or any other coun-
try saying we’re shipping them garbage. A
tip of the hat to John.

— Arthur R. Boone, North Oak-
land Recycling Center, 1983-1989.

KupDos FOR JOHN WAGERS
Epitor:

When I restarted the North Oakland Recy-
cling Center in 1983, John Wagers became
one of my first friends in the community.
When we got too big for our site at the
Telegraph Community Center, John, by
personal effort, gathered a petition in 1985
to encourage the City Council to grant us a
conditional use permit for 5901 Telegraph
Avenue where we relocated and thrived until
the curbisde program in 1990 took many of

2

Find hidden gems like this at the RCPC Kitchen
Tour. Information: http://rockridgekitchen-
tour.org/about-the-rockridge-kitchen-tour/

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Ads, brand identities, marketing

materials, announcements, logos,
business cards. ..and anything we
can dream of

Contact Lisa originables@gmail.com
Website originables.com

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PERALTA ELEMENTARY

Stop SB 50
: .

from page |
single family/duplex buildings would likely
plummet, as they would be purchased only

to be demolished.

Rockridge was devastated by the con-
struction of Highway 24 and BART in
the 1960s. When the City of Oakland
proposed up-zoning the area for high-rises
in the 1970s, the neighborhood organized,

and RCPC was founded to “preserve and
enhance the unique character of the Rock-
ridge neighborhood.” More than 40 years
later, the people of Rockridge have made
it a vibrant neighborhood that is one of the
best in the Bay Area. We got a new library
built; parental involvement helped make the
schools good; old houses, many more than
100 years old, have been given new life; and
we have a thriving business district second
only to downtown in producing tax revenue
for the City. If SB 50 passes, our reward
will be for Rockridge to become a soulless
adjunct to the San Francisco financial district
and Silicon Valley.

Many are already opposed to SB 5
including 9 of 11 San Francisco Supervi-
sors, the Los Angeles City Council, and the
mayors of other smaller cities. Key politi-
cians backing SB 50 have accepted large
campaign contributions from real estate
interests. Housinghumanright.org says, “A
Housing Is A Human Right investigation has
found that the real estate industry, includ-
ing the California Apartment Association
and landlord Russell Flynn, have shelled

} Stop SB 50, page 14

/MFING- CRAFTSMAN

@ 6030 COLBY

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Ma a -. RchridgeNews

ob Hunters Get in the Door in Rockridge

by Cindy Warner H
© sees Customers enjoying the experience.

re you job hunting? Judging b
ythe ,
Picea of “help wanted” signs in many Peet’s Coffee & Tea

College Avenue storefronts, Rockridge mer- ssi cent aaahane aroma OF. Coniee, Peet 3
chants are open for business. You can pet in offers some other nice benefits, too. Justin,
the door if you are friendly and hard-work- oe een ista pictured, says he has cat insur-
ing. It’s all about small businesses that are ance. “Pretty cool.” Peet’s just installed a |
often family-owned and operated looking for new cash register program for tips from UU mbes ascent oS

| credit cards. Starting pay ranges from $14 to B wewtis Sporn promices sorting trent
the ee ane neighborly feeling that means $17 an hour. Benefits iii 40 1(k) retire-
enjoyable experiences for customers that !

err ting | day, frorn appare! b uring and nmerchondising
Wtirendia. oseting and customer service
: ment plan. High school and college students
compere’ cavironments could never match. are ti come : apply. A cations can be
Restaurants and cafe’s will often provide this oa

ot made on-line. Justin selected three locations
training on the job with perks including

i OF Le See

Plaza, College & Claremont:
Hair stylist Vanessa says applicants need
a cosmetology license and two or three

ee and Rockridge called.
delicious food. The salons will require a 2°! Weinniots CandvaGalnt years’ experience. Applicants need a flexible
cosmetology license and experience based Novelties rabid Aer beeen schedule and work 20 hours a week. Call

on the level and extent of the service. The the manager — Latrina — at 510/250-9770.

