COMMUNITY ANALYSIS DRAFT Prepared by the Office of Supervisor Nate Miley, District 4, Alameda County Board of Supervisors L. Wicks i Last saved on 7/10/2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART PAGE FORWARD iv INTRODUCTION: EDEN AREA LIVABILITY INITIATIVE v-vi Mission, Goals, Objectives , Background, Purpose & Structure LIVABILITY PRINCIPLES vii-viii PURPOSE & DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMUNITY ANALYSIS ix HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT ix EXPLANATION OF DATA PART 1 x Communities & Zip Codes Census data = Census Designated Place Community Descriptions Explanation of data, maps and boundaries of data comparison HISTORY OF AREA PART 2 1-18 DEMOGRAPHICS PART 3 19 Population 20 Percentage of Population, by age in Alameda County and in the Eden Area 20 Race 21-24 Language Spoken at Home 25 Educational Attainment 26-27 Grandparents as Caregivers 28 Disability Status of the Civilian non-institutionalized population 28 Nativity and Place of Birth 29 Employment Statistics 30 Occupation 31-32 Common Industries for Females 33 Common Occupations for Females 33-34 Income 35 Poverty 35 Occupation Trends 35-36 Housing 37-42 Household by Type Housing Occupancy and Tenure Housing Stock and Ownership Year Structure Built Year householder moved into unit Housing Value Selected monthly owner Costs as a percentage of Household Income in 43 1999 Gross rent 44 Gross rent as a percentage of Household Income in 19 45 Tax Base 46 COMMUNITY DATA SETS Geographic boundaries PART 4 47 Transportation Modes and Major Routes of Travel PART 5 48-59 Personal vehicular travel Commuting to Work Public Transportation San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Alameda - Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Pedestrian & Bicycle use Highways & and Frequented Roadways L. Wicks ii Last saved on 7/10/2007 Business / Commercial & Local Unions PART 6 60-64 Business Base Industry Religious and Faith Based Institutions and Organization PART 7 65 Community Based Organizations PART 8 66-67 Civic Associations PART 9 68-72 Community Associations Chambers of Commerce Sports Clubs and Associations Service/Fraternal Organizations Community Events Crime Rate PART 10 73 Health PART 11 74-80 School System PART 12 81-86 Recreation & Library Facilities PART 13 87-89 Financial Intuitions PART 14 90 Availability and patterns of loans, mortgages, and insurance PART 15 90 Local Media PART 16 91 Local Politics PART 17 92-95 County Agencies PART 18 96 Municipal Plans PART 19 97-98 Municipal public service delivery PART 20 99 Zoning PART 21 100 Property and/or environment conditions PART 22 100 Phase Two PART 23 100 Places where people cluster or gather People’s attitudes Established or recognized leaders Local problems/concerns/trends MAPS PART 24 100 RESOURCES PART 25 100 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PART 26 100 L. Wicks iii Last saved on 7/10/2007 Forward Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley The Unincorporated Area, with its diverse neighborhoods and interests, is a dynamic region with tremendous potential to realize the needs and dreams of all its residents. I am committed to working towards this vision and welcome wide participation. A successful strategic vision for the Eden Area is dependent on the engagement of a broad group of stakeholders. Why Do We Need an Eden Area Strategic Vision? As many who are reading this know, the urban unincorporated area of Alameda County is one of the largest jurisdictions in the County. The combined population of the communities of Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, El Portal Ridge, Fairmont Terrace, Fairview, Hayward Acres, Hillcrest Knolls, Mt. Eden, and San Lorenzo is 140,000. If these communities were a city, it would be the fourth largest in Alameda County behind only Oakland, Fremont, and Hayward. The vast majority of this area is in Alameda County District 4, which I have had the honor of representing as your County Supervisor since 2001. From the beginning of my first term it has been clear to me that residents are proud of the unique characteristics and histories of the individual unincorporated communities and want to retain their individual identities. At the same time, the small and under-resourced nature of most of these communities creates some disadvantages compared to neighboring cities when competing for economic and community development, creating and implementing desirable land-use policy, and in other ways that determine “optimum livability.” The area’s identity is obscured, in part, because it has no collective name. In a sense, it is defined by what it is not: a municipality. Equally important, the area is served by many jurisdictions. Some of these include a number of County agencies, several school districts, two transportation agencies, a hospital district, several