Archive for January, 2008
by John M. Zukoski on January 27, 2008 | 
No Comments | Topics: Things To Do
The city of Dublin facilitates the Dublin Leadership Academy each year. The Dublin Leadership Academy (also known as Dublin 101) is a series of 10 or so classes and workshops dedicated to providing residents and folks working in Dublin with an overview of how our City Hall and City Council collaborate to get things done, new developments in Dublin, and what Dublin’s future looks like. The Dublin Leadership Academy is funded from the Mayor’s discretionary budget and is organized by the fabulous Assistant City Manager, Joni Pattillo.
Have you ever wanted to meet the Chief of Police, the Mayor, the Director of Economic Development? What could you learn from them? What thoughts, suggestions, or questions would you like to share with them? The Dublin Leadership Academy provides an interactive learning environment where Dublin’s senior-level officials provide an overview of their departments and you can get information about the City on a firsthand basis.
The Dublin Leadership Academy starts in September…but registration usually begins around July. Please check the City of Dublin’s website to get registration information around June or thereabouts. This year’s class will officially end when class participants are recognized at the Dublin City Council meeting on February 5th.
The Dublin Leadership Academy is just one more example of City Hall’s committment to drawing on the knowledge, curiosity, and feedback of it’s residents to build a bright future. While other cities may have similar courses, none of them offer the one-on-one relationship with senior-level officials that the Dublin Leadership Academy can provide.
by John M. Zukoski on January 25, 2008 | No Comments | Topics: Opinions
Dublin saw healthy home sales volume for the week-ended 1/25/08 – 12 home sales vs. 6 sales last week. The average sales price popped 6% this week to $619,375.
The current proposed stimulus package would increase the conforming loan limit for home purchases to a more realistic Bay Area level of $729,750. This would reduce the interest rates for home buyers in Dublin, increase affordability, and hopefully increase the demand for Dublin homes. If this feature of the stimulus package is passed by the Senate, we could see a strong uptick in sales volume and average sales prices.
by John M. Zukoski on January 24, 2008 | No Comments | Topics: Public Works
If you’ve traveled on Eastbound I-580, you’ve most likely had to contend with the metering lights. With the metering light installed at the Fallon Road on-ramp to Eastbound I-580, there are now metering lights at every Eastbound I-580 on-ramp in the Dublin/Pleasanton corridor.
Here are a few tidbits to keep in mind the next time you need to hop on Eastbound I-580:
- The new Fallon Road metering light is literally the slowest light along the Dublin/Pleasanton I-580 corridor. This means that you’ll wait longer at this light than any other.
- The San Ramon Road metering light is the fastest light along the corridor.
- The metering lights turn on at 2:30pm and turn off at 7:30pm (or earlier if traffic is light).
Theory and studies indicate that the metering lights are a relatively inexpensive way to help relieve the congestion along freeways…so just think about how you’re contributing towards a greater good the next time you’re inching forward at a metering light!
One side note, Caltrans will evaluate the timing of the new Fallon Road metering light to see if it can be sped up w/in the months ahead (without compromising the flow of traffic along Eastbound I-580).
by John M. Zukoski on January 23, 2008 | No Comments | Topics: Development
Dublin’s Planning department does a superb job of including input from stakeholders in the development of Dublin 2.0. The keystone to Dublin 2.0′s development is the Dublin Downtown specific plan.
Dublin is encouraging residents, homeowners, and business owners to participate in Dublin Downtown guided walking tours and a subsequent stakeholders’ workshop. There will be 3 walking tours:
- 9-10:30am – Village Parkway
- 10:40-11:50am – North of Dublin Blvd.
- 12:00-1pm – South of Dublin Blvd.
The Planning department tour guides are encouraging all participants to share their thoughts and suggestions about the Downtown specific plan along the tours. The stakeholders workshop is from 7-9pm at the Dublin San Ramon Services District Board Room at 7051 Dublin Blvd.
Please email Taryn Gavagan w/ the City of Dublin at taryn.gavagan@ci.dublin.ca.us if you’d like a soft or hard copy of the flyer for this extravaganza. You can also call Jeff Baker at 925-833-6610 if you have specific questions about the walking tours and/or workshop.
by John M. Zukoski on January 19, 2008 | No Comments | Topics: City Hall
Dublin’s City Council passed an ordinance on Tuesday night to encourage residents to seek mediation when there is a dispute regarding a Dublin city project or commission decision. Please click here to read Sophia Kazmi’s article.
The genesis for this ordinance dates back to the October 17, 2006 Dublin City Council meeting where outgoing Councilmember George Zika reprimanded the parties involved in a request to rescind a 20-minute parking zone in front of Retreat for Children located at 8339 Cypress Court. This limited parking zone had previously been approved by the City Council at the request of the owners to facilitate pick-up and drop-off activities of developmentally disabled children using the facility. However, the disputing parties were able to come to an agreement and went back to Council to ask them to reverse their previous decision.
As a suggestion to save time, outgoing Councilmember Claudia McCormick proposed that Dublin City Staff conduct research and draft an ordinance that would encourage Dublin residents to first seek mediation before bringing their neighborhood disputes to the City Council. Current Councilmember Hildenbrand formally made the motion and Councilmember Zika seconded the motion to direct Staff to research this ordinance.
What does this mean to the residents of Dublin? First of all – mediation is voluntary. The Council is primarily interested in ensuring that parties at least consider mediation as an option before going before the City Council. Additionally, this ordinance will be in effect for 1 year. After the year, the new City Council will evaluate whether or not to extend the ordinance.
by John M. Zukoski on January 18, 2008 | 4 Comments | Topics: Development · Opinions
The Dublin Gateway Medical Center was just purchased by the Eden Township Health District. What does this mean for Dublin residents? As many residents may have noticed, the Dublin Gateway Medical Center is 50% occupied at this point with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. The previous owner most likely had difficulty landing a tenant for the other half of the building because of the pending sale, which would have had to been disclosed as part of any contractual agreement. This sale and the Dublin City Council’s approval to provide an option to build a hospital, in addition to a parking garage, at the Dublin Gateway Medical Center most likely means the following for Dublin residents:
- The Palo Alto Medical Foundation will have a neighbor soon.
- East Dublin will have a hospital to compete with Valley Care Medical Center in Pleasanton and San Ramon Regional Medical Center in San Ramon within the next year or two. Not surprisingly, the CEO for the San Ramon Regional Medical Center was the most outspoken critic of the proposed hospital during the 5/15/07 Dublin City Council meeting.
- A parking garage will be built in tandem with the new hospital.
The sale of the Dublin Gateway Medical Center could very well be the catalyst to spark commercial and retail development in East Dublin.
by John M. Zukoski on January 18, 2008 | No Comments | Topics: Opinions
Dublin had an 18% increase in the average home sale price (from $494K to $582K) for the week-ended 1/18/08. As you can see from the chart, home prices have pretty much stayed within a tight band for the past few months.
by John M. Zukoski on January 16, 2008 | No Comments | Topics: Things To Do
The Dublin Senior Center will be hosting a Super Bowl (42) party on Sunday February 3rd. The doors open at 2pm and the party will go until 8pm. Why go to the Dublin Senior Center to watch the game? Here are a few reasons:
- Big Screen TV
- Raffle
- Wii
- Prizes for guessing scores and touchdowns
- Silent Auction
- Pizza, buffalo wings, snacks, and beverages
$15 gets you in the door ($18 for non-residents).
Call the Dublin Senior Center at (925) 556-4511 to RSVP by Monday January 28th.
by John M. Zukoski on January 13, 2008 | No Comments | Topics: Things To Do
UPDATED: The 2009 parade route is now available.
Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be held on March 15th starting at 9:30am. Below is a quick summary of the route for the 2008 parade. Please click on the picture below to get a larger overview satellite picture.
- Start at corner of Dublin Boulevard and Amador Plaza Road
- East on Dublin Boulevard
- North on Village Parkway
- West on Amador Valley Boulevard
- End at Donohue Drive by the Dublin Senior Center
One thing to note is that there will be road closures in Dublin’s Downtown to accommodate the parade. The City will post advance notice of the road closures and corresponding detour routes. Click here for a bit more detail on the road closures.