only corporate, union jobs seem to be at

Safeway but the store offers a wide variety
of departments including a bakery. Starting include young adults taking their first jobs

jobs generally offer minimum wage, often and students completing their university
an opportunity for tips, while a few offer 4°8tees.““Zoonies is ahappy place,’ she says, 3, Cuttin’? Up on College:

benefits. Most offer perks such as reduced Which enables students to supplement their Cuttin’ Up on College needs a barber.
prices and other merchandise benefits. income and take care of their studies. She | Zachary’s Pizza: Hiring for the

Following are samples of the Sid cies pon rab panera ngs kitchen and the dining room.
pportunities along College anon ~ P. ° Trader Joe’s: Always taking

Owner Shahrazad Junblat hires team

members of all ages and backgrounds. They 2. Right Angle at Lawton & College:

will rent a chair to an independent barber
or stylist. Text Stacy 510/821- 8866.

stocaaty waiting for the right job- ° ment at College & applications.
seeker to apply. laremont | ¢ Crossroads: Used clothing store
° Cole Hardware Safeway manager Mieda French says accepting applications.

Safeway hires all ages. It’s a union job, 16
hours a week for clerks; 24 hours minimum
for others. Employees get a 5 percent dis-
count on groceries and 10 percent off Safe-
way brands. Corporate hires the contractors
who offer wine tasting.

Thirsel, the supervisor, started as a
cashier. Her niece worked for Cole, and her
uncle worked for Cole for 40 years. She says
the owners treat you like family. She herself
knows the customers by name, the dogs

¢ Jules Thin Crust Pizza:
Applicants must download the form and
must bring it in in person. It’s minimum
wage, often a first job, with tips
distributed daily. Staff may enjoy organic

too. Jakob Johnson from Wisconsin applied slices.
online. He says, “It’s not a stressful envi- °® Hair Salons
ronment such as in a corporate structure.” |. Great Clips at Safeway > job Hunting, page 14

Dherihhe Partners

Morning wake-up calls

MUTIQUE REAL ESTATE INTERNATIONAL IRE

Social network modeling °

Curling up with a good book

Gardening together

SELLING ?
LET ME HELP YOU

BUYING? |

Making lots of biscuits

ANNE D. BRANDON, REALTOR
35+ YEAR ROCKRIDGE RESIDENT AND HOMEOWNER

DRE# 01877719 | 510.682.6644
tO help make great memories. ANNE@ THEHIGHLANDPARTNERS.COM

Local caregivers who want

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by Judith Doner Berne

arl Brush, a former head of performing
arts at Berkeley High, set this scene
in describing how he first met his “My Fair
Lady,” Suzanne Schuster, on the Rockridge
street — Presley Way — where she lived.

“It was Thanksgiving. I was a wandering
bachelor. Suzanne was on the front porch

putting polish on her toes. She was about to
go on a run with a boyfriend.”

That opening act in what turned out to be
their now 38-year-old marriage was actually
orchestrated by Brush’s fellow Berkeley
High teacher, Bill Elliott, then the school’s
orchestra director. Elliott and his wife Janice
lived — and still live — across the street.

“Bill did introduce Carl to Suzanne,”
Janice confirmed in an email. The men
were colleagues and close friends “who
had worked together on seven Gilbert and
Sullivan operettas as well as several musicals
and a collaborative musical ‘Dream Caper’
with lyrics and book by Carl and music by
Bill. Truly, it’s strange that two veterans of
Berkeley High’s Performing Arts Depart-
ment live across the street from one another.”

“I always tell my friends, you don’t have
to go far to meet someone. But you do have to
at least get to your front porch,” said Schus-
ter, a retired pediatric nurse practitioner
who worked both at Children’s Hospital of
Oakland and for Alameda County.

“My mom and stepdad are real characters
and as lively as can be at 78,” daughter Sarah
Miller wrote, in suggesting this story. “They
have been active volunteers and community

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Carl Brush and Suzanne Schuster cozy up on the front porch where they
first met. The overhanging ficus plant was given to them by neighbors Alan
and Mary Jane Freeland in the early ’80s.

members forever and have great stories about
the evolution of the neighborhood.”

Brush and Schuster still live in that 1923
Prairie School-style house that Schuster
moved to in 1970. So, she has monitored
Rockridge over almost 50 years.

