Tri-Valley Herald
Published Wednesday, June 27, 2001, in the

By Chris Tribbey
Staff Writer

OAKLAND -- The Association of Bay Area Governments estimates that the Bay Area will suffer a serious housing shortage if at least 200,000 new homes aren't built in the next six years.

That fact, along with a new study showing that 350 acres set aside for the Foothill Freeway could be used for more than 3,000 new homes, gives more ammunition to opponents of the Foothill Freeway project.

The study, conducted by Alameda County and Sherman Lewis, president of the anti-freeway group, the Hayward Area Planning Association, was presented to the county Planning and Transportation Committee in Oakland Monday.

Portions of the 50-page report show that most sections of freeway property owned by Caltrans could be used for apartments, single- family homes and commercial uses.

"This report shows the enormous potential for affordable housing," said District 4 Supervisor Nate Miley, a freeway opponent. "We're in a housing crisis, an energy crisis, you could say we're in a transportation crisis. If the freeway doesn't go forward, this (report) will definitely come in handy."

With another two-year delay in the freeway project approved earlier this month, and lawsuits hindering the 40-year-old project, the report is, in a way, a pre-emptive strike in favor of housing should the freeway project die.

"This should be seen as another nail in the coffin for the Hayward Bypass," said Jeff Hobson, East Bay coordinator for the Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition, which opposes the project.

However, county Planning Director James Sorensen pointed out that scrapping the freeway will not mean that housing will automatically be built.

"This report is really only an estimate," he said, adding that the 3,000 homes was a "ballpark" figure. "It's not a prediction of what would happen (if the freeway isn't built)."

Currently there are 325 residential units along the proposed route of the freeway, most of which would be demolished for the project. According to the report, the county believes the land could hold 3,023 units -- 378 more single-family homes, 1,982 apartments, 620 town homes or condos and 42 duplexes.

"The majority of the units (that would be built) would be apartments, and there would be a lot of open area (left) that has been preserved for the freeway," Sorensen said.

Only 11 percent -- 37.4 acres -- of the right of way falls in Alameda County, while the rest is exclusively Hayward property. So, determining what the city would do with the land is speculation.

"I'd like to take this to other interested parties, like Hayward," Lewis said. "We can meet environmental goals for open space and provide affordable housing."

Lewis -- who is awaiting a decision on his freeway lawsuit against Caltrans and the Alameda County Transportation Authority in county Superior Court -- said Caltrans would not cooperate during the research for the study. He said that Caltrans says there are 265 housing units currently in the freeway's path, less than the 325 that he and the county counted.

The study, funded by the county, says the area south of Grove Way, east of Foothill Boulevard and north of the City Center Condominiums could be used for 187 to 257 new homes and apartments.

The study also shows how a lot of the land that will be used for on- ramps to interstates 580 and 238 could be used for 158 housing units, and that the on-ramps could be moved just north of Ash Street.

Areas east of Fourth Street, from A to C streets, could be used for town homes. Also, with sufficient grading to allow for development, the Carlos Bee Quarry, next to the Wimbledon Woods Apartments, could be used for housing around Cal State Hayward. The areas between Harder Road and Calhoun Street, and Webster Street to Tennyson Road could also be used for hundreds of homes.

Miley, wondering what type of added congestion problems Hayward, the county and the freeways would face with the new housing, asked his staff to take a second look at a list of alternatives to building the freeway, which include widening Mission Boulevard, signal coordination and improved public transportation.

Chris Tribbey is the transportation reporter for The Daily Review. He can be reached at (510) 293-2481, or send e-mail to ctribbey@angnewspapers.com.