Big Public Works Updates
In Which: New pavement coming to some roads near you, Syrop ties sewer rate increases to austerity politics, and Mayor Salinas supports traffic calming for safety.
Sphinx Virtuosi Comes To Hayward
Submitted by Rachel Braver, Communications and Outreach Analyst at HARD
On March 7th and 8th, DMT Presents the Sphinx Virtuosi, recognized as one of the nation’s most dynamic and celebrated chamber orchestras. This elite self-conducted ensemble is comprised of 18 of the country’s top Black and Latinx classical soloists. Their performances at the Douglas Morrisson Theatre are the only California stop on their 2025 American Form/s tour.
The Sphinx Virtuosi is the flagship ensemble of the Sphinx Organization, a non-profit founded in 1997, that has been at the forefront of reshaping the landscape of classical music. It provides education, artist development, and performance opportunities for underrepresented musicians, helping create a more inclusive and representative future for the arts.
American Form/s weaves a powerful musical tapestry of American classical traditions, incorporating soul, bluegrass, jazz, blues and ragtime influences. This program is a celebration of the diverse sounds that shape our nation’s musical heritage, offering an unforgettable journey through rhythm, melody and emotion, showcasing the future of classical music.
As part of the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District’s Arts Access program, the Sphinx Virtuosi will engage in outreach to District youth to inspire the next generation of musicians. The goal is to make classical music accessible to all by bringing world-class talent to conduct workshops at local schools.
Don’t miss this opportunity to witness the Sphinx Virtuosi live. Whether you’re a longtime lover of classical music or a newcomer eager to discover something extraordinary, this concert promises to move, uplift and inspire.
Friday, March 7; 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 8; 7:30 pm
22311 N. 3rd Street, Hayward, CA
Tickets: $36 at https://bit.ly/SphinxDMT
Consent Items For Tonight’s Council Meeting
The City Council meets tonight, and every week there are things that they don’t really talk about. These are called “Consent Items” because they’re supposed to be non-controversial. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t important. Here’s what the City Council likely won’t be talking about but that you should know.
Pavement Improvement Project Update
Nobody is happy about the state of the roads in Hayward. There are hundreds of miles of streets and they all get a lot of wear and tear. But the next phase of pavement improvement projects are set to be approved and there are some important places that you may want to keep an eye on.
Look for new pavement and bike lanes along D Street and Winton, as well as parts of Amador (by the Courthouse), Cypress Ave, and part of Gading Road. It looks like they’re building out a bike lane network, though the traffic along Winton and D still don’t make for particularly enjoyable rides. At least it should be a bit safer.
If you’re travelling up past CSU East Bay, you can look forward to new pavement and even bike lanes. Not sure how many people will be biking up that hill, but for the hardcore among us, it’ll be a lot nicer with dedicated bike lanes.
If you live in the older neighborhoods around Tennyson and Mission (around Moreau), you can expect some pavement improvement coming your way. There will also be bike lanes on both sides of Industrial—right now you have to travel on a separated bike and pedestrian path on the other side of a culvert. I doubt it’ll be a fun ride, but it should be safer, assuming big rigs aren’t parked in it.
Big Development Coming to B and North Fourth
Upper B street has been a bit of a mess of vacant lots and older homes for a while, primarily because many of them were a part of the 238 Bypass plan that was scrapped in the early 70’s. But a big lot on the corner of North Fourth and B Streets will be approved tonight, making way for 40 single family homes ranging from 1,500 to 2,200 square feet.
Each single family home will have a 2 car garage and at least 3 bedrooms—some of the main bedroom suites are almost 500 square feet! The plan includes a setback from the San Lorenzo/Lisjan Creek that will be under the purview of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife jurisdiction. The plans include two preserved oak trees, new crosswalks on 4th and B with traffic signal modifications, and 14 on-street parking locations in the development for visitors (and overflow resident cars). The developer is also paying to underground the utilities along the B Street frontage.
This development has been a long time in the works. It was first approved by the City Council in 2018, almost 7 years ago. And this still just approves the map, the actual construction can’t start until after it’s approved tonight. So if you travel up B Street regularly, watch out for construction delays in the future.
Emergency Shelter Funded For Next Year
South Hayward Parish will be getting $447,000 to run the City’s only emergency shelter for the next year. Using a combination of General Funds, HEART Program funding, and Federal funds (Community Development Block Grant), the City is making sure that our unhoused neighbors have somewhere to go.
Although South Hayward Parish only has 21 beds, as one of the only walk-in shelters in Alameda County, it provides huge benefits to our unhoused neighbors. As the Staff Report outlines, “There is a positive economic impact from addressing unsheltered homelessness by moving individuals into emergency housing with supportive services to help transition them to more permanent housing opportunities.”
Council Approves Sewer Rate Increases
The City Council approved the proposed sewer rate increases that are needed to pay for the new Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF)—also known as a water treatment plant—that the State of California is forcing Hayward to build. We covered this back in December, when it was first proposed to the City Council. The project is going to cost the City $458,000,000, “By far the most expensive project in the history [of the City],” according to Public Works Director Alex Ameri.
The City is being forced to take out multiple loans at market rates (around 4.5% interest) in order to cover the cost of the WRRF. The comes from the State mandating the construction while offering no money to do so. In order to cover the cost of the 30 year loan, the interest, and create a $34,000,000 reserve fund, sewer rates are going to be increasing about 12% every year for the next 5 years before returning to the usual rate increases of around 3%.
As outlined in our previous story, due to the nature of compounding percentages, a current sewer bill of $44.19 per month will become $75.26 by 2029. But one thing that Director Ameri mentioned multiple times is that the City offers reduced rates for reduced use. Because of that, most people only pay around $30 per month because they use less water, which will make an even bigger difference with the rate hikes.
