Past Picnic Grounds, Future Homes: A Walk Through Moraga Canyon

Our Piedmont Recreation Department’s Walking on Wednesdays group had a special walk and guest this past Wednesday. Kevin Jackson, the City’s Planning & Building Director, had generously agreed to meet us at Coaches Field and tell us about the City’s Moraga Canyon Specific Plan for residential real estate development and give us an update.

However, before the walk got started, we had three, additional, special, surprise guests waiting for us at the Exedra. Piedmont Police Chief Frederick Shavies, Captain Chris Monahan, and Commander Brandy Marvin-Morris were there. Chief Shavies wanted to introduce his team and invite us for a tour on November 5^th of the police department’s new dispatch center. The invitation was happily accepted.

There was a great turnout of 50 walkers and five K-9 best friends at the Exedra for this walk and tour with Kevin.

We went down Highland Avenue and up Moraga Avenue. We walked on the boardwalk over the edge of the canyon to Coaches Field, which was dedicated in 1994. Walter Blair, the first European settler in the area, built his “Blair Park” in 1884 on 40 acres of this land between Mountain View Cemetery and Moraga Avenue as a picnic park attraction. He wanted people to come to the Piedmont Springs Hotel he built in 1872, and where the Exedra is today.

What is referred to as “Blair Park” today is the land further up Moraga on its south side. Before part of the canyon was filled to create Coaches Field, it was a landfill for Piedmont. Above the field is the Kennelly Skate Park that opened in 2001 and named is named after the Kennelly family who made a donation for its construction.

Kevin was waiting for us at Coaches Field, and after introductions, told us about the Moraga Canyon Specific Plan. He also answered a lot of our questions. This plan is part of the Housing Element of Piedmont’s General Plan. The Housing Element is a state-mandated document required every eight years that outlines the city's long-term policies for housing development. Preparation of Piedmont’s 6^th Cycle Housing Element started in spring 2021 and lays out a plan for 587 new homes by 2031. This is the target mandated by the State and a dramatic increase from its prior mandate of 60 homes. It designates areas near Grand Avenue and in Moraga Canyon as "Priority Development Areas." Residents building ADUs will only partially satisfy the mandate as only about 75 have been permitted since 2023.

The City’s goal is to adopt the Moraga Canyon Specific Plan by the end of this year. It anticipates development of multifamily residential buildings with up to 199 units of new housing with 60 reserved for lower income households. The Specific Plan is not a project but rather provides the standards governing development. It is a detailed, 136-page plan for incorporating the new housing, maintaining City facilities, and improving recreational amenities on City-owned land in Moraga Canyon while improving bicycle, pedestrian, traffic, and wildfire safety.

There are two options for where residences could be built. They are either on the north or the south side of Moraga Avenue. Each option has a different set of proposed land uses, policies, and implementation measures, and each makes potential use of the City-owned land in Moraga Canyon that includes Coaches Field, Blair Park, Kennelly Skate Park, and the Corporation Yard.

One option would have housing on the current Blair Park open space. It preserves and expands Coaches Field and the Corporation Yard, which was constructed in 1982, in their current locations and increases parking and transit access. The other option would have hillside housing development on the open land above Coaches Field and the land occupied by the Corporation Yard, which would be relocated to Blair Park. It would improve the soccer field, while increasing parking and transit access.

Housing could be developed on either side of Moraga, but it is required that all housing, both affordable and market rate, be on the same side of Moraga. The housing could be up to 60 feet, or between 4 and 6 stories high. Additionally, two single family home sites accessed from Abbott Way and Maxwelton Road could be built under either option.

Kevin stressed that this Moraga Canyon Specific Plan is not a project, but it anticipates development and provides a framework and the standards for a developer to build residences on the land. It is not a project in which the City is going to build housing. The plan is intended to define parameters and remove development barriers.

Kevin also told of the large number of City Council study sessions, Planning Commission meetings, and public outreach events, over the last two years, to inform and get input on the project. Our visit with Kevin was well-timed as the next City Council public hearing on the plan is this coming Monday, October 6, 2025, at 6:00 PM in Piedmont City Hall. The plan will be considered for adoption at the meeting. Kevin shared that there are significant consequences for not complying with the State’s housing mandate. They could include lawsuits, and it would be very expensive for the City.

After the plan is approved by the City Council, developers will be engaged and proposals from them will be requested to build the housing. The actual development will have to make financial sense for the developer and be acceptable to the city. Kevin also said that developers have expressed interest.

After answering our many questions, Kevin led us up into the Corporation Yard to see where the residences might be built. We passed offices, a machine shop, storage structures, and a fueling station on our way up to the fenced skate park. Along the way, Kevin pointed out the new wireless tower that looms high above. The tower not only provides better cell phone coverage in the area but also gives the City greater control over where cell phone transmitters are placed in the city. AT&T and T-Mobile currently are providing rent for using the tower. At the skate park’s edge, we looked out at the beautiful view of the Bay and San Francisco that could be appealing to developers and future residents.

It was time for Kevin to get back to work and for us to return to the Exedra. We expressed our thanks to him for all this information and taking the time to be with us. The group went back with a greater understanding of the Moraga Canyon Specific Plan thanks to Kevin Jackson.