Feel Good Endings
Housing development jumps through the right hoops to get approved, A and A Billiards will be able to sell beer, and BONUS: a Rental Registry is on the horizon.
Planning Commission
There was a lot of important stuff on the Consent Calendar for City Council so I decided to do Planning Commission later as its own thing to save y’all some reading. This last week’s meeting was quite a bit shorter with three commissioners absent, including the Chair. Let’s see what we have on offer.
Eden Village Is Back Again!
I covered the conversation around Eden Village back when it first came to the Planning Commission in October. The main concerns that the PC laid out were with JADUs, the mailbox security, the tree plan (especially a big ol’ redwood in the back), and the general “uninspiring and drab” architectural style. The Commission came within a hair’s breadth of outright denying the development until City Staff stepped in to let the developer actually address the concerns.
Let’s take a look at what they came back with.
They made some changes to the design to include different materials, colors, and roof lines. In my opinion, they’re still very minor variations on the same general theme, but that’s what small lot subdivisions1 are going to be, no matter what.
Moved the mailbox from the front of the property (convenient for mail carriers and the general public), to the rear of the property (likely more secure).
Increased security of the JADU’s by including solid-core doors (like an exterior door) to console Commissioners Ali-Sulivan and Franco-Claussen’s2 concerns about safety.
Including 2 additional solar panels on each roof, going a good ways beyond the requirement
Added a second rain barrel for each house
Donating usable lumber from the removed trees to the La Vista Park, and will use to rest to make benches and art and stuff for the development, and will use the chips from the rest around the development.
Protecting the big redwood even further with a rolled curb and protective boulders
Remember how I said the Planning Commission was powerful? They literally said “Jump” and the developer asked “Is this high enough for you?” Considering there’s a good chance at least one of the more vocally dissenting Commissioners approved at least one of the previous identical developments, it’s notable how much housing wants to be developed in Hayward (which everyone agrees should be done) and how one appointed commission can make or break developments.
Given human nature, the Planning Commission’s power to approve or deny projects, and the zoning that forces almost any density increase to apply for a Planned Development variance, and the desperate need for housing… it’s a wonder as much gets built as it does. It truly is a shame that a true zoning overhaul isn’t on the horizon3.
Also, hat tip to City Staff for some of their analysis slides seeming to speak directly to the Commissioners. They highlighted how the development is in “substantial harmony with the surrounding area”, it creates an environment of “sustained desirability and stability”, will have “no adverse effect on the surrounding neighborhood”, and that any exceptions are “adequately offset or compensated” providing for a “high quality and attractive development.” It was also stated multiple times that the developer will help the neighborhood by taking care of the blighted old housing and making sure more unhoused folks don’t move in.4
Commissioner Comments
There were some questions around impact fees and JADUs from Commissioner Patterson, especially how the impact fees were calculated. There wasn’t a real answer found on this item because it wasn’t submitted in advance, but City staff will likely charge whatever the going rate is. The confusion was whether or not the JADUs counted as extra bedrooms as the impact fees are counted per bedroom. Honestly, over the course of the whole project, they’re pretty nominal, so I doubt the developer really cared that much.
Commissioner Goodbody liked the idea of repurposing the trees for items in and around the development. However she, perhaps unknowingly, showed a flaw with how this whole process works when she commented that the Commission should “while looking at one project, try to make decisions that benefit the community” as a whole. But when this particular condition of approval comes up for a single development, and literally no other development that’s come before the commission (at least since August), then it looks like an attack on this particular development.
And the developer likely believed that, too. Considering Vice Chair Lowe admitted that she toured one of the previous developments with the developer and chatted with residents. The developer bent over backward to get these people to approve the project, and continue to do so. When Vice Chair Lowe suggested, after having talked with a resident on the tour, adding extra insulation between floors and/or rooms (which is not standard practice) as a condition of approval, the developer agreed5.
Vice Chair Lowe also continued to press on the 77” diameter redwood tree and asked what would happen if, against the odds, the tree died. Considering a like-sized tree can’t be installed, there would be some combination of fees and/or planting multiple trees to make up for it. Many trees are already planning to be removed because of the extra solar panels that the Commission pushed for.
The previous owner of one of the homes that will be demolished for this development even called in to support the project. There was a lot of talk about benefit to the neighborhood and, doubtless, there’s some financial incentive in there. Thankfully, in the end, Commissioner Stevens, who tried to tank the project initially, moved to approve the project. It sailed through without issue.