“One of the things that was very impressive,”

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Schuster said, “was watching them move
houses to make way for the BART station in
the ’70s. It was fun to watch that and to see
the neighborhood get better after BART.”
Schuster and Brush were evacuated
during the devastating 1991 Oakland Hills

> Deep Ties, page 9

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May 4, 2019 RéckridgeNews

Deep Ties Growing up, Sarah, Anna and Jim

fy attended Chabot Elementary as does the
from page 8 youngest grandchild, Nico Orias, a fourth

grader. His brother Aiden, who also went

to Chabot, is a sixth grader at Claremont
Middle School.

Neighborhood ties are how Schuster
originally found her house, and also how
she knew that house across the street was
about to go on the market. “I see you in
that house,” she told Sarah, who was living
in an apartment in Berkeley but had lived
a number of other places. “She told me:
‘““T can’t imagine living anywhere but on
Presley.”

One disappointment was the closure
years back of the five acres of grounds, once
known as Rose Lawn Park, surrounding the
Priory of Saint Albert’s just down the street
from their house. “It ran along the creek
and was open to the community. Neighbors
would gather. You would run your dog
there.” Brush said. But along the creek was
also where some of the area’s homeless
would sleep, waiting for the breakfast the
nuns offered each morning. “Somebody

shot someone and they ended up closing the
grounds.” he said. “It’s a shame but they had

2.

Through the years, Freeland said,
“We have added a block party in October,
organized for earthquake readiness and
formed teams to assist neighbors who
became home-bound. Suzanne and Car!
are always in the lead for these projects anc
are models of what it means to be a gooc
neighbor.”

“Carl and Suzanne were truly made for
each other as both are incredibly high energy
people,” Janice Elliott said. “They could give
a brunch in the morning, go to a grandchild’s |
event in the afternoon and attend a concert
in San Francisco at night.”

Brush, who went on to become principal
of Berkeley’s Longfellow School and then
principal of Berkeley High’s Independent
Study Program, now volunteers at Chabot
Elementary. He also has published five his-
torical novels set in the 19th and early 20th
century Bay Area and Sierra, and is working
on the sixth.

Schuster is in between volunteer stints |
after working at St. Mary’s Senior Center
for almost a year. When I suggested a nearby

volunteer situation that I thought might
appeal to her, she pronounced: “That’s too

yuppie. I want to get down and dirty.”

firestorm that fortunately stopped just short
of their neighborhood. “Helicopters were
bringing water from Lake Temescal .’ Schus-
ter described. “It burned down to Chabot
i field.” They both remember the 3 x 5 cards,
such as “found a cat,” posted on what was
then Chimes Market (now Cactus Taqueria)

and also on a huge tree at the corner of
Acadia and Golden Gate.

“We had just redone our kitchen so we
were thinking, ‘Take the house, save the
kitchen.” In fact, just days before, their
kitchen had been featured on the inaugu-
ral RCPC Kitchen Tour, which has been
staged every two years since to benefit the
Rockridge Community Planning Council
(RCPC). (This year it’s on Sunday, Septem-
ber 22.)

During the remodeling, they embedded
a time capsule, in the form of a cardboard
tube, within a side wall. They don’t remem-
ber exactly what it contains: thoughts were
‘a newspaper story about the Oakland A’s

—<——— ee

 — en ee ee Qa em es oe =| =

winning the pennant; who was president;
photos...”

Schuster’s Rockridge roots have deep-
ened. Daughters Sarah Miller and Anna
Orias and their families reside in Rockridge
— actually Miller lives across the street from
her mom and stepdad. A 20-something
granddaughter, their son Jim Miller’s daugh-
ter (he lives in El Dorado Hills), is ensconced
on their third floor while working in the area.

to do it. That changed the neighborhood, at
least for me.”

Long-time neighbor Mary Jane
Freeland, who moved to Presley Way in
1973, remembers that “our first invitation
to a neighborhood gathering was a
Christmas party at Suzanne’s house where
everyone exchanged cookies. Another
annual gathering at Suzanne’s house is the

Kentucky Derby party.”

Once a runner, “We walk now,” Schuster
said, often with a stop at their favorite Col- ,

lege Avenue coffee shop, Bica, and accom-
panied by their rescue dog, Gabe. To Brush:

“That is one of the all-time joys of living in
this neighborhood.”

To comment on this column, or to suggest topics
for the future, please email judyberne@att.net.

