Moraga Council Deals With Sound Issues; An Abandoned Home; and Sheds a Little Light Around Town

If you like local politics and who in Moraga doesn't, right, you might check out Wednesday night's meeting of the Moraga Town Council.

On the agenda for the evening will be an update on the town's marathon struggle to abate a public nuisance presented by the gradual decay of an abandoned home at - left to crumble by a homeowner who left the home and departed for the Middle East several years ago.

Dilapidated and frequently used as a "party house" by local teens, the residence became the focus of a seesaw battle between the town and lawyers representing the absentee owner. And all while seething neighbors dealt with a prolific vermin population and midnight visitors who eventually stripped the house of anything of value.

Look for an update on the situation Wednesday.

Also on the agenda is a formal reintroduction of language addressing the town's position on "sponsored" community events using . The town, you may remember, attempted to remove itself from what it said was the prospect of vexatious litigation from residents impacted by noise from these events by declaring itself exempt from the very regulations it applied to the citizenry.

This did not sit well with a local appellate court, which found in favor of one local woman upset by the town's approach to regulating noise from the town's summer concert series. The town is expected to officially rescind an ordinance amending changes it attempted to make to its General Plan regarding noise.

And as if this wasn't enough to keep town-watchers interested, the council is expected to approve an agreement with PG&E to upgrade 135 streetlights around town to - at a cost not to exceed $115,000.

The council is also expected to receive an update on the activities of the Subcommittee and to authorize Town Manager Jill Keimach to extend a contract with the Lew Edwards Group for an additional $27,000 to "further the community outreach for the town’s street repair needs."

A busy night. We'll see who turns up.