Font ResizeIn 2002, Alameda County thought it was time to update the 19-year-old Eden Area General Plan, a blueprint for growth and development in unincorporated areas.
So it launched what was supposed to be an 18-month effort to set new goals — and plan for new residential, commercial and industrial needs — in Ashland, Cherryland, El Portal Ridge, Fairmont, Hayward Acres, Hillcrest Knolls, Mount Eden and San Lorenzo.
Six years later, county planners, consultants and the community still are chugging along.
A July 22 community meeting will be held to discuss the progress in creating a new guide for future land use, traffic circulation, housing conservation, open space, noise, safety, urban design, economic development and historic preservation.
Cindy Horvath, a county transportation planner, is keeping her fingers crossed that the Eden plan will be completed this fall, subject to reviews by county committees and approval by county supervisors.
"This month, we will ask folks for their input" about some major issues, both new and previously discussed, Horvath said.
New issues include global warming, and the county's response, along with revised Eden-area flood plain maps.
Other concerns voiced by area residents a month ago during a preliminary meeting included the look and feel of the inch-thick preliminary document and the desire to see a more in-depth discussion of the Eden area's history.
The look of the Eden
Last summer and fall, the El Portal Ridge, Fairmont and Hillcrest Knolls areas opted out of the flatlands Eden plan.
The county folded these three hillside communities, above Interstate 580, into the separate Castro Valley General Plan.
That document also is being updated, and probably should be ready about a year from now, Horvath estimated.
Castro Valley's size qualified it for separate long-range planning.
The county updated the unincorporated Fairview-area plan in 1997.
The Eden Area General Plan community meeting will begin at 7 p.m. July 22 in the San Lorenzo Village Homes Association hall, 377 Paseo Grande, in San Lorenzo. For more information, visit www.edenplan.net, call Cindy Horvath at 510-670-5400, or e-mail cindy.horvath@acgov.org.
