More Public Input Sought for CV Business District

On Wednesday, March 13, the Alameda County Planning Department’s Community Development Agency (CDA) is hosting a public workshop to discuss improving the Castro Valley Central Business District Specific Plan. The event will be held at the Castro Valley Library between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.

What will Castro Valley look like in the next 20 years? County officials want to hear from you… in person.

On Wednesday, March 13, the Alameda County Planning Department’s Community Development Agency (CDA) is hosting a public workshop to discuss improving the Castro Valley Central Business District Specific Plan. The event will be held at the Castro Valley Library between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. But if you want to really make your voice heard, organizers say you have to come to the event. 

“We are anticipating a robust participatory workshop, so we are encouraging folks to show up in person rather than online,” said CDA Assistant Planning Director Rodrigo Orduña. “If folks only want to observe the workshop, they can log onto Zoom.”

The Castro Valley Business District Specific Plan (CVBDSP) covers approximately 288 acres and 763 parcels, which make up four of Castro Valley’s commercial and mixed-use zones: the Central Business District on Castro Valley Boulevard, the Medical Center area on Lake Chabot Road, the BART Transit Village, and the Rite Aid parcel to the east.

Next week’s workshop is the third official public feedback and brainstorming session hosted by the county. Previous workshops were held on May 3 and October 23, 2023. Attendees are expected to break up into smaller groups based on their interests and discuss opportunities and priorities.

The county will continue to gather public feedback for the rest of the year. The County Board of Supervisors and the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Committee (MAC) are expected to debate and vote on a final version of the Downtown Plan by the end of 2025.  

“We invite residents to speak up and definitely get their friends and neighbors to speak up. The more voices that say what they want, the more it can shape the direction of the downtown plan,” Orduña told the Forum. 

Orduña added that the CVBDSP is expected to incorporate more support for bicycle and pedestrian traffic as well as align with the 2012 Castro Valley General Plan and the 2006 Castro Valley Redevelopment Strategic Plan.

The most discussed aspects of the plan usually include policies and standards for zoning, landscaping, and building designs. Some items earmarked for change include a revitalized streetscape project along Castro Valley Boulevard, “gateway” signs on the western, eastern, and southern entrances of the Downtown Business District, and a mixed-use office and retail complex at the Castro Valley BART Station site.

“Change is coming whether we want it or not,” resident and Castro Valley City representative Gary Howard told the Forum. “The specific plan is our most important tool to direct that change to where we, as a community, want it. We want to do it right, and that takes two things: local involvement and time.”

For those able to show up in person, the workshop will be held at the Castro Valley Library on Norbridge Avenue in the Chabot Room. The meeting will be broadcast on Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89516890941?pwd=QlkxVFUrZEo3VThWbnNXT2JteTdEQT09 

For updates and more information on the project, visit cvgpimplementation.com/