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For a calendar of Dimond community meetings Click here

September DIA Newsletter

At our September meeting we will talk about

  1. An application for a Conditional Use Permit on Dimond Avenue
  2. At 8:00 we will hear from Zon Pohl of AC Transit about Measure B

Trucks on 580? Never!
Governor Davis signed a bill this month making the 580 truck ban permanent. He was quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle as saying, "I am not in favor of legislative bans that restrict commerce. However, in the East Bay a ban on trucks on a 10-mile section of I-580 has been in continuous effect since 1963. A study by Caltrans found no reason to lift the ban. To do so would be a breach of faith with the residents of Oakland."

Assemblywoman Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro) deserves our thanks for introducing the bill that the governor signed, and for shepherding it through the legislative process. Councilmember Dick Spees saw to it that the City Council expressed its strong opposition to trucks on 580, and the DIA and many Dimond residents wrote letters and e-mails of support for the ban.

Thanks to all these efforts, our neighborhood will stay a far quieter and cleaner place. Well done!

Report on DIA Zoning Issues
By Mike Mannix
Here's what has been happening on the zoning issues that affect our neighborhood.

The DIA succeeded in getting the Dimond Commercial District rezoned last year from C-30 to C-31. This brings us into the same zoning classification as the Laurel, Piedmont, and College Avenue areas.

Although the rezoning will have no short-term effect on the Commercial District, it will insure that we have input into design changes and decisions about the uses of our commercial buildings. One example of a new business use is the possible Goodwill store in the Sprouse-Rietz building.

We have also been successful in reducing the allowed density in residential zones on Fruitvale and Dimond Avenues.

DIA has a history of representing your interests in zoning debates. We have had input into the City's new General Plan and into zoning regulations for residential care facilities, zoning regulations for telecommunications antennas, and the Creek Protection Ordinance.

We have contributed to efforts made by the Laurel, Piedmont Avenue, Leona Heights, and Lakeshore neighborhood organizations to help bring their issues to the forefront and to present the united forces of neighborhood organizations to the City Council and Planning Commission.

Over the years we have helped Dimond neighbors concerned about the impacts of large projects on their streets, such as the Fred Finch expansion, a skilled nursing facility, and several large condominium projects. We have succeeded in getting design changes and use conditions that make such projects fit into Dimond more unobtrusively.

We are now being asked to take a position on the expansion of a Montessori School on Dimond Avenue. The school has applied for a Conditional Use Permit to expand from two lots to four lots and to increase enrollment from about 75 to 200 students.

You can express your opinion about zoning issues like this by attending DIA meetings or sending a message to www.dimondnews.org.

Mike Mannix is the contact person for the Zoning Working Group. Call him to volunteer some time or to offer your suggestions about zoning in Dimond. You can reach him at 530-4539.

Dimond T-Shirts To Wear with Pride
By Linda Farabee
The DIA has worked with the City, local merchants, artist Bud Peen, and Knockout Screen Printing to create T-shirts that promote the Dimond District, and now they are ready.

Peen, the artist who also designed the Dimond street banners, did a beautiful job on the prints for the T-shirts. Some show the new Dimond District logo; others show the forested canyon and Sausal Creek.

To see what the T-shirts look like, you can visit the display at the Dimond Library or at Tito Tayco's office at 2261 MacArthur Blvd.

To see them on Bud Peen's web site click here

Members of DIA can get a T-shirt by making a donation to the DIA of eight dollars or more. You can use the order form enclosed with this newsletter. (You can also use the form to prepay your 2001 annual dues and save a stamp.)

The T-shirts make great gifts and are fun to wear. Treat yourself and your friends!

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