Eden Area Redevelopment District
| San Lorenzo Express |
Planning Issues in the Eden Unincorporated Area
Public Discussion
Proposals for land development are presented in advance at the regular meetings of local community associations: the San Lorenzo Village Homes Association, the Ashland Area Community Association, and Cherryland Community Association. Many development proposals require approval by the county, either by the Board of Zoning Adjustments or the Planning Commission, after a public hearing. For information about community meetings and hearings on applications for conditional land use permits, variances, and rezoning, check the following:
County Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustment agendas |
Eden Area Redevelopment District
In 2009 the Alameda County Redevelopment Agency began a study as a first step in expanding the Eden Area Redevelopment District to include all residential properties in unincorporated Eden Township. As of May 7, 2010, there has been no word on this study.
In 2011, immediately upon taking office, Governor Jerry Brown proposed elimination of all redevelopment agencies in the state as part of a larger proposal to restructure the state's fiscal system. A new agency would be created to complete existing contracts and wind up the affairs of local redevelopment agencies. On June 28, 2011 Gov. Brown signed a state budget that includes two bills (ABX1 26 and ABX1 27) that effectively eliminate most redevelopment agencies in the state. To qualify for continuation, a redevelopment agency would have to transfer sizable funds to the local school district. The Alameda County Redevelopment Agency board (all county supervisors) voted to continue operating.
Several cities challenged the ability of the legislature to take such action. At the end of 2011 the California Supreme Court ruled that the legislature has the power to abolish redevelopment agencies and the option for existing agencies to continue was unlawful. (See California Redevelopment Association v. Matosantos -- link is to PDF file at the California appellate courts website). As a result, all agencies would be dissolved by Feb. 1, and local communities would have to create successor agencies to wind up the affairs of the former redevelopment agencies.
On Jan. 10 the Alameda County Board of Supervisors appointed itself the successor agency of the redevelopment agency. By May it must appoint an oversight board, which will report to the state Department of Finance. All meetings, decisions, and reports of the board of supervisors and the oversight board concerning allocation of funds formerly under the control of the redevelopment agency are public, and all documents must be posted on the website of the successor of the redevelopment agency.
The director of the former redevelopment agency, Eileen Dalton, will be in charge of winding up the affairs of the former agency (tel. 670-6509, e-mail edalton@co.alameda.ca.us).
For background on redevelopment in the unincorporated communities see:
Redevelopment of the San Lorenzo Village Square
The agency, Civic Partners, and the Bohannon Organization continued to negotiate both the plan and the business terms of implementation. In August 2005 and May 2006 the agency released revised master plans (see below). On Nov. 1, 2006 the Alameda County Redevelopment Agency terminated its commitment to fund the Civic Partners plan in light of ongoing uncertainty whether Albertson's Stores would be interested in building a new store in San Lorenzo.
Subsequently, Albertson's sold its stores in northern California to Save Mart, which renamed the stores "Lucky". In August 2007 Save Mart signed a letter of intent to build a new market in San Lorenzo. The terms of the letter required significant changes in the master plan for the Civic Partners development (see below).
The county board of supervisors on July 31, 2007 required the Redevelopment Agency to negotiate with Civic Partners on a development agreement, to be completed by the end of October.
Between 2002 and 2007 Civic Partners came up with six different plans for development:
On January 30, 2008 the Redevelopment Agency terminated its "exclusive right to negotiate" agreement with Civic Partners because of a lack of progress in four years.
Since then the Bohannon Organization has undertaken on its own to draw up development plans. It had announced that a plan would be presented to the public in December 2009, at a meeting of the county Redevelopment Agency's Citizens Advisory Committee for San Lorenzo, but no details were provided at that meeting. (See What's in Store for San Lorenzo's Commercial District?, Oct. 20, 2009.) At the committee's meetings in March and May of 2010 the Bohannon Organization still had not come up with any firm planning details other than the announcement that Save Mart (Lucky Stores) is no longer interested in building a new store here.
In summer 2011 the Bohannon Organization met with a few selected residents of San Lorenzo to present a plan to construct a Golden Corral restaurant on the site of the old Mervyn's store. Golden Corral is a national chain of almost 500 cafeteria-type restaurants, similar to Hometown Buffet.