A and A Billiards To Sell Beer
After the last fire at Chalk It Up on Foothill, Hayward was without a pool hall for a long time. But A and A Billiards moved into the location on the corner of Mission and B Street (where the Weight Watcher’s used to be). They’re an all-ages place and only sell soft drinks and snacks, but they’ve apparently had an issue with people coming in, playing for a little while, then taking off to grab an alcoholic beverage somewhere. Basically adults like to drink a beer when they play pool and if you can’t sell beer, you’re losing customers.
But, according to law, if you sell beer in an establishment like that, you technically become a “bar” and have to get a “conditional use permit6”. The main things that will change are:
They can only sell beer (no wine or spirits)
They have to sell snacks (which they were selling anyway)
They have to have a security guard from 6-close on Fridays and Saturdays
Carding is mandatory (obviously)
You can only purchase 2 beers at a time and no tabs.
Install CCTVs and let cops review the footage if they ask (apparently standard)
The owner stepped up and admitted that the pool hall is barely breaking even and they need this to keep customers in the building and actually thrive.
Commissioner Comments
Overall, everyone was really supportive of the project. The owner mentioned that he was looking into partnering with HUSD to allow a school billiards club to use the facility during the school day, but it’s just an idea. Nothing solid yet. Commissioner Stevens asked if the Conditional Use Permit is standard in other cities like Berkeley7 and City staff basically said yes, when alcohol is involved.
The bulk of the conversation around it focused on a condition around preventing truancy. The language was taken from Chalk It Up and basically is trying to make it known that the owners will work hard to not allow truant K-12 kids from hanging around shooting pool instead of going to class8. There was a lot of attempts to word-smith it in real time to allow for students to come in when they didn’t have school, but also recognize that every school has different times that they’re open and who is going to keep track of it all and who is liable if a kid is being truant there.
It got to the point where the owner was open to not allowing anyone under 21 in his establishment without a parent or guardian because he needed that permit to sell beer so badly. To his credit, Commissioner Stevens pushed for allowing teens to be independent and show up on their own. Eventually the HPD Detective that had crafted the conditions settled on something vague that actually said what they wanted which is basically that the owners will work with HPD to combat truancy. That’s it.
Once that got ironed out (after 20 minutes of discussion), it sailed through. So once you’re able, head over to A and A Billiards and have a beer with your game of pool. The owner seems really nice and goodness knows we could use some other activities downtown.
Bonus Meeting: HHTF
The Homelessness and Housing Task Force is a Council subcommittee that deals with, you guessed it, homelessness and housing. It only meets quarterly, but it’s also the place where housing policy is born.
Rental Registry In The Works
This is a big win for tenants, even if it’s just the first step on a longer journey. Right now, the City of Hayward has a form of rent control9 but there is literally no enforcement mechanism. A group called House Hayward Now, in tandem with Filipino Advocates for Justice, has been working behind the scenes to get a rental registry on the books.
A rental registry would basically require that all landlords register some information with the City so that the Housing Department can know what’s going on. Right now, we don’t even know for sure how many housing units are available in the city! All this vote accomplished was asking City Staff to put a rental registry on the Strategic Plan next year, and even then it’d take 2 years to get up and running.
BUT it’s a first step. There’s a long way to go, but the ball is rolling. So keep an eye out for that next year to see what happens. We’ll be keeping you posted because, say it with me fam: Landlords are parasites and housing is a human right.
These are basically big ol’ houses on small parcels. You get a big house with almost no yard. According to City Staff this kind of development is “very popular” with the public, despite continuing a car-centric development pattern and requiring Planning Commission approval on every project, thereby extending development timelines.
Neither of whom were present.
Though Councilmember Syrop did ask the Housing Division if zoning was on their radar. Unfortunately, the Planning Department likely has that on lock, despite one being inextricably dependent upon the other.
Obviously, we need more services and places for our unhoused neighbors to go, but I also understand that having a big encampment next to your house is not really desirable. One day everyone will hopefully view housing as the Human Right it is and we can move on from this nonsense.
It should also be noted that the developer pointed out that the noise issue only occurred after the homeowner removed carpet and installed hardwood floor which… yeah, that’s going to increase the noise between floors. Obviously. It made an apartment I was living in once intolerable because our upstairs neighbor was suddenly deafeningly loud just walking around in shoes.
This basically gives the City the right to take away your privileges if things start to go sideways at your establishment.
Not sure why he chose Berkeley of all places…
Which feels very 1950’s. “Trouble. With a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for Pool.”
It’s not really rent control, it’s rent stabilization, but it does limit how much rents can be raised to 5%.