Our Piedmont Recreation Department's Walking on Wednesdays group was surprised this week as we assembled at the Exedra for our weekly walk. A crew of tree removal workers with a tall crane and big truck were in the process of cutting down a big redwood tree behind City Hall. We didn't know why the tree was being removed, but it seemed to be a harbinger of what we were going to see later.
Real estate development has long been part of Piedmont's history. Walter Blair built the Piedmont Springs Hotel in 1872 to attract potential residents. Early 20th Century developer Frank C. Havens created the Piedmont Park to promote his Piedmont real estate, and currently, there is a controversy regarding the development of a lot on Wistaria Way. Going to it would also let us go through Havens' beautiful neighborhood of Wildwood Gardens.
There was large turnout of 47 walkers and two K-9 best friends on hand.
We headed off going down Highland Avenue, and up Wildwood Avenue to Wildwood Gardens' entrance. This neighborhood was the site of Havens' "Wildwood Estate." He was born into a prominent New York family, and after a year in the China shipping trade, came to San Francisco in 1866 and worked in banking. In about 1880 he founded a stock brokerage before creating the
Oakland-based "Realty Syndicate" in 1895 with F. M. "Borax" Smith.
Havens became a major real estate developer in Oakland, Berkeley, and Piedmont. Havens and Smith built the Claremont Hotel, and the Syndicate was originally the parent company of the Key System transit company. It also accumulated at least 13,000 aces of hilltop land that stretched from near Mills College to the boundary of North Berkeley. Havens owned all the land from Crocker Avenue to Oakmont Avenue and Oak Road, and built his "Wildwood" estate on it.
We made our way through the loops that make up Wildwood Gardens, and found the backside of 101 Wildwood Gardens, Havens' mansion. Only a portion of it could be seen, but an "H" in the wrought iron gate indicated its origin. We continued on. Along the way, we noted a story tale looking home, another with a sculpture of white flying angels and doves in its front yard, and one
with only a mailbox and narrow walkway to an invisible home below.
We continued on through the upper portion of Wildwood Gardens, past an impressive children's treehouse with Wildwood Creek running nearby, to the seldom-visited Wistaria Way. We made our way up the loop to the lot where another tree removal crew had cut down many costal oaks and other trees.
This lot was once part of a home, but was donated to a local church after the owner's death. The land was sold in 2022. The new owners twice submitted applications in 2022 to build a single family home on the lot, but were rejected both times after neighbors and the City objected to the project's size. The owners then developed a project to divide the lot into two parcels and construct new homes on them with an ADU alongside one. This is allowed under a new California law, known as "SB9". It went into effect on January 1, 2022, and is intended to address California's housing crisis by allowing homeowners to divide their lots and construct up to four houses on a
single-family parcel.
This Wistaria project's application was approved by the Piedmont Planning and Building Department on December 27, 2023. Building permits were approved on July 2nd, and neighbors were notified of the construction by mail on July 5th. A group of them is questioning the project's legality. They think the lot is protected wetland, as Wildwood Creek traverses it, and the project
endangers the wetlands, so it should not be eligible to be split. The City disagrees. The neighbors met with City staff on July 5th and voiced their concerns to the Piedmont City Council on July 15th, but tree removal began on July 16th.
We viewed the lot, took the attached group photo, and finished the Wistaria loop. We continued on to Woodland Way, Lafayette and Crocker Avenues and returned to the Exedra with new knowledge of Frank C. Havens and California real estate law.
As you know, our Walking on Wednesdays group meets every Wednesday at the Exedra (Highland & Magnolia Avenues) at 10:30 AM. Everyone is invited to join. There is no charge. New walkers and their friendly K-9 best friends are welcome. Registration with the Piedmont Recreation Department is required, and can be done
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