Historic Preservation Ordinance
The ordinance was approved by the county board of supervisors on Jan. 10, 2012.
East Bay Greenway 
The project is funded in part by the Measure B Bicycle and Pedestrian grant program and is being managed by the Alameda County Transportation Commmission.
Since the amount needed to complete the 12-mile long pathway is not likely to be secured at one time, the project is expected to be implemented in stages. As of 2011, funds have been obtained for a segment of the pathway between 75th and 85th avenues, connecting with the Coliseum BART station.
KIPP High School Expansion
KIPP Bay Area Schools plans significant construction at the site to support the high school (classrooms, library, gymnasium and administrative offices).
An assessment of the environmental impacts of the original plan was released to the public Sept. 9, 2009, and the San Lorenzo Unified School District issued a notice of intent to adopt a "mitigated negative declaration" (no significant environmental impacts if certain mitigation measures are put in place).
Following a contentious public meeting on Sept. 15, 2009, KIPP Schools revised its plan for the campus. The new plan was presented at a public meeting Oct. 20.
The environmental assessment was revised to reflect the new plan. A copy of the revised assessment is available at the San Lorenzo Library, or a digital copy on CD can be obtained from the KIPP office at the via Barrett campus. The period for submitting written comments on the environmental report was Nov. 3 through Dec. 2.
The school closed the public walkway that runs through the campus from via Barrett, across San Lorenzo Creek, and into San Leandro, without consulting county or school district officials.
KIPP had announced that it hoped to begin construction of some parts of the campus in the fall of 2010 and was attempting to secure non-state funds, but by January 2011 KIPP's plans for construction had been delayed by lack of state funds. In the meantime KIPP added five portable classrooms next to existing portables to accomodate the growth in students.
In February 2012 KIPP announced it had received state funds to proceed with construction and convened a community meeting for Feb. 6 (see calendar of public meetings).
For more information contact Tracy Hanna at 510.465.5477 ext. 34 or tracy.hanna [AT] kippbayarea.org See the website KIPP Bay Area Schools. If you wish to be notified by e-mail of meetings or planned action, contact Jason Singer, principal of the San Lorenzo KIPP schools, at jsinger [AT] kippking.org .
San Lorenzo Library
The county hired a private firm to gather community views on a new library in a series of meetings in 2004. These meetings were very poorly attended; the effort ended with a report in the fall of 2004. The advisory committee continues to meet, but infrequently and irregularly.
In 2008 the county library administration proposed using funds from the Eden Redevelopment District for "renovation" of the library interior on the grounds that a new library is more than five years away. In addition, there was talk of investing six to eight million dollars in remodeling of the existing facility in lieu of a new library.
Renovation of the library was undertaken and completed in 2010. The principal work was raising the floor in order to lay a network of cables for the library's electronic equipment, installation of new shelving, and a new librarian service desk.
County Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker, who left office at the end of 2010, pushed for limited expansion of the library facility at its present site. The Citizens Advisory Committee for San Lorenzo Redevelopment recommended at its May 2010 meeting that up to $10 million in redevelopment district funds be spent on the expansion.
Supervisor Lai-Bitker's successor, Wilma Chan, continued to make expansion a redevelopment spending priority. However, the state legislature prohibited any new spending by redevelopment agencies as of July 2011, and as of Feb. 1, 2012 all redevelopment agencies in the state were dissolved (see separate report here).
The San Lorenzo Village Homes Association, which owns the land on which the library sits, on Jan. 25, 2012 approved a new 50-year lease to the county that would include additional land for the expansion. The county board of supervisors approved the lease on Jan. 31.
The staff report to the supervisors concerning the lease states that no funding for the expansion is currently authorized, since spending by the former Alameda County Redevelopment Agency was prohibited by the legislature as of July 2011. It is unlikely the county will be able to come up with the estimated $10 million needed for the expansion in the foreseeable future, in view of the severe spending cutbacks the county has had to make in recent years.
