The Hayward Planning Commission approved plans for an 82 unit condominium development at 1101 Walpert Street, the current home of The Arc of the East Bay. While some members of the Planning Commission and Hayward residents worried about the impacts on the creek and local wildlife, City Staff insisted that all appropriate environmental concerns had been met and that there would be no undue impact on nearby Ward Creek. The development is slated to add around $3,000,000 to the city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund in lieu of including any affordable units in the project.

Project Background

The project will bring 83 market-rate units to the location, while The Arc will relocate to somewhere else in the city. The existing visitor center will be demolished as part of the plans and 14 buildings will be constructed, each containing either 3 or 4 bedroom units with 3.5 baths ranging from around 1500 square feet to around 1800 square feet in size. Each unit will come with a 2 car garage and the development will have 9 visitor parking spaces.

The development will include several public areas with amenities like a playground, community garden, and other open spaces for the residents to enjoy. The project is quite close to Ward Creek, but according to city staff it complies with both the Alameda County Watercourse Protection Ordinance and the City of Hayward Creek Setback. This includes an at least 20 foot setback from the sort of "edge" of the creek ridge, which forced the weird-shaped building at the bottom left of the image above.

City staff said that the project exceeds minimums for parking, open space, and facade design requirements. When asked by Commissioner Lowe how The Arc of the East Bay feels about the project, a representative said, "I can't find a detriment... it's a win, win, win." He said it can help monetize the assets of the organization and allow it to relocate and continue to provide services in the city while also providing housing for some of the staff.

Pointed Comments

Members of the public expressed concern about development so close to Ward Creek and loss of open space. A representative of Friends of San Lorenzo Creek encouraged the removal of an existing chain-link fence on the southern edge of the property--saying it blocks passage of wildlife, the removal of invasive trees, and for the development of a trail as a connector to the proposed Foothill Trail.

However, city staff responded that Hayward has no authority to require the removal of an existing fence, or the removal of invasive trees, and pointed out that the on-street frontage may be included as the "on-street Foothill Trail Connector" referenced in the plans.

Members of the pro-housing group, California Housing Defense Fund, cited SB 330 the Housing Accountability Act and reminded the city that it has an obligation to approve the development under state law. The staff presentation addressed these comments by summarizing the very limited reasons the project could be rejected:

1. The City has already met its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) requirement
2. There is an impact to the public health and safety and this impact cannot be mitigated
3. The property is agricultural land
4. Approval of the project would violate State or Federal law and this violation cannot be mitigated
5. The project is inconsistent with the zoning and land use designation and not identified in the General Plan Housing Element RHNA inventory.

None of these the potential reasons exist, however.

Not Believing The Reports

Commissioner Briggitte Lowe asked if there would be any affordable units on the property, and there will not be. Instead, the developer will pay around $3,000,000 of in-lieu fees which will go into the City of Hayward's Housing Trust Fund. Commissioner Ron Meyers asked if the developer had found it cheaper to actually include the required affordable units in the development instead of paying out so much money. However, the developer said it wasn't "fiscally feasible" for the project to include affordable units.

Commissioner Jeff Haman asked a lot of clarifying questions about the in-lieu fees, including how long it takes to spend the funds. Associate Planner Taylor Richard said that the fund takes time to grow to a big enough amount to properly incentivize affordable housing development. For example, the last time money was made available was in 2017 and those units are only just now getting online.

Staff also explained that having 100% affordable unit developments is preferable from a city resource perspective, since it is easier to monitor and enforce the restrictive deeds on a whole building as opposed to dozens of individual units scattered throughout the city. And, to prevent all the affordable housing being shoved into one area, they try to scatter the affordable developments throughout the city.

Multiple Commissioners were worried about the tree mitigation. While many trees were able to be kept, others required removal and replacement while even more would need to be mitigated off-site. Many appeared to not recall the Tree Preservation Ordinance they gave comment on twice, including in March of 2025, and was approved by the City Council later that same month. In short, any trees that can't be mitigated on-site will have their appraised value put into a fund which the city will use to plant trees elsewhere in the city, ideally in underserved areas.

Commissioner Robert Stevens was concerned about runoff into Ward Creek, and urged the developer to go farther than simply maintaining the existing amount of runoff. However, the engineer for the project said it wasn't feasible to do that due to a number of factors, including space limitations, distance between utilities, and cost.

Commissioner Haman expressed concern about traffic on Walpert, despite traffic studies saying there would not be an undue impact. He worried about general traffic, as well as traffic for emergency egress. Associate Planner Richard pointed out that the development complied with California fire codes and the City of Hayward fire codes which are even more strict. But Commissioner Haman appeared unconvinced.

Commissioners Haman and Goodbody worried about the lack of downstairs kitchens in the ADA Accessible units, though the developer pointed out that ADA does not require ground floor kitchens for compliance.

Project Approved, If Grudgingly By Some

Commissioner Stevens expressed open distain for the project, calling it a "stacked and packed" style of condominium development. He also criticized the developer for not offering any benefit to "the only waterway that's sort of natural in the city." He again pushed for more local control of housing, but approved the project out of necessity. "I don't feel good about anything I've seen here tonight or heard tonight," he said, "but obviously I will vote for it because I don't want the city getting sued."

Commissioner Vasko Yorgov, however, felt very differently. "I think it would be a wonderful addition to the city," he said. He also took the time to explain the importance of Affordable Housing Trust Funds. "City trust funds are how 100% affordable housing projects are built," he said. "Without this local funding, these projects are dead in the water." Chair Karla Goodbody also supported the project. "It's better than what's there now," she said.

Commissioner Haman continued to disbelieve the staff reports about traffic impacts. "I just hate to approve a project located in urban woodland interface that could potentially be a danger in an emergency," he said.

HUSD Board President Bufete Missing From Meeting

During the February 25th HUSD Board of Trustees meeting, Board President Peter Bufete appeared to have difficulty speaking and was rushed out of the meeting. At approximately 11:35, President Bufete began stuttering and having difficulty reading the agenda aloud. Within moments the meeting was temporarily adjourned and President Bufete rushed from the room. The meeting resumed moments later with Vice President Ken Rawdon presiding.

At the March 11th HUSD Board of Trustees meeting two weeks later, the meeting was presided over by Vice President Ken Rawdon with President Bufete not present. At the end of the meeting, Vice President Rawdon said:

I would just like to say thank you to my fellow board members. This is the first board meeting I've actually presided over and thank you for your support this evening. And I wish President Bufete well and hope that he recovers soon and that he is back with us. We miss him.

No statement has been issued by HUSD on the matter.