Councilmember Julie Roche asked if Staff was advocating at the State level for funding, but Staff responded, “We did all that we could.” When the City complained about the cost, “Their response was that doing nothing would be more costly… Our back is against the wall.” He also pointed out that everyone in the Bay Area will be going through this. For example, Union City’s project will be even bigger at $500,000,000 with the same limitations on funding.
Councilmember George Syrop asked if there was a plan to normalize rates after the first 5 years, maybe even reducing them. Staff pointed out that the City is taking out a 30 year loan to fund a project that is six times larger than the largest project ever, so the City can’t even consider dropping rates again until around 2050.
Councilmember Ray Bonilla Jr. asked about both the benefits of the project and the cost of not doing it. Staff said that the State Water Board will apply fines and other consequences to Hayward if we don’t comply. Also, the benefit is preventing algal blooms in the Bay that kill fish and wildlife. “The health of the Bay depends on all agencies doing this work,” Director Ameri said.
Councilmember Angela Andrews, who works for a water agency for her day job, provided further explanation for why this is happening. “In 2022 and 2023 we experienced a red tide,” she said, “but we’re removing the nutrient levels to see if that’s impacting why you’re seeing the dead fish that are coming up on our shores… The State is responding to those issues.”
Councilmember Francisco Zermeno, ever the pragmatist, asked how much it would cost to take a shower with the rate increases. Director Ameri said it would cost between 10 and 11 cents for a 5 minute shower.
Public Speaks Out Against It
Two members of the public spoke out against the sewer rate hikes. One man mentioned that he may not be able to afford the bills since he is retired and on a fixed income. This is always something that needs to be addressed with any increases in necessary bills.
Another man, who owns a small 3 acre ranch in Hayward, lamented his high water bills, saying that he lives in a relatively modest home with only one other person. However, he later recognized that he may use more water than he thought for his ranching business. “Actually,” he said, “in the summer I had sprinklers working and then I was using water to feed my animals.” It is possible that such rates may make it difficult for small farmers in Hayward to remain competitive, however few they may be in number.
A Bitter Pill To Swallow
Councilmember Bonilla set the tone for the rest of the City Council with his opening comments. “Any time we’re increasing rates at this level it’s always very hard and uncomfortable,” he said. “Everything’s getting more expensive already and this is just one more of those things.” When he asked about the fee tiers, Director Ameri mentioned that even having them was novel. “We cannot be more granular than having two rates below the standard,” he said, “but this is a unique feature of Hayward.”
Councilmembers Bonilla and Roche asked for more clear explanations of the rates and the reasons behind them. “I don’t see any way around us not approving this tonight,” Councilmember Roche said, “We’re gonna do this or we’re gonna get sued.”
Councilmember Andrews recognized the need to increase the rates, but also pushed for residents to advocate to their Assemblymembers and State Senators about the financial hardship.
Councilmember Goldstein asked if there was any program available to help residents assess their water efficiencies, similar to how PG&E conducts energy efficiency consultations. However, PG&E is a massive for-profit company while the City is consistently short on resources. Director Ameri pointed out multiple programs that can help, including offering low-flow shower heads and refunding payments due to an unexpected leak that gets resolved, but nothing similar to the efficiency program.
Councilmember Syrop tied the whole thing to systemic defunding of the government. “This dynamic of having residents pay for this massive water treatment project is related to the rising cost of college tuition, to our bridge tolls going up, to healthcare becoming more expensive,” he said. “The phenomenon is called Austerity, and it’s when the government slashes spending and raises taxes on individuals.”
“While I understand why we, as a city, need to pass this rate change, I also want to be clear that making working families—like our Hayward residents—foot the bill for this project and projects of this scale is unfair and unnecessary and we are being forced into this position because the cost of not complying would cost our city more.” The same austerity actions can be blamed for other issues, including the HUSD budget crisis.
As Councilmember Syrop has frequently pointed out on the dais, the United States is the richest country in the world and California is the richest State in the country, so our other governments not paying for this is a choice. We have the money, we’re just not putting it where it matters most.
Traffic Calming On The Mind
The City Council also received an update on the various infrastructure projects going on around the City. One kind of project that took center stage was traffic calming. Councilmember Roche asked about the traffic calming pilot projects. Director Ameri said that the purpose of the pilot projects was to get public input and adjust things as needed.
However, Director Ameri made clear that not all feedback was created equal. “We hear from residents that it takes them longer now to go from the hill area to Jackson through Orchard,” he said. “Well that was part of the plan: to slow down some of the traffic there. But there are a lot of legitimate comments, as well.”
Councilmember Goldstein asked about plans for The Loop that are supposed to be completed by 2028. Director Ameri explained that there are plans for small changes to The Loop in the future, including reducing lanes on Mission Boulevard and adding street parking. The 2028 date is just for the analysis and conceptual design phases of the project, after which they’ll start looking for money to do the work. It was unclear if this was a completely new plan for The Loop from the Downtown Specific Plan that was completed, at great expense, in 2019.
Mayor Mark Salinas closed the discussion by supporting the traffic calming projects, especially in light of two recent hit-and-run accidents that killed pedestrians. “The reason why we’re doing this is because we’re trying to slow people down,” he said. “And if it takes a minute or two more to get past Orchard… then I think that’s okay.” He alleged that incident on Calaroga involved the vehicle going over 80 miles per hour—the speed limit in residential areas is usually 25 miles per hour. “Both victims were in crosswalks,” Mayor Salinas said. “My ask of the public is to give us a little grace.”