The maximum-size new building that would fit in the present site would be about 10,000 square feet, with no additional parking. This would leave the library service area (San Lorenzo, Ashland, Cherryland, and western hillside neighborhoods) with a library that is one-half the size of an "adequate" facility for the population served (about 65,000).
A Bay Bridge from San Lorenzo?
The MTC created a Bay Crossing Policy Committee to recommend policy choices based on the "Bay Crossings Study". The committee conveyed its preliminary recommendations to MTC in a June 19, 2002 memo, which included: "3. When the RTP is next updated, add the new Mid-Bay Bridge and widening of the San Mateo Bridge to the list of "Blueprint" projects in the RTP. These are projects of continuing interest to the public but do not yet have consensus and/or identified funding."
However, on Aug. 2, 2002 the committee voted by a narrow margin to "remove the proposed bridge from further consideration," and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission adopted this position.
Nevertheless, in 2010 the Bay Bridge Toll Authority (which is simply MTC wearing another hat) allocated funds to reassess options from the 2002 study -- including a new midbay crossing (see story) -- and evaluate new alternatives. The study was expected to be completed in October or November 2011 and presented to the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) Oversight Committee.
At the September 2011 meeting of the BATA Oversight Committee, the consultant hired to do the new study reported to the committee that several options in the 2002 study, including a new mid-bay bridge, were not financially feasible at this time. Accordingly, BATA staff and the consultant are focusing on upgrades to the three existing bridges (SF Bay Bridge, San Mateo Bridge, and Dumbarton Bridge).
County's Climate Action Plan
In December 2010 a draft plan was presented to the county board of supervisors. A final plan was approved by the board on June 28, 2011.
A copy of the final plan, as well as related documents, is available at Community Climate Action Plan. For information contact Bruce Jensen, Senior Planner, Alameda County Planning Dept., 224 West Winton Ave., Hayward 94544 (bruce.jensen@acgov.org, tel 670-5400, fax 785-8793).
Eden Area General Plan Revision
The draft plan was released Oct. 14, 2005, and is available in the San Lorenzo and Castro Valley libraries and on the Web at Eden Area Plan. Copies of the plan are also available from the county planning department, Cindy Horvath (tel. 670-5400, cindy.horvath@acgov.org). The deadline for written comments was mid March 2006. A series of public meetings on the plan were held in 2006.
The draft final plan and draft final environmental impact report (EIR) were released at the beginning of April 2007. The plan was reviewed by the county planning commission on April 16 and in a special community meeting April 25. Adoption of the plan was stalled because of a controversy over inclusion of hillside neighborhoods in the "El Portal Ridge" area. The county board of supervisors voted to remove the neighborhoods from the plan, and the plan had to be revised to reflect that change.
After a year's delay, the county planning staff described new ideas and proposed changes in the general plan at a community meeting on July 22, 2008. The principal changes are changes in the plan boundary (see above) incorporation of measures to reduce "greenhouse gas emissions".
The final plan and the revised final environmental impact report (EIR) were released Oct. 2, 2009. Copies of both documents are at the Castro Valley and San Lorenzo libraries. A CD can be requested from the county planning department (670-5400). The period for commenting on the EIR in writing ends Nov. 2. A public meeting on the plan was held Oct. 14. The plan was reviewed at the planning commission on Oct. 19, at the board of supervisors Unincorporated Services Committee on Oct. 28, and again at the planning commission on Nov. 16.
The plan was finally adopted by the board of supervisors on March 30, 2010.
See Eden Area Plan for additional information on the Eden Area Plan.
Housing Element of the County's General Plan
A revised draft Housing Element was released to the public for comment on Oct. 22. The deadline for written comments is Nov. 30. An environmental assessment of the updated Housing Element was also released. Both documents are available in the San Lorenzo, Castro Valley, and Hayward libraries, as well as at the county Community Development Agency office, suite 111, 224 West Winton Ave., Hayward, and on the web (see below).
The Housing Element was finally adopted by the board of supervisors on March 30, 2010.