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Land Use
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from page 3

displacement, the increase in market rate
units is likely to promote further price
escalation in existing housing, causing sec-
ondary displacement of existing residents.

Another unanswered question is how
great is the need for SB 50 in Oakland,
when it appears accessory dwelling units
(ADUs) are being added at a rapid clip.

The bill also has technical weaknesses,
such as the difficulty in documenting which
buildings contain existing rental units
(which are protected from demolition),
especially for single-family homes and

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associated, often unapproved, ADUs.

A question Mr. Gammon was unable
to answer was whether additional state-
mandated density bonus units would be
granted based on the affordable units
required under SB 50 [It appears they
would.] That could bring the actual “by
right” heights of new buildings up to 7
stories. As had been pointed out by local
architect Glenn Jarvis, right now, California
provides no protection for rooftop solar
panels, and new buildings allowed under
SB 50 could shade and render useless solar
panels installed on neighboring buildings.
This would seem inconsistent with laws
requiring that new residential buildings be
built to be “carbon-neutral” — i.e., to supply
their own energy needs — for electricity,
heating & cooling — without use of fossil

May 4, 2019

fuels.

While SB 50 assumes that housing
price reductions due to adding market-
rate units will “trickle down” to reduce
all housing prices, there is evidence
that different markets (e.g., market-rate,
moderate-income, low-income) do not
interact much, so while adding market
rate units may somewhat reduce market
rate prices — if supply exceeds demand —
there may be little effect on prices at other
income levels.

The committee will transmit all these
concerns to the Board of Directors, with
the recommendation that the Board
consider submitting comments on the bill’s
weaknesses and needed changes.

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from page |

to explain its many provisions, including
various exceptions, special features, and
alternative options. For example, the bill
eliminates Current density limits in areas
covered, but only increases height limits
in areas near train and ferry stations —
not along bus routes, and only along bus
jines with rush hour frequencies of no less
than every ten minutes and Only within
areas less than one-quarter mile from a
bus stop. It generally requires compliance
with other zoning requirements, but gives
the developer three “waivers. concessions
or incentives” addressed to those require-
ments — €.g., reducing or eliminating oth-
erwise-required minimum setbacks or yard
areas, Or Maximum height limits. It also
limits the off-street parking requirement
to no more than one parking space per two
units along bus lines, and totally eliminates

off-street parking requirements within a
half-mile radius of train/ferry stations.

Mr. Gammon was peppered with ques-

@iors from skeptical audience members.
He had to acknowledge that there were

some he couldn’t answer, especially those
specifically asking about the bill’s potential
effects on Rockridge. Those questions are
being forwarded to Mr. Ranelletti, and his

~ wa : 4 . 1 >»

+

ly

IFESTYLE

answers will be printed in the June issue
of the Rockridge News.

The bill is rapidly changing. A week
after the Town Hall, at a Senate Finance
Committee hearing, it was amended in
two significant ways: to reduce its impact
on “small” coastal counties (population
less that 600,000 [e.g., Marin, Sonoma,
Santa Cruz, Mendocino, Humboldt]); but,
on the other hand to allow four-plexes in
existing structures or on vacant lots in all
residentially-zoned areas statewide. The
bill’s text, analyses, and current status can
be viewed on the web at: https://leginfo.
legislature.ca.gov and entering “SB 50”
in the search area. Although the bill is
advancing rapidly, there are still oppor-
tunities for public feedback through Mr.
Wiener’s, Ms. Skinner’s and Ms. Wicks’
local legislative offices as well as through
legislative committee offices.

A report on the RCPC Land Use Committee’s

discussion of the bill appears under Land Use
Committee Update on page 3.

Editor’s Note: RCPC Board
of Directors elections were
held at the April Town Hall.
See election results, page 4.

