Polls
by John M. Zukoski on November 3, 2009 | 
4 Comments | Topics: Opinions · Polls
The Around Dublin Team would love to know – “What are you thankful for this year”?
We have so many things to be thankful and grateful for here in Dublin – but what are some of the things that you and your family enjoy most about living in Dublin? Is it our gorgeous parks, improving schools, new businesses, family friendly activities, great location, abundance of retail options, or future development?
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by John M. Zukoski on January 24, 2009 | 8 Comments | Topics: Polls
The City of Dublin is committed to providing public art throughout the city. The Dublin Fine Arts Foundation was formed in 1988 to “pursue artistic excellence in all cultural activities.” Dublin’s Public Art Policy was formed in 1997 to encourage private art in public places. Examples of these works include “Dublin Time” located at the Downtown Safeway on Dublin Boulevard and “Festivity” at the Ulferts Center (the red and chrome symbols of chopsticks and dim sum).
The funding for public art in private developments is provided by developers. All non-residential projects (e.g., the Promenade) and residential projects with more than 20 units are required to make a contribution to the public art fund. The current fee is set at 1/2% of the building valuation.
- As an example, the total building valuation at Phase I of the Promenade is $26M. At a rate of 1/2%, the project developer will be required to contribute $130K to the Dublin public art fund for artwork that will be placed in front of ClubSport.
The 1/2% fee is then “baked” into the home prices and lease payments that residents and businesses pay.
The City of Dublin also places public art in parks and community gathering places. For example, Dublin contributed $105K for the public art project at the Shannon Community Center.
While many residents feel that Dublin’s public art program provides many benefits such as inspiring civic pride among residents, some residents aren’t as enthusiastic. As recently noted by one Dublin resident, “I believe we spend too much on large sculptures, etc. It’s one thing if it’s some decorative feature, but isn’t nice landscaping and building design much more memorable and pleasing than (a statue)?” Another school of thought is that the residents and businesses of Dublin would be better served to have the 1/2% public art fee at least temporarily diverted into infrastructure projects to provide additional parking and improve traffic circulation in Dublin’s problem areas.
This week’s poll question is – What do you think about Dublin’s Public Art Program?
by John M. Zukoski on December 13, 2008 | 11 Comments | Topics: Polls
The Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) School Board met on December 1st to discuss potentially pushing out the opening of Kolb Elementary School (located adjacent to the Sorrento East residential development near Gleason Drive) to at least the 2011-2012 school year due to the unexpected drop in developer impact fees to pay for new school construction.
While funding may not be available to build Kolb Elementary School, east Dublin is expected to have 126 more elementary school students than seats in our classrooms by 2010-2011 and 360 more students than our schools can handle in the 2011-2012 school year if Kolb Elementary School is not built.
The DUSD School Board discussed three potential solutions:
- Borrow $6M to build Kolb Elementary School in time for the 2010-2011 school year.
- Delay building Kolb Elementary School until additional developer impact fees are available.
- Build a smaller-capacity Kolb Elementary School with the current available funds (capacity 350), then expand the site in several years as developer impact fees become available.
In addition to maintaining Fallon Middle School as an “overflow” school for K-5 students, the following short-term solutions were discussed as a way to address the projected over-capacity at east Dublin elementary schools:
- Build portables at John Green Elementary School and add several more portables at Dougherty Elementary School. This option would result in schools with larger student populations than the DUSD approved optimum and reduce the amount of available blacktop space for athletic activities.
- Make a permanent boundary change for Dougherty Elementary School to send all kids living west of Arnold Road or Hacienda Drive to west side elementary schools.
- Divert ‘excess’ students to west Dublin schools (150-200 in 2010-2011 and 350-450 in 2011-2012). This approach would most likely impact new students.
DUSD School Board member John Ledahl made a proposal to discuss these options in more detail during an early January 2009 closed session to reduce the number of options before the Board makes a formal presentation to the public. The DUSD School Board will most likely hold an open session/workshop in mid-January 2009 before meeting on January 27, 2009 to make a final decision on the future of Kolb Elementary School.
Parents are encouraged to attend and speak at the January meetings and workshop. The School Board decision on January 27, 2009 could potentially impact every parent and student living in Dublin.
Special thanks to DUSD School Board candidate Dan Cherrier for contributing to this article. Please feel free to email Dan Cherrier at dan@dublindan.com for more information.
by John M. Zukoski on December 6, 2008 | 3 Comments | Topics: Polls
The Dublin City Council has recently taken bold steps to re-emphasize their commitment to ensuring the safety of residents in Dublin Ranch. On November 18th, the Council voted to implement safety improvements along Central Parkway to ensure that pedestrians have safe access from the Dublin Ranch Villages to Tassajara Road.
Most recently on December 2nd, the Council approved the addition of a safety guard, street/sign markings, and directed City Staff to study the potential for additional safety improvements near John Green Elementary School (which could include speed bumps).
Please check out these Around Dublin YouTube videos for more information:
This week’s poll question is - Given the case presented by concerned residents at Dublin Ranch, how should the City proceed with respect to the requested pedestrian safety improvements?
by John M. Zukoski on November 28, 2008 | 1 Comment | Topics: Polls
The mission of the Dublin Parks and Community Services Department is to develop and implement quality programs that strengthen community image, provide recreational experiences, encourage healthy lifestyles and preserve the City’s heritage. There are many examples of this throughout Dublin, including – the Dublin Senior Center, Emerald Glen Park, and Alamo Creek Park.
