Anyone who is interested in the look of our downtown — specifically landscaping on Castro Valley Boulevard — should attend a meeting slated for Wednesday, October 29, at 5 p.m. in the Castro Valley Library. Alameda County is considering changes to the existing plantings, detailed in a press release issued last week by Alameda County Public Works.

In July of 2013, I and 12 others serving on a landscape subcommittee walked Castro Valley Boulevard with John Gibbs, the landscape architect for the project, and Bill Lepere, the deputy director of Public Works to review the project. The landscaping was the last phase of the extensive boulevard improvements. The community had expressed some concern with the results of the project, and this “field trip” allowed us to compare the plan to the implementation. I pointed out that the flowering pear trees planted in the median strips were problematic because they were going to get fireblight (which they have) and would need to be replaced. The group lamented the lack of color, noted that some of the plants were overgrowing the seating benches and felt there were too many grasses. Moreover, the bioretention planting beds — areas designed to retain storm water run-off — were quite unattractive (see sidebar for more details on these beds, which are required for this project).

There were three additional meetings about the landscaping (including a Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council Committee meeting), before the county decided to go with a new consultant — Garden of Eden Landscaping. This new firm met with the subcommittee to hear our ideas on issues and priorities. I stressed the need to maintain low water use and site-appropriate plantings. I also expressed my belief that most of the landscaping was attractive, and that it made sense to concentrate on the worst of the beds — the bioretention beds. I noted that we did not need to remove everything. The new consultant walked the Boulevard with Bill Lepere in September to see the issues first hand. I spoke with Bill shortly afterwards and was encouraged to hear that the consultant also agreed that the entire Boulevard landscaping did not need to be scrapped and that the bioretention beds were the primary issue.

I received a copy of the proposal for the re-landscape design on Friday and was disappointed to see that not only was the entire Boulevard scheduled to be re-landscaped, but the planting choices were not appropriate for the site. The existing landscaping contains mostly plants native to Castro Valley’s summer-dry climate. The existing plantings were chosen after much feedback from the community to reflect the seasonal color of the surrounding hills, while the suggested replacement plantings are not.

In addition to the aesthetic choices, there are practical and legal issues that this proposal does not conform to, including a state law that took effect in 2010 (AB 1881, Chapter 559, 2006 Statutes) that affects ALL landscape projects in California. In addition to new irrigation requirements, projects now have a budget on how much water will be applied to the plants. The goal of this law is to save water — which is especially important during the severe drought conditions we face. A guide developed by the University of California at the direction of the State Department of Water resources is used to measure whether proposed landscaping projects meet this goal. This guide is the universal reference for plant selection regarding the water needs of plants according to their region. According to this guide, this proposed planting plan changes most of the “low water use” plants to “moderate water use” plants. If the entire boulevard is to be re-landscaped, there are better planting choices that can and should be made.

For all of these reasons, not just aesthetics, the proposed changes to Castro Valley Boulevard landscaping must be rejected. These proposed changes are a waste of water, a waste of money, and a waste of time! If you are concerned about the landscaping and want to make your voice heard, please attend the meeting this Wednesday, October 29, at 5pm at the Castro Valley library.

Reference: So What Are “Bioretention Beds?”
You may have noticed the curb cut outs along some of the planting beds along Castro Valley Boulevard. These beds are “bioretention” areas. They filter the storm water and help to increase percolation of our groundwater. All outdoor projects (such as roadways, parking lots, and landscaping projects), can be required to include bioretention areas if they reach certain criteria. The Castro Valley Boulevard project did, which is why it there are cut outs and a bioretention area. In order to function properly, the plant material must capture particulate matter, slow the flow through the beds, and be able to sustain periods of saturation. None of the new plants suggested for the bioretention beds will do this, or can handle the environmental conditions that they will encounter when the beds are submerged. The existing plants in the bioretention beds will do this, and while they can be made more attractive with some modifications, these changes will need to be appropriate while still allowing the bioretention areas to function as they were engineered.