“Virtual City” Proposal for Isla Vista Possible Solution for Castro Valley
Recently introduced California State Assembly Bill 3 (AB 3) could fundamentally change the way unincorporated Isla Vista governs itself and provide a road map for other unincorporated communities to gain more local control. I’ve been studying many different ways that unincorporated communities could govern themselves, and the Eden Area Liveability Initiative (EALI) has …
How the MAC Evolved Through the Years
The Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) was created with a resolution by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors (BOS) on April 7, 1981. Since then, the BOS has revised that resolution five times. These six resolutions have never been posted online. Castro Valley Matters, along with some help from …
Nevada: A Bonanza for Unincorporated Communities
In California, either a county or a city produces the “local government” and municipal services you associate with a city hall and a mayor (unless you’re in San Francisco, which is both a city and a county). We’ve been exploring different models of local governance at Castro Valley Matters because …
Proposed Palomares Hills Housing Development Goes to MAC
At the Monday January 26th Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) meeting a proposal will be up for review that has sparked a loud protest from Palomares Hills residents. The plan calls for development of the vacant parcel between the Palomares Hills Community Center and Fire Station #7 on Villareal …
New Federal rules void MAC cell phone tower ruling
One particular issue that the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council has been particularly passionate about over the past few years has been cell phone transmission towers. They have usually been successful at convincing companies to disguise their poles to avoid visual blight. In fact, at the October 13th MAC meeting, …
Is a comma keeping you from applying for the MAC?
Bad grammar on the FAQ page of the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) page may inadvertently keep new Castro Valley residents from applying to serve on the council. People interested in filling the impending vacancies on the Castro Valley MAC could easily misinterpret the FAQ, incorrectly thinking there is a five year residency requirement for eligibility. In fact, any resident of Castro …
Why Does the MAC Have Seven Members?
The recent announcement of the impending resignation of Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) member Matt Turner reminded me of why the MAC was increased to a membership of seven in the first place. When the MAC was established in 1981 it had five members, all appointed by Supervisor Joe Bort, …
An Update on the Castro Valley Specific Plan Update
On Tuesday January 6th, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors held their regular Planning Committee meeting. One item on the agenda was a recap by Albert Lopez, Director of the Alameda County Planning Department on the status of the major initiatives of the Planning Department. A large part of his recap …
The “Town Council” Movement of LA County
While researching the different ways unincorporated areas around California work with their Counties, I learned about the unique Town Councils of Los Angeles County. They act in an advisory role and are much like a Municipal Advisory Council (MAC,) but are not connected to the county government in any way. …
The Elusive Castro Valley MAC By-laws
Here at Castro Valley Matters, we are curious about the workings of our local government. To that end, we naturally wanted to read over and understand the by-laws of the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC). We had a tough time finding them. The MAC’s by-laws are not posted on the …