Future of San Lorenzo Bayshore Industrial Area
Russell City Electric Power Plant
In 2006 Calpine applied for an amendment to its original facility plan. New concerns were raised about the possibility that the plant's pipestack emissions may disturb the stability of airplanes flying over the plant to land at Hayward and Oakland airports. Nevertheless, the plant was approved October 3, 2007 by the state Energy Commission. Alameda County and several citizens petitioned the commission to reopen the proceedings on the grounds that people outside the City of Hayward had not been adequately notified of the proceedings. The petitions were denied and a lawsuit against the Energy Commission was filed.
For information on the project and official notices, visit the California Energy Commission website for the Russell City Power Plant (Amendment Proceeding).
Potential Revision of County Zoning Ordinances
As of spring 2009 committee meetings have been put on hold while the planning staff decides whether to continue with the committee.
Replacement of Bockman Retail Center with Homes
The company presented its first public conceptual plan, for 104 homes, at a public meeting April 19, 2005. About 400 people attended the meeting. The company's second conceptual plan was presented on July 13 at an "open house" (no formal meeting). The only change was a reduction in homes to 99 and addition of single retail building of 4,500 sq. ft. The plan was changed again in a presentation to the planning commission on Feb. 21. The commission reviewed a plan for 82 houses and recommended approval if the amount of commercial space was increased to 7,000 square feet.
The draft environmental impact report (EIR) on the project was released in October 2005. Copies are available from the county planning department (670-5400). The final EIR was released Feb. 3, 2006. The planning commission conducted a hearing on the EIR at its Feb. 21 meeting and recommended certification.
The county board of supervisors certified the EIR and approved the subdivision on April 6, 2006.
Bayside Groundwater Project
Lewelling Boulevard Improvements
I-238 Widening
The environmental analysis is available in Braille, large print, on audiocassette, or computer disk. A copy is available in the San Lorenzo Library. For more information contact Dennis Radel at CalTrans (tel. 286-6214, TTY 800.735.2929).
The widening project was formally approved by CalTrans on June 25, 2004.
The environmental impact report (EIR) on the Specific Plan was made public in late June 2003 and subsequently certified by the county board of supervisors at the same time the board approved the Specific Plan. Copies of the EIR are available at the San Lorenzo Library. The EIR was intended to cover any master development plan conforming with the Specific Plan.
Impact of Chain Stores on Community
How Big Will That Proposed Store Be?
Littering the Landscape with Dead Malls
The Shils Report: Measuring the Economic and Sociological Impact of the Mega-Retail Discount Chains on Small Enterprise in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Communities.
Local Stores Create Triple the Economic Activity of Chain Stores
See the archive of model public policies at Home Town Advantage.
Association of Bay Area Governments: Planning Projects and Topics
Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition -- The coalition is composed of over 60 organizations that encourage public agencies, private developers, and groups of concerned citizens to promote policies and take actions leading to a Bay Area with intelligent, sustainable land use patterns and an efficient and equitable transportation system.
Urban Ecology -- Assists diverse constituencies engaged in changing their land use and building patterns. "We connect individuals to their neighborhoods, neighborhoods to cities, and cities to the entire Bay Area region."
Urban Habitat Program -- Dedicated to building multicultural urban environmental leadership for socially just, ecologically sustainable communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Futures Network -- Affiliates are united in the belief that California should steer public and private investments toward existing developed areas; provide for increased social justice, economic, and housing opportunities; and conserve the state's agricultural and natural lands.
Congress for the New Urbanism -- Advocates the restructuring of public policy and development practices to support the restoration of existing urban centers and towns within coherent metropolitan regions. CNU stands for the reconfiguration of sprawling suburbs into communities of real neighborhoods and diverse districts.
Institute for Local Self Reliance -- Information on environmentally sound economic development strategies.
National Neighborhood Coalition
Resources for Urban Design Information -- A worldwide perspective on good urban design.
Smart Growth America -- A nationwide coalition promoting a better way to grow; one that protects farmland and open space, revitalizes neighborhoods, keeps housing affordable, and makes communities more livable.
Sprawl Busters -- Information on communities fighting construction of mega-stores, the giant WalMarts, Home Depots, etc.
STATE AND NATIONAL
