Clayton springs into action this month
Spring has sprung; the trees are blooming, the poppies, tulips and daffodils are shining in the sunshine and our town’s landscape is waking up from its winter rest. The calendar is getting busy too. A few quick date reminders of activities about town:
• Friday, April 12 – Sunday, April 14: Clayton Community Library Foundation Used Book Sale. Proceeds support our library
• Monday, April 15, 7-9 p.m: Fire Station Closure Sub-Committee meeting at Hoyer Hall, Clayton Community Library. The subcommittee members are council members Jim Diaz and David Shuey. Agenda posted on city website at www.ci.clayton.ca.us
• Wednesday, April 17, serving 5:30-7:30 p.m.: AAUW Spaghetti Feed fundraiser at Endeavor Hall. $10 adults, $5 kids 6-12, under 6 free. Proceeds support TechTrek camperships for girls.
• Monday, April 22, 6-9 p.m.: Plan Bay Area Public Hearing and Open House at Walnut Creek Marriott – see below for more information on this.
• Saturday April 27 has two opportunities to help clean up our community – try to do both.
– 9 a.m.-12 p.m.: Clayton Cleans Up! Meet at the City Hall courtyard. Pick up trash around town, and then enjoy a BBQ lunch for workers at City Hall. Perfect family or Scout activity.
– All day: Comcast Cares California will be partnering with Clayton Valley Charter High School for a campus clean-up and beautification day. Visit claytonvalley.org to sign up and fill out waivers required to work. BBQ included for workers.
• Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5: Art & Wine Festival on Main Street in Clayton
• Saturday May 11, 8am to noon: Farmers Market opens on Diablo St downtown.
• Saturday May 11, 6-8:30pm: Concert in The Grove season opener with The Sun Kings.
Plan Bay Area
You have likely read about Plan Bay Area, recently released by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments, where I serve as vice president. Plan Bay Area is a long-range land-use/housing and transportation plan for the San Francisco Bay Area.
Plan Bay Area responds to state law. Senate Bill 375, passed in 2008, requires regions such as the Bay Area to plan for needed housing growth while reducing emissions from cars and light trucks. One of the advantages of this law is that your local elected officials, and not legislators in Sacramento, are at the table making decisions on what’s best for our communities.
My job as your representative is to ensure that the plan positions Clayton and Contra Costa for the best possible future in terms of transportation, housing and economic development. That means keeping all land-use decisions local, preserving what we love about our cities and farmlands, working to unclog our highways and maintain our local streets, and encouraging business development and jobs where it makes sense – while still making room for future generations.
Plan Bay Area concentrates new growth towards the center of our region in large cities like San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose and in locally selected areas near transit. It encourages local communities to plan for future growth in a way that honors their own local priorities.
Our existing Clayton neighborhoods will see no change. We will continue to plan for a vibrant town center with additional housing, shops and services to reinvigorate our business district. If you’d like to learn more about Plan Bay Area, please go to www.OneBayArea.org or come to the public hearing at the Marriott in Walnut Creek on April 22.. I’ll be there!
As always, you can contact me by email at Julie_Pierce@comcast.net. Let me know what you think!