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13.

by Rachel Hart MS., Speech-Language
Pathologist, Claremont Middle School

he Oakland Unified Schoo} District

serves about 6,500 students through
Special Education. Depending on needs. a
student may receive Support through Sate
tal health counseling, occupational therapy
physical therapy, speech-language therapy,
specialized academic instruction. behav-
ioral therapy, adaptive physical education.
career-transition, support from a_ visual

specialist, hearing specialist, and/or assis-
tive technology specialist,

Students are served in their general ed-
ucation Classes and/or in a separate setting
(Special Day Class or home/hospital). At
Claremont Middle School, general edu-
cation students and students enrolled in
one of three Special Day Classes are sup-
ported with these services in order to gain
equitable access to academic curriculum.
Over the past month, many special edu-
cation students have been targeting their
goals while restoring the garden outside

( of the Special Day classrooms. As the

school’s Speech-Language Pathologist, |
saw the neglected garden as an engaging
way for the students to target their speech
and language goals while learning about
how plants grow, the value of caring for a
shared space and being exposed to a new
vocational skill. In the weeks leading up to
working in the garden, the students were
introduced to gardening vocabulary and
concepts, were visited by a guest speaker
who works as a professional landscaper
and made garden-themed collages.

that our students treasure. Led by excep

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Réckridge News

Your Message Could Be Here
Your 36-word message is $22. (Phone number

counts as one word.) Make check payable
to RCPC and write Rockridge News
Classified Ad on the memo line. Mail to:
RN Classifieds, 4/23 Broadway, PMB 311,
Oakland, CA 94611. The classified ad June
issue deadline is May 16. The June issue
will be out June 8, For information: Email Susan
Montauk via smontauk@gmail.com

Happy Mother’s Day!

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tailored for your unique skincare require-
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Gardening Cleanups and

Maintenance
Experienced team of 2, dedicated to the

care and maintenance of plants and trees.
Garden design and restoration, pruning and
vegetable garden installation, affordable
rates. Yelp: Chris Rausch Gardening. Chris

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Handyman for Hire

Multifaceted and well-experienced. Hauling
and towing available. No job too small. Rea-
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Be a tutor!
Support middle and high school students.

Part- and full-time opportunities. $30/hr
starting. Regular raises and benefits avail-
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Car required. Please apply by visiting www.
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Job Hunting

from page 7

° Mr. John’s Dog Grooming
Froy bought the business about a year ago
after 28 years of experience. He learned
grooming on the job and passed the test
when a shop owner challenged him to
groom a poodle. He says he would have one
job open for a student, part-time.

¢ Oakland Library

Trish works as an aide. She says aides need
no degree but most at the library have a
Bachelor’s degree. She suggests going to
the Oakland Library website and filing
an interest card, then getting on a list to
receive notifications.

Cindy Warner, an East Bay native, lives off the
grid on her sailboat. She has been a bicycle
commuter for about 10 years. She is a freelance
contributor and has covered SF Bay arts &
culture since 2009. Cal *82.

Ed. Note: The author has no financial or occupational
interest in the shops and businesses discussed 1n this
article. Her report is based on her independent obser-
vations of the Rockridge College Avenue business
corridor and her contact with some of the people

working there.

— Stop SB 50 —

from page 6

out $153,816 to California State Senator
Scott Wiener’s 2020 re-election campaign,
according to state records.” Wiener is the key
sponsor of SB 50. According to Votesmart.
org, in a tie for first place on SB 50 co-spon-
sor Nancy Skinner’s campaign “Top Con-
tributors” list is the California Association
of Realtors. Her other “Top Contributors”
include many building trades unions. Buffy
Wicks’ Votesmart.org “Top Contributors”
list also includes the California Association
of Realtors and many of the same building
trades unions. In my opinion, SB 50 is
a giveaway to real estate developers and
their financial backers, and a gift to large
tax-avoiding tech companies whose rapidly
growing workforces have driven up real
estate rental and purchase prices.

This is the biggest threat to Rockridge
that I have seen during my 43 years living
here. I strongly urge all Rockridge residents,
and RCPC as an organization, to strongly
oppose SB 50 now. Removal of local control
over zoning in such a drastic way as SB 50
proposes would strike at the heart of RCPC’s
mission. | urge the RCPC board to rally
the opposition to SB 50 and to work with
other similar minded groups statewide. A
poll of RCPC members indicating whether
they are for or against SB 50, and a strong
public statement from the board, would be
very effective.

Claremont MS

from page I3

“The other class is Ms. Kenya’s Special
Day Class,” (Pictured below) Ms. Hart

continued. “I helped them plant carrots,
zucchini, pumpkin, sunflowers, echinacea,
borage and tomatoes in the other garden
space across the walkway. A couple of the
students were timid at first, but eventually
every student jumped in and put a sprout
into the ground!”

