The Gull's Call - Apr/May/Jun 2025

CommunityNews Why Is It the 50"ish"? by Dawn Jaeger, Executive Director H OORAY! IT’S ALMOST TIME TO CELEBRATE THE 50ish Birthday/Anniversary of the Community of Harbor Bay Isle Owners’ Association. On August 2, 2025, we will have the biggest and best Community celebration we have ever had. The next edition of The Gull’s Call will discuss what you can expect to see. This article is more about answering the question…Why is it the 50 “ish”? What does that mean? So, let’s dive into a little history lesson taken from the land use plans, the development’s environmental impact report, as well as the governing documents. In 1972, Harbor Bay Isle Associates, a joint venture of Doric Development, Inc. and Utah International, submitted a proposed land use plan and a request for development on Bay Farm Island. This Plan was widely publicized, highly criticized, and eventually rejected due to its high density of dwelling units. Public concern with growth and the change in residential character of the City of Alameda resulted in an amendment to the City of Alameda Charter, and its policies in favor of low density residential development. In 1973, Harbor Bay Isle Associates, submitted a new proposed land use plan and a request for development of 908.7 acres with an application to rezone 640 acres. The application for development of the Planned Development was submitted later in the same year. The original 1973 plan consisted of a maximum of 4,950 dwelling units, arranged into neighborhoods and villages. A total of five villages were envisioned with 7-9 neighborhoods each, with 100-120 homes and 230 residents. There was a plan for an 8-acre shopping center and an 8-acre marina community, both with 6-acre parks, and a commitment of 32 acres of land for schools to serve all of Bay Farm. The northern shoreline along the San Leandro Channel and portion of San Francisco Bay was designated by the Developer as a 100-foot wide perimeter reserve, a public recreation area of about 33 acres and a lagoon network was to run though out the residential development. Another 53 acres outside of the residential proposal was submitted for what is now known as the Harbor Bay Business Park. The City of Alameda was eager to partner with Harbor Bay Associates because in the early 1970s new construction was on a downward trend. The new community would

create jobs, housing starts provide money for property taxes. It seemed a win-win for Harbor Bay and the City. In 1977, with the anticipated completion of Village 1, the Articles of Incorporation and a Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions was filed with the County Recorders Office. Each of you knows the declaration as the Community’s CC&Rs, which is the governance structure for the Community of Harbor Bay Isle and details what the associations can and cannot do. By now, you may have anticipated the reason we call it the 50ish Event is because historically the birth of the Community of Harbor Bay Isle started with the land use plan originally filed in 1972 and restated in 1973, but not actually formed until 1977, which