MAC Meeting: State Plan Asks CV to Create 4,000 New Places to Live
The State of California says more than 4,000 new housing sites must be built in the County’s unincorporated areas over the next several years—but where will they go?
At its meeting this Monday, the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) heard yet another update on the Housing Element of the County General Plan.
During the information-only item (no vote was taken), County staff told the MAC that higher-density housing would be necessary to meet the community’s needs.
The County says 1,251 units of very low-income housing (households earning less than 50 percent of the area median income), 721 units of low-income housing (50 to 80 percent of median income), 763 units of moderate-income housing (80 to 120 percent of area median income), and 1,976 units of above-moderate-income housing (over 120 percent of area median income) need to be created by 2031. About 1,777 total would be allocated to Castro Valley.
Major sites identified locally as possible areas for new housing development include the Bay Fair BART station parking lot, the Sheriff’s substation at Foothill Boulevard and 150th Avenue, and the First Presbyterian site adjacent to Trader Joe’s.
Additionally, the Castro Valley BART station area and the Lucky’s grocery store area could be potential future housing sites. There are no firm plans for construction, which will occur as the developers and the market dictate, just a broad plan for housing needs.
There will be further opportunity for public comment on the Housing Element at the September 16 County Planning Commission meeting. You can learn more about the Housing Element at www.acgov.org/cda/planning/housing-element/draft-element.htm; public comments are open until September 23. The draft will then be submitted to the State Department of Housing and Community Development for a 60-day review, as state law prescribes. After the State tells the County whether the draft Housing Element is consistent with state statute, another round of public meetings will be held. Then, the County Board of Supervisors will be asked to approve the final document.
In other MAC land use news, the Council approved a plan to allow the construction of a parking garage at a single-family residence at 16551 Russel Court and the construction of a single-family dwelling on a vacant lot on Robey Drive at the intersection of 170th Avenue.
The MAC also approved a permit to continue operating the 80-acre Sequoians recreation facility at 10200 Cull Canyon Road- the nude members-only club.
The Sequoians facility has been operating since 1947. It is a privately operated, clothing-optional camping and recreation club with an office, recreation hall, swimming pool, snack bar, seven cottages, tent area, RV areas, and a variety of recreation facilities and hiking trails.
The new permit doesn’t have a request for new/ additional construction, just continued operation.
Although the Sequoians have been operating quietly for close to 80 years, there was some push back in extending their permit due to Measure D, the 2000 legislature, which limits construction in the Canyonlands in order to protect open space.
“We aren’t allowed to do something or anything with our property since Measure D passed,” said one speaker. “I don’t think it's fair for the rest of us in the Canyons.”
The new permit doesn’t have plans for new/ additional construction, just continued operation.
MAC Chair Chuck Moore did question whether the facility would be permitted if it were proposed as new construction today, but ultimately the MAC unanimously approved the permit, as the Sequoians long pre-dated Measure D.
Speaker Bruce King of the Friends of the San Lorenzo Creek said he wants to ensure the pool and spa drainage site is well-identified and away from the Creek.
“It’s not okay to drain things into the Creek,” said King. The MAC made pool/ chlorination elements a condition of their approval.