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May 4, 2019

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Réckridge News

Email Rockridge News Community Calendar items to:

(after noon), or mail to: Rockrid

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Rockridge Branch Library
5366 College Avenue, 597-5017

FOR CHILDREN

a Family Story Time: Stories/songs/rhymes
(for all ages); Saturdays, 10:30am.

a Toddler Story Time: Songs, active rhymes and
stories (for 9 months to 2 years), Thursdays
10:30am, upstairs. 3

g Pre-School Story Time: Read-alouds, songs,
and rhymes (ages 2 to 5); Thursdays, 10:30am.

All story times followed by Play Time; parents
and caregivers invited.

SPECIAL EVENTS: all ages welcome.

a “Summer Reading Program Begins Sat.,
June ist: pick up free A’s Tickets and Reading

Log, OF SIGN up online at OaklandLibrary.org.
Prizes for reading.

a Stretching for Caregivers: bring your children
to free basic stretching session for adults.
Wednesdays, 10:10am.

m Chess Club: learn the basics: Instruction and

chess sets provided. Best for ages 8 to 12,
Wednesdays, 3:30-4:30pm.

w Paws to Read: Sandy's dog Scout loves to help
kids practice reading. You pick the book; Scout

will sit by you and listen as you read aloud.

All ages welcome. Every Thurs, 3:30-4:30pm.

@ Mix It Up Family Game Night: Bring your
favorite game or try one of ours. Every Tues
6:30-7:45pm (except for Family Craft Night).

we Family Craft Night: 2nd Tuesdays, 6:30-
7:45pm. May craft: paper dolls - Superhero
and/or Origami

mw May is Bicycle Month & Asian & Pacific
Islanders Heritage Month: Kamishibai
Stories: from a Japanese-style paper-theater
on the back of a bicycle, while you nibble on
Japanese treats. Sat: 5/4 & 5/18 at 10:30am;
Thurs: 5/9 at 1:30pm; Tues: 5/21 at 6:30pm;
Thurs: 5/30 at 10:30am.

mw Special Performances, and Thursday Crafts
in June and July: pick up a calendar of events.

m Fun Every Tuesday Night in June & July:
Starting with the Xtreme Science Show on
June 4th at 6:30pm. Best for ages 3 to 13.

FOR TEENS

mw **Sign up for 2019 Summer Reading starting
5/24: Get a free TeenZone notebook. Collect
stamps to get a free TeenZone backpack, raffle
tickets, and more. Or register online at oaklandli-
brary.org/services/cards-and-visiting/summer-op!/
teen-summer-passport. For ages 12-19.
= Teen Volunteers ages 11-16: to help with
the Summer Reading Program and other
routine library tasks. Email Erica at esiskind@

oaklandlibrary.org, or stop by the Children’s
Reference Desk to sign up for an Orientation.

™ Make Sharpie Dyed Tile Coasters: Wed,
5/15, 2-3pm. All materials provided. Best
for 12-18 yrs.

™ Rockridge Teen Advisory Board (ages
14-18): Help advise the library how to better

————
—

15.

joellisi @hotmail.com, phone 653-3210

ge News Community Calendar, 4123 Broadway, PMB 311, Oakland,
to the last Tuesday of the month.

Compiled by Jo Ellis

serve teens; get community service credit
for school. 2nd Sat. each month, 1 to 2pm.

@ Teen ‘Scape Program: Play video games
and make crafts; every Tues, Thurs, and
Fri, 3:30 - 5pm; Wed, 1:30 - 5pm (during
school days).

@ Peer Circle, A Healing Space for Youth:
series of youth-led Restorative Justice (RJ)
circles about relationships, racism, social
justice, and more. Safe space provides
opportunity to engage in community building
and to learn skills to become RJ leaders in
their community. Age 11 and up. (Gift cards
available for participation). Second Wed,
4-—5pm.

FOR ADULTS

= **Adult Summer Reading Program: starts
June 1. Read or complete activities to win
prizes. Play online or at the library.