fire departments, and sanitary districts as well as a parks and recreation district. While each of these public agencies is no doubt committed to the betterment of its constituents, each agency’s vision will always be too narrow to take in the broad needs and desires of 140,000 residents. In addition, while some residents are actively engaged in a broad range of issues impacting individual communities, broader community participation is ideal and necessary to reach meaningful consensus for a community-wide vision. Like many jurisdictions, Unincorporated Alameda County lacks coordination among the public and quasi-public agencies that serve this area. As a result, services may be duplicative or suffer from gaps. Also, residents may have to take their concerns to numerous bodies. Additionally, a lack of coordination can result in missed opportunities to partner and leverage funds in an already underserved area. Equally important is our desire to fully engage community residents and other stakeholders in the overall planning process. Community members should have an opportunity to engage in this process at multiple levels, from more long- term positions of leadership to sharing their views at a single event. The end results of this process should be one or more identified catalyst projects that best support the community’s identified needs, sense of itself and promotes a greater range of mobility. Beyond that grant- driven goal is our desire to develop a more cohesive community-driven vision of a livable community as well as to identify and develop the leaders of this community to continue to advocate for community needs well beyond the funding and project duration. L. Wicks iv Last saved on 7/10/2007 INTRODUCTION The Eden Area Livability Initiative is an integrated partnership between the community, the county and the non-county public sector jurisdictions that have a stake in the unincorporated urban areas of Alameda County. The Livability Initiative is the strategic development of a shared vision and plan and builds pride for the unincorporated urban areas of Alameda County. Mission: To create, strengthen and sustain a livable community in the urban unincorporated areas of Alameda County. Goals: → To encourage planning and action across disciplines and interest areas → To engages the community in a significant way → To call for County Agencies to collaborate in new ways → To build stronger partnerships between the County, other jurisdictions and the community. Objectives → To increase community participation in decisions that affect the community → To find a shared community vision → To ensure coordination and implementation of this vision and plan between the County government and the community → To strengthen relationships between government and the community → To ensure appropriate policy formation and implementation → To make the unincorporated communities of Alameda County a great place to live, work, and play! BACKGROUND The western part of Unincorporated Alameda County includes seven communities: Ashland, Cherryland, Castro Valley, Fairview, Fairmont Terrace, Hillcrest Knolls, and San Lorenzo. These communities are located with very close proximity of each other, share boarders and contain approximately 125, 000 residents. Alameda County launched the Eden Area Livability Initiative (EALI) in December of 2004, spearheaded by Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, with the goal of improving the livability of the community of the unincorporated urban areas of Alameda County (referred to hereafter as the “Eden Area”). EALI developed from the formulation of the Livability Principles (Attachment 2), based on the Ahwahnee Principles, which identify regional and local beliefs that will be used to guide the development of an integrated approach for future planning, development, land use and all aspects of service delivery (including education, infrastructure, fire, recreation, public health, public safety, and public works) decisions within the Eden Area. It is anticipated that these Livability Principles will serve to encourage integration throughout the departments of Alameda County governed by the Board of Supervisors, and as a basis to improve cross- jurisdictional coordination among the various agencies serving the residents of the unincorporated area, but not governed by the Board of Supervisors. EALI is an integrated partnership between the community, the County and the non- county jurisdictions that have a stake in the future of the Eden Area. EALI is the development of a shared vision, strategic plan and the building of pride for the Eden Area. This Initiative encourages planning and action across disciplines, interest areas and geographical areas, engages the community in a significant way, calls for county agencies to collaborate in new ways and builds stronger partnerships between