HAYWARD — Hayward is proposing a novel approach to housing — pairing market-rate houses with accessory dwelling units for lower-income residents in a proposed hillside development.
Assistant City Manager Jennifer Ott wrote via email that she has not heard of other cities taking this approach of pairing the two together. If the housing development above Mission Boulevard and downhill from Cal State East Bay is approved, the ADUs, or granny units, would be marketed to students from the university, along with very low-income residents.
The city has been working on developing the 37-acre site for years. The area had been owned by Caltrans, which purchased the land, much of it through eminent domain, as part of a proposed freeway project that was abandoned. Hayward bought the parcel, along with others along the proposed freeway route, with the goal of selling them for development.
The City Council will take up the Bunker Hill development at its meeting Tuesday. The project was narrowly approved by the Planning Commission in a 4-3 vote last month.
“I think one thing we can all agree on is that this is not an easy decision,” Planning Commissioner Briggitte Lowe said before voting for the project at the March 24 meeting.
The ADUs would be for very low-income households — those with an income of $47,950 or less a year for a one-person household and $54,800 or less a year for a two-person household. People buying the houses with ADUs would be required to sign agreements to rent them to low-income residents.
According to city staff, homeowners would be penalized if they rented the ADUS, or granny units, to people who are not very low-income, but what exactly that penalty would be has not been decided. The developer worked with city officials to decide which houses would be suitable for the proposed 18 ADUs, according to Trumark. Not every house would have one.
However, Commissioner Lowe said she was worried that the homeowners would not be required to rent the ADUs, so it’s possible that all or none of them would be rented; Commissioner Robert Stevens shared a similar concern.
“We are cramming ADU units into [this development],” Stevens said. “What is the probability that somebody is really going to rent one of these?”
Stevens voted against the project, along with Commissioners Ray Bonilla Jr. and Zachariah Oquenda.
Some residents and commissioners said during the meeting that they were worried about increased traffic in the neighborhood from the project, plus additional pressure on parking in the neighborhood. Others mentioned they were concerned that the houses would be built on a steep hill.
However, Ott said during an interview that people seemed to be generally supportive.
“Initially the neighbors were concerned that … the development was going to be different from what their existing neighborhood was,” Ott said. “[But neighbors] want to see something developed there.”
If the development is approved by the City Council, the project is expected to move quickly, with construction starting in early 2023, according to city staff.
The 74 homes would be market-rate houses, priced for those who make more than the moderate area median income, or $150,700 for a family of four. Pamela Nieting, a representative from Trumark, wrote in an email that the company does not yet know much the houses would be sold for since the market is “ever-changing.”
The median sale price for a Hayward home was $960,000 in March, according to Redfin.
The two-story houses would be three or four bedrooms and 2,400 square feet to almost 3,300 square feet, on lots ranging in size from 5,1000 square feet to 23,400 square feet. Each lot would have two to three garage parking spaces and two driveway spaces. A total of 18.51 acres would remain open space.
The development site includes all the property on Bunker Hill Boulevard between Carlos Bee Boulevard to the north and Harder Road to the south. If the proposal is approved, the developer would build a new road to connect Bunker Hill Boulevard with Carlos Bee.
As part of the project, Trumark is proposing a new Foothill Trail, at a cost of $2.35 million. The 16-foot wide trail would be open to the public and connect to other Hayward Area Recreation and Park District trails that run throughout nearby areas.
The city has been working since 2016, when it first entered into an agreement with Caltrans, to sell the land and develop it. Trumark Homes was selected as the preferred developer two years ago and has been negotiating with the city since.
At one time, houses dotted the hillside in the Bunker Hill neighborhood. After Caltrans took them over, it rented out the houses. When the freeway project was abandoned, the remaining tenants were offered the chance to buy their homes or accept a relocation payout. Most moved.
The condition of the vacant houses deteriorated, and they were eventually torn down.
“To be able to demolish that and have a whole new community in its place is really great,” Ott said. “The neighborhood lived with a lot of blight for a long time.”
The Hayward City Council will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The meeting can be viewed on Comcast TV Channel 15, at https://hayward.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx or at www.youtube.com/user/cityofhayward
Source: www.mercurynews.com