Frequent Questions
What is a General Plan?
The Castro Valley General Plan is part of the County General Plan as provided for in the State Government Code, which allows adoption of a general plan as a group of documents relating to geographic sub-areas, like the Castro Valley or Eden areas. State law requires that a general plan cover seven major issue areas or elements: land use, housing, circulation, open space, noise, safety, and conservation of natural resources. It may also deal with other topics such as community design, economic development, and historic preservation. Area plans refine the policies of the general plan as they apply to a smaller geographic area but do not have to address all of the issues that the countywide plan must cover in order to comply with State law. Area plan policies must, however, be consistent with policies in all of the other elements and parts of the county General Plan. Together with the Castro Valley Plan and area plans for other unincorporated communities and places in the county, these elements constitute the comprehensive plan for Alameda County.
How will the General Plan affect the community?
A General Plan sets forth objectives, goals, and policies that serve as a blueprint for physical and economic development in a community. General plan policies are the basis for writing all development regulations and a basis for review and decision on every proposed development project. State law requires that zoning and subdivision regulations and redevelopment plans and all decisions subject to these regulations must be consistent with the general plan. The general plan also determines how County resources should be used in the plan area because capital improvement plans and expenditures must also conform to the plan’s policies and priorities.
The New General Plan for Castro Valley is timely for a number of reasons. Due to the passage of Measure D, which established an Urban Growth Boundary limiting urban development in most of the rural areas of the county, including the canyon lands surrounding Castro Valley, the new General Plan needs to address development issues in the urbanized part of the Castro Valley, like infill development and the subdivision of flag lots. The new General Plan will also ensure consistency with the updated County housing element adopted in 2003 and soon-to-be-updated combined Resource, Open Space and Agriculture Element for the unincorporated area, thus satisfying the State's requirement for internal consistency.
Finally, the 1985 Castro Valley Plan is simply out-of-date. It does not reflect the demographic and economic changes of the last 20 years in the Bay Area in general, and in Castro Valley itself that affect residential and commercial development, transportation, and overall quality of life in Castro Valley.
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