Not resting on its laurels, the City of Dublin has set a high priority to provide residents with additional park space and recreational facilities. Please click on the links below to read about a few of the future parks and facilities that we can look forward to:
Please check out the 2008-2009 Dublin City Newsletter for more details about these magnificent projects (included in the Dublin Winter 2008 Recreation Guide).
This week’s poll question is – Which Future Dublin Park or Recreational Facility Are You Most Excited About?
by John M. Zukoski on November 16, 2008 | 15 Comments | Topics: Polls
Phase I of the Promenade is one of the most highly anticipated projects within the City of Dublin. Once completed, it will boast a 47,669 sq. ft. Club Sport Athletic Club & Spa, a 52,716 sq. ft. Mercantile Building with shops, restaurants, and office spaces, and an attractive four-level parking structure.
One of the key questions related to Phase I of the Promenade is whether or not there will be sufficient parking spaces. The answer depends on which counting method the City eventually adopts for this project. By simple counting, the current proposal will provide 41 parking spaces below the City of Dublin’s Zoning Ordinance. By a more progressive “shared parking” calculation, the proposal as is will provide 47 more parking spaces above the Zoning Ordinance requirement.
Planning Commissioner Doreen Wehrenberg is concerned the “shared parking” calculation may not serve the city’s best interest. Predicting how long customers will stay at the Promenade is difficult. Given the known parking challenges at Dublin Ranch Villages, many nearby residents may want to use some of the parking spaces in the Promenade garage during business hours. The likelihood of parking conflict between the Promenade customers and nearby residents during the hours of operation may, therefore, render the assumptions underpinning the “shared parking” calculation invalid. Commissioner Wehrenberg suggested that a potential solution would be to add a level of underground parking so that the project can meet the City of Dublin’s Zoning Ordinance requirement without increasing the height of the proposed parking structure.
Planning Commissioner and Chair Bill Schaub, on the other hand, believes that the Promenade tenants and the Dublin Ranch Villages residents can “take care of” any potential parking issues on their own. This laissez faire attitude is consistent with Commissioner Schaub’s 2007 quote on the parking crisis in the Dublin Ranch Villages. In that article, Schaub proclaimed that “parking requirements are more than adequate and developers have complained about the number of parking spots they have to provide. Congestion is a sign of a successful area.“
This week’s poll question is – Should There be Additional Parking at Phase I of the Promenade?
Please feel free to email the Planning Department Manager with feedback at planning.mgr@ci.dublin.ca.us.
by John M. Zukoski on November 8, 2008 | 9 Comments | Topics: Polls
The comments from Around Dublin’s readers on the top issues impacting our great community have been infused with passion, incisive analyses, and concern for our city. The Around Dublin Blog is proud to be the host of this fantastic medium for residents and civic leaders to discuss the hopes and dreams we all share for our great city.
As part of our commitment to the community, the Around Dublin Team would like to host a town hall meeting or online chat forum for Dublin’s residents, community advocates, and elected officials to participate in a dynamic discussion about the top issues and questions facing Dublin. These issues include:
If there is sufficient interest (i.e. at least 25 residents who are committed to attend), the Around Dublin Team will set up a weekend community meeting in December or January.
This week’s poll question is – Would you like to attend and participate in a community meeting with our civic leaders to discuss the top issues facing Dublin?
by John M. Zukoski on November 1, 2008 | 31 Comments | Topics: Polls
Discovery Homes recently made an offer to donate a 14,000 sq. ft. facility for the School of Imagination at Schaefer Ranch. The proposed pre-school and educational facility would be built on a 1.21 acre parcel.
As part of the offer to build the new facility, Discovery Homes is proposing to scrap the plans to build 12 Estate homes spread out over 57 acres and instead build 104 additional Single-Family Residential homes on 13 acres (with the remaining 44 acres going towards open space). With the additional 104 residential units, Schaefer Ranch would have a total of 406 homes – well below the 474 home cap.
On the one hand, this proposed change has many benefits:
- Discovery Homes’ donation of the 14,000 sq. ft. facility for the School of Imagination.
- Additional Single-Family Residential home buying opportunities for families in Dublin.
- Dedication of 50 acres of open space.
On the other hand, Dublin will not have the 12 Estate homes that had been planned to be built on 57 acres at Schaefer Ranch.
The Dublin City Council will be discussing Discovery Homes’ proposed change at the November 4th meeting (agenda item 6.1).
This week’s poll question is – Are You in Favor of the Proposal to Swap Estate Homes at Schaefer Ranch for Single-Family Residential?
by John M. Zukoski on October 23, 2008 | 5 Comments | Topics: Polls
The Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) decided to close Nielsen Elementary at the end of the last school year in order to save $375K/year in operating expenses. The students that had been attending Nielsen Elementary were relocated to Dublin Elementary.
The recent vacancy of the Nielsen Elementary school site brings a host of questions. One question that has already been answered by the DUSD Board of Trustees is that the Nielsen site will not be sold. Outside of that one constraint, the potential uses for the Nielsen site are nearly boundless. The DUSD has established these primary objectives: 1) district program expansion; 2) financial benefit to the district; and 3) service to the community.
According to the DUSD, the potential uses for the Nielsen site include:
- Adult education classes;
- Pre-school and day care (there is chatter that this may be offered at-cost to provide an affordable option for parents);
- State Teachers Retirement System office space;
- Dublin Partners In Education office and storage space;
- Professional development for the DUSD; and
- Special education programs; and park and recreation outside use.
This week’s poll question is – Which Potential Use of the Former Nielsen Elementary School Site Are You Most Excited About?
Note – please feel free to email our DUSD Trustees to let them know which potential use you’d most like to see implemented at the Nielsen site.
