Archive for May, 2009
by John M. Zukoski on May 31, 2009 | 
34 Comments | Topics: Development
Toll Brothers recently filed a lawsuit against the City of Dublin to block construction of the Promenade in the Dublin Ranch Villages. The primary concerns that Toll Brothers noted in their lawsuit are:
- Parking Structure – the current plan for the Club Sport and Mercantile Building phase of the Promenade includes a four-story parking structure. However, the original plans and drawings approved in 2000 did not include a parking garage and only referred to one and two story retail commercial buildings with paseos.
- Public Hearing Notice – Toll Brothers contends that they did not receive proper notice of public hearings related to the Promenade.
- Environmental Impact – an environmental review was not conducted on the current phase of the Promenade. This would have included analysis of items like traffic, shadowing, visual aesthetics, and noise.
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by John M. Zukoski on May 29, 2009 | 19 Comments | Topics: Schools
The Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) will be holding a Community Conversation on June 1, 2009 from 6:30-8:30pm at Wells Middle School in the Multi-Purpose Room (600 Penn Drive) to help craft the DUSD’s Strategic Plan. All DUSD stakeholders are invited to attend and participate – parents, students, DUSD/City Staff, and all other members of the community.
Participation is crucial to help the DUSD identify the opportunities and challenges that are at the forefront of our thoughts and collective conscience. Examples of topics that could be discussed include:
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by John M. Zukoski on May 27, 2009 | 5 Comments | Topics: Local Businesses
Headquartered in the heart of Dublin’s downtown, Pandigital is Dublin’s fastest growing privately-held company – recently being listed at #50 on Inc. Magazine’s list of 5,000 fastest growing companies list. With over 4 million units sold, Pandigital is the worldwide industry leader in manufacturing digital photo frames. The focal point of the photo frames that Pandigital offers is the top-quality LCD screen encased by frames that have a contemporary look and feel.
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by Around Dublin Team on May 24, 2009 | No Comments | Topics: Local Businesses
Blush is expanding into other parts of the Bay Area! To help Blush celebrate its new locations in Milpitas, Burlingame, and San Francisco, the Around Dublin Blog has teamed up with Blush for an online photo contest powered by Cheddr Media starting from May 25, 2009 through July 4, 2009. This photo contest is a fun and easy way for current fans to show people throughout the Bay Area what our beloved froyo phenomenon in Dublin, CA, is all about.
Blush offers yogurt made fresh daily using all-natural organic ingredients. The wide selection of flavors and toppings available at Blush allows fans limitless possibilities in creating their own signature treats. Submit a picture of your unique Blush creation, along with a brief description, using the Photo Contest Widget below.
The entry with the most votes will win two club-level Giants tickets for their August 1, 2009 game against the Phillies plus a $100 Blush gift card. The entry with the second highest votes will win an 8GB iPod Touch. The next 10 entries with the most votes will each receive a $20 Blush gift card.
View Blush Around the Bay in a larger map
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by John M. Zukoski on May 22, 2009 | 14 Comments | Topics: City Hall · Local Businesses
New Evolution Fitness Facility recently pitched their plans to the Dublin Planning Commission to open a 33,455 s.f. multi-purpose fitness facility in the Enea Plaza at the heart of Downtown Dublin. Prior to the discussion, Planning Commissioner Morgan King was asked to recuse himself based on previous litigation with Enea Properties.
The fitness facility would occupy the building next to Bank of America and Rigatoni’s that is the home of the Spirit Halloween store each fall (previously occupied by Good Guys). New Evolution Fitness is a privately held firm owned by the founder of 24 Hour Fitness, Mark Mastrov. Their proposed Dublin facility includes a standard workout/free weights area, aerobics training room, 3 speciality workout areas, a kid’s gym, UFC gear store, a juice bar, and offices. New Evolution Fitness recently announced their partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship series to launch a UFC-brand of gyms.
While New Evolution Fitness would be a welcomed tenant in Downtown Dublin, the biggest concern with their current proposal is the potential parking and traffic challenges that would be created. New Evolution Fitness would not have enough parking spaces for customers at their proposed site, so many customers would need to park in the Big 5 Sporting Goods and former Tower Records parking lots on the other side of Amador Plaza Road.
