The Eden Area Livability Initiative (EALI) Environment/Agriculture working group held their third meeting of 2014 on June 5 at the Castro Valley Library. The meeting covered the progress of the “One Table” partnership, as well as potential fates of some “underused sites” (including the Daughtrey’s building).

One Table

The first “One Table” Meeting was held in mid-May, at which time representatives from several relevant agencies discussed the goals and projects of the EALI Environment/Agriculture working group. They suggested which agencies were ideally suited for each project, and developed a spreadsheet that mapped out their outreach. During our EALI meeting, we discussed the suggested revisions from the recent “One Table” meeting and discussed the specific park and infill projects that were identified by the Environmental Agriculture Group.

We’ve posted the summary of the May One Table meeting [PDF]. On Wednesday night, the EALI group spent some time reviewing the suggested One Table revisions and explained the original intent of our goals to the One Table representatives.

Underused Sites

Marita Hawryluk from the Community Development Agency explained the difficulties in developing and improving underused sites. In addition to the costs of acquiring the parcel, there are significant design and construction costs. The site will need to be managed and funded by a local entity. All of these things would be difficult enough under normal circumstances, but with the dissolution of Redevelopment Agencies, it is nearly impossible to secure new properties. We discussed properties that are currently under county and local agency control.

Mission and Mattox Site
The first of the sites discussed was the site at Mission and Mattox in Hayward. This vacant property was purchased by the Redevelopment Agency and a suitable retailer has not been found for the site.

The Hayward Area Recreational District (HARD) general manager John Gouveia, HARD Superintendent Larry Lepore, and Hilary Bass from Deputy Sheriffs’ Activity League (DSAL)¹ discussed their innovative plan for the location. They propose to turn this site into a unique facility that would include a garden, fitness facilities, health programs, and result in increased public safety. They envision a place where youth can have a circuit course that would surround a food garden, and the portable units would make a boxing ring. There will be two sheriff deputies assigned to the site and there will be additional community activities for the site. This idea sounds fabulous. Portable units and design layouts have all been donated and the project has the support of HARD, DSAL, and Supervisor Miley. The word “synergy” was used several times and it sums up this excellent proposal.

San Lorenzo Village Site
The San Lorenzo Village site has some challenges, the primary one being that it is privately owned, and the County does not have the funding to purchase it.

Daughtrey’s Building
The Daughtrey’s Building on Castro Valley Boulevard has an offer from a developer that is nearly complete, and will be revealed at the Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting on June 24 during closed session. This proposal will then be made public and voted on at the next BOS meeting. Supervisor Miley mentioned that CVUSD Superintendent Jim Negri has recently expressed an interest in the Daughtrey’s site if the existing development plan does not move forward.

Cull Canyon Lake
Finally, Moses Tsang, a representative from Alameda County Flood Control, discussed the Cull Canyon Lake property. He explained that the site has a great deal of silt, and even if it were to be dredged, it would quickly fill up again. The current plan is to lower the height of the spillway and create a channel through the existing lake, with raised sides that could be used for recreation again as a picnic or outdoor recreational use.

Next Meeting

On July 30, there will be an EALI Joint Leadership Committee meeting, where all of the EALI groups will give updates as to their progress in implementing their goals.

¹Per the DSAL website, “The Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs’ Activities League, Inc. (DSAL) was started by members of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office in September of 2004 to create recreational and educational opportunities for children in the Unincorporated Areas of the county. The program was also started with an eye toward building relationships between deputies and the area’s youth and adults, with particular focus on those youth considered to be at risk of falling prey to the pitfalls of the streets.”