asz 2008 Community Profile A guide to the unincorporated communities of Alameda County: Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview and San Lorenzo Eden Area Livability Initiative: Integrated Strategic Vision & Plan First Edition February 20, 2008 Prepared by the Office of Supervisor Nate Miley, District 4, Alameda County Board of Supervisors L. Wicks i Last saved on 3/11/2008 L. Wicks ii Last saved on 3/11/2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART PAGE FOREWORD v INTRODUCTION: EDEN AREA LIVABILITY INITIATIVE 1 Mission, Goals, Objectives , and Background PURPOSE , STRUCTURE & DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMUNITY ANALYSIS 2 LIVABILITY PRINCIPLES 3 THRIVE ELEMENTS OF LIVABILITY 4-5 EXPLANATION OF DATA PART 1 6 Communities & Zip Codes Census data = Census Designated Place Community Descriptions Explanation of data, maps and boundaries of data comparison GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES & MAPS PART 2 7- 12 HISTORY OF AREA PART 3 13-29 DEMOGRAPHICS PART4 30-58 Population 30 Percentage of Population, by age in Alameda County and in the Eden Area 31 Race 32-34 Language Spoken at Home 35 Educational Attainment 36-37 Grandparents as Caregivers 38 Disability Status of the Civilian non-institutionalized population 38 Nativity and Place of Birth 39-40 Employment Statistics 41 Occupation 42-44 Occupation Trends & Industries of Employment 46 Common Industries for Females 47 Common Occupations for Females 47 Income 48 Poverty 48 Housing 49-57 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 1999 Gross rent Gross rent as a percentage of Household Income in 19 L. Wicks iii Last saved on 3/11/2008 Tax Base 58 COMMUNITY DATA SETS Transportation Modes and Major Routes of Travel PART 5 59-66 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 Business / Commercial PART 6 67-69 Business Base Industry Local Unions & Major Employers Religious and Faith Based Institutions and Organization PART 7 70-73 Community Based Organizations PART 8 73-82 Community Events 82 Civic Associations PART 9 83-86 Community Associations Chambers of Commerce Sports Clubs and Associations Service/Fraternal Organizations Community Events Crime Rate PART 10 87 Health PART 11 88-101 School System PART 12 102-106 Recreation & Library Facilities PART 13 107-109 Local Media PART 14 110 Local Politics PART 15 110-113 Municipal Public Service Delivery & Special Districts and Other PART 16 113-117 Locally Elected Boards County Agencies PART 17 118-119 Unincorporated Services Budget Summary PART 18 120-128 Municipal Plans PART 19 129-130 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 131 L. Wicks iv Last saved on 3/11/2008 FOREWORD The Unincorporated Area, with its diverse neighborhoods and interests, is a Supervisor Nate Miley dynamic region with tremendous potential to realize the needs and dreams of Alameda County all its residents. I am committed to working towards this vision and welcome Board of Supervisors, wide participation. A successful strategic vision for the Eden Area is dependent District 4 on the engagement of a broad group of stakeholders. 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, Fairview, Hillcrest Knolls, and San Lorenzo is approximately 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 community 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 is defined by what it is not: a municipality. Equally important the area’s identity and cohesiveness is that it 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 all 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 list of identified catalyst projects that best support the community’s identified needs, sense of itself and promotes a greater range of community representation and involvement. 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 project duration. I send my appreciation to all the support my office has received while developing this document. L. Wicks Sincerely, v Last saved on 3/11/2008 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 engage 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 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 western part of the unincorporated areas of Alameda County (referred to hereafter as the “Eden Area”). The western part of unincorporated Alameda County is comprised of several community-identified communities, such as Ashland, Cherryland, Castro Valley, Fairview, and San Lorenzo, along with several community-identified neighborhoods within the larger communities such as Fairmont Terrace, El Portal Ridge, Hillcrest Knolls, San Lorenzo Village, Five Canyons, and others. These communities are located within very close proximity to each other, share borders and contain approximately 130, 000 residents. EALI developed from the formulation of the Livability Principles, 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 and later developed “Livability Elements” 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. Throughout the life of the Initiative, community members have played a vital role in the development and the direction of the process. Several community