= Adult Craft Series; DIY Wood Coasters:
Techniques for painting on wood. All materials
& instruction provided. Sat., 5/18, 2 — 4pm.
Sign-up in advance at library or call 597-5017.

@ eBook Help: Work one-on-one with a librarian
to download eBooks. Fridays, 2 -3:30pm.
Make appt. online or call 597-5017.

=@ Second Saturday Book Club: 2nd Sateach
month, 3 -4pm. Phone for details and book
selection: 597-5017.

@ Writers Support/Critique Group: Bring
15 copies of up to 5 pgs. of any prose for
on-site reading/discussion (OK to come
empty-handed). 3rd Sat. each month,1pm;
wheelchair-accessible. Info: 420-8775 or
Writefox@aol.com.

UPSTAIRS ART GALLERY

@ May: Oakland Art Association: Small format
paintings, photos, prints, etchings/more.

Note New Library Hours:
Tues, Wed: 12:30 to 8pm.
Mon, Thurs & Sat: 10am to 5:30pm.

Fri, 12 to 5:30pm.
Closed: Sun.

East Bay Booksellers Book/Poetry
Readings. FREE and open to the

public.

@ Wed, 5/8, 6:30pm. Freud’s Bar (talks by local
Bay Area psychoanalysts/psychologists).
Drinks and snacks provided. Mtg topic:
Mourning Freud; the losses of Freud's early life
and their impact on his theorizing. Presenter:
Madelon Sprengnether, Ph.D.

@ Fri, 5/10, 7pm. Marcus Thompson: KD: Kevin
Durant’s Relentless Pursuit to Be the Greatest.
(Limited seating. Call store to confirm.)

@ Tues, 5/14, 7pm. Local author Maria Zizka:
The Newlywed Table: A Cookbook to Start

a

Your Life Together.

m Sun, 5/19, 3pm. Poetry Flash with Willis
Barnstone and Tony Barnstone.

@ Fri, 6/7, 7pm. Obi Kaufmann: The State
of Water: Understanding California's Most
Precious Resource.

East Bay Booksellers, 5433 College Ave.
More info abt. the authors, books and other

events: 653-9965 or info@ebbooksellers.
com

m Wisteria Ways House Concert

The String Revolution: Saturday, May 11,
7:30pm (house opens 7pm). A guitar quartet
(Daniel Schwarz, Markus Illko, Janet Robin, and
Art Zavala Jr.) with a passion for many different
musical styles and guitar techniques. Examples
at https://thestringrevolution.com/music/. Inside
venue; not wheelchair accessible. $15-20
donation for musicians (cash only at the door).
383 61st Street. More info and reservations (highly
recommended), RSVP to info@WisteriaWays.org

or 698-2458.

Chabot Space and Science Center:

Call for Volunteers.

RSVP now and register for Volunteer Orientation:
Sat., June 1, 10am to 12:30pm. Our Exhibit Guides
are trained to work with children and families and
lead daily activities in the exhibition galleries.
Our newest exhibitions include a tinkering studio,
and outdoor interpretive observation deck and
an exhibition about how humans are pushing the
boundaries of space exploration. Volunteers also
help with popular events, lectures and special
programs. No science background needed; we'll
teach you. Volunteers are asked to work 8 hours
per month. For more info and to RSVP for orien-
tation, go to https://chabotspace.org/ or Volunteer
Department at volunteers@chabotspace.org.

North Oakland Senior Center

5714 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way
597-5085

Mon. — Fri., 9am to 4:30pm. Programs include:
Arts/crafts; health counseling; dancing and
exercise; trips, tours and theater outings; Alzhei-
mer’s support groups, computer classes/more.

¢ Oakland Community Orchestra: free
concert featuring works of Haydn, Williams,
Ellington/ more. Fri, May 17,10:30am.

Seniors age 55+ join for $12 annual dues. Provides
discounts, other benefits, and a subscription
to “The North Oakland Senior Times” with full
schedule of classes/events, lunch menus, and

volunteer opportunities. More info at 597-5085.

Temescal Farmers’ Market

Open Sundays, 9am to 1pm (all year). Sample
the goods; meet the growers. Live music. Bring
reusable bags. 5300 Claremont Ave. (off Tele-
graph) at DMV parking lot.

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May 4, 2019

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