While sufficient parking would be available, expert analysis indicates that there would be over 200 additional customers crossing Amador Plaza Road each day (some by crosswalks, many by jaywalking) – creating a health and safety concern. Planning Commission Bill Schaub noted that the traffic created in 1-2 years from the West Dublin BART Station would only heighten the risk posed by having so many customers crossing Amador Plaza Road as drivers access the I-680 on/off-ramps.
New Evolution Fitness will continue to work with the Dublin Planning Department to address the Planning Commission’s parking and pedestrian safety concerns with the goal of having a compromise worked out in time for a July 2009 public hearing.
by John M. Zukoski on May 20, 2009 | 7 Comments | Topics: Retail
Colliers International published this fantastic brochure that provides not only great pictures and site drawings of Grafton Station, but also a land use illustration of how all of the Dublin Ranch, Fallon Village, and Wallis Ranch area will be developed (please see page 4 of 13). There is also a cornucopia of demographic, growth, and property value statistics for the area surrounding Grafton Station on pages 6-13.
by John M. Zukoski on May 18, 2009 | No Comments | Topics: Things To Do
“Camp Galileo has changed our family dynamic. We now have an inventor in our midst. An inventor who beams with pride at the end of each day and jumps out of bed ready for the next creation.” – Nicola Stockmann, Camp Galileo Parent
This parent is talking about Camp Galileo’s fun and enriching week-long “Invent It! & Mythology” course where kids will have a chance to build fortresses, catapults, art projects, and other fantastical items in the context of an imaginative story.
The Dublin Camp Galileo site has recently adjusted their price to make it easier on your wallet and fun for your kids this summer. The new price is $299/week with another $50 off for kids going to camp for the full 3-week program. This works out to be $7-$9 per hour depending on the extended care option.
Classes start on July 6th and run until July 31st at John Green Elementary School. Please click here for more information about Camp Galileo.
by John M. Zukoski on May 16, 2009 | 9 Comments | Topics: Local Businesses
Led by Mayor Tim Sbranti, the Dublin City Council approved a Sales Tax Reimbursement Program on January 6, 2009 to help reinvigorate economic vitality in the city of Dublin. The Program provides businesses that bring $100K+ of new sales tax revenue to Dublin with a 0.5% sales tax credit for 5 years to help pay for tenant improvements. The goal of the Sales Tax Reimbursement Program is to kick-start Dublin’s economy by attracting new businesses, encouraging existing businesses to expand, bringing new jobs to Dublin, and revitalizing the historic commerce centers in Dublin.
The Council just recently approved the Sales Tax Reimbursement Program’s first agreement with Ring Properties on May 5th. Ring Properties – owner of the 580 Executive Center at 11501 Dublin Boulevard in west Dublin – just inked a 10-year lease with Fortune 500 titan Graybar Electric. In addition to a bounty of new sales tax revenue, Graybar is expected to bring 50 full-time jobs to Dublin.
As part of the lease agreement, Ring Properties will be making $632,500 worth of interior improvements, exterior renovations, and traffic improvements (e.g., a traffic light) to accommodate the bounty of customers expected to visit Graybar’s site. The cost of these improvements will be fully reimbursed through the Program assuming that Graybar Electric can bring in at least $127M of taxable revenue over the next 5 years.
Kudos to the vision and tenacity of the Dublin City Council and Staff for making this program a success.
by John M. Zukoski on May 14, 2009 | No Comments | Topics: City Hall
In response to a very successful pilot program, the City of Dublin’s Building and Safety division will continue to offer evening inspections for homeowners on Tuesday nights from 4-7pm. The types of items requiring inspections include re-roofs, water heater installations, and room additions.
The City began to offer evening inspections a few months ago based on feedback received from residents that are away from their homes during the the standard inspection hours of Monday through Friday 8am-3:30pm.
While Pleasanton and San Ramon have yet to start offering evening inspections, Livermore has had an enormously successful program – so much so that they now offer evening inspections Monday through Thursday each week.
Dublin’s new evening inspection program truly is a win-win in that it provides homeowners with the flexibility required for their busy schedules and the program has a $0 financial impact to the City because the contract inspectors can shift their schedules to accommodate Tuesday night homeowner requests.
Please call 925-833-6620 for more details.
