Two Housing Proposals Top MAC Meeting
photo (courtesy Alameda County Planning Department): preliminary drawing of the proposed mixed-use residential and commercial project at 20226 and 20248 Redwood Road.
The Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) heard informational items on two potential large land-use projects at their virtual meeting Monday night.
First up was a preliminary site review of a mixed-use development with two three-story buildings at 20226 and 20248 Redwood Road near Jamison Way. Originally zoned for single-family residential use in the 1950s and 60s, the parcels have since been shifted to retail and commercial in the intervening decades.
Most recently in 2017, developer David Langon submitted an application to allow the construction of a project that would include 13 residential units and 3,600-square-feet of commercial space, but he eventually withdrew that plan before it ever went to the MAC.
The current project is just slightly different as it calls for 3,000-square-feet of commercial space and 13 residential units, with a main commercial space in the front and two additional smaller commercial units as well as the living areas mixed in throughout instead of only in the upper floors.
The MAC did not make any formal recommendations at this week’s meeting and the few public comments made indicated a wariness about bringing in commercial space when residential space is scarce in Castro Valley and more desirable.
Alameda County Assistant Planning Director Rodrigo Orduna reminded the MAC that new state ordinances make fast-tracking such developments easier in order to meet the state’s housing needs- some traffic and parking rules are no longer considered impacts to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
“California is in a bit of a housing crunch,” said Orduna. “All of these state rules pretty much lead to local jurisdictions having limited justification. It leaves the onus on the community to prove the projects would be a definite detriment, not just inconvenient with traffic.”
The MAC also heard from City Ventures, a San Francisco-based developer, about a proposed mixed-use condominium development at 3765 and 3789 Castro Valley Boulevard the site of the former Tra Tel Trailer Park. The properties are steps away from the Castro Valley Library and a short walk along Norbridge Avenue to the Castro Valley BART station.
The plan calls for 47 three-bedroom condo units of 1,400 to 1,600-square-feet as well as 4,400-square-feet of retail space.
“I’m happy to see something new come to this (east) end of the Boulevard,” said MAC member Shannon Killebrew. “It may encourage more retail there.”