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OTHER LINKS AND INFORMATION SCHA Board Member Listing Local Trail Map Regional Trail Map City PWA Call Center Contact the PWA Call Center to report dumping, graffiti, pot holes, drainage problems, fallen trees, etc. Phone: (510) 615-5566 More information here>> Neighborhood Graffiti Busters Residents who volunteer to clean up graffiti from the interpretive signs along the trail.

SCHA Design Review Committee

The SCHA Design Review Committee reviews applications for new homes in Shepherd Canyon, works with the City planning department and the most impacted neighbors to help articulate the neightbors concerns to the city planning department. The DR committee also comments on overall city planning and zoning policy to the city based on what we see in our reviews. We have gotten some traction with the city on two long standing deficiencies in the planning standards.

First, the city standards for size of home relative to lot size, specifically exclude any lots over 20% slope, which is most of us in the hills. Secondly, the City Design Review manual, for residential projects, also excludes lots over 20% slope from its Criterean 8, Neighborhood Consistancy. See our website under Design Review for our complete comments. Other tools available on the SCHA web site include a parcel inventory map that shows all of the remaining undeveloped parcels in the canyon. Most people are surprised to learn that we have over 200 lots left to be developed. The maps helps to identify if a vacant lot is truly set aside as parkland, or if its zoned residential and then if it is currently privately or city owned.

The DR committee has had a change in leadership. We owe a great debt of thanks for the many years of effort Claudia Falconer has contributed, working to make sure the concerns of nieghbors (not to mention the interests of the future occupant) are reflected in our comments to the city planning department. Claudia, a Shepherd Canyon resident, and an architect by profession, with office in Montclair Village, has taken a new leadership role as President of the Montclair Village Assocaiton of Merchants. She will be working on many things there inlcuding the streetscape improvements. We wish her luck.

We are very fortunate to have Michael Lighty, a former Oakland Planning Commisoner, take the leadership of design review. Michael will do a great job representing our interests and maintaining a strong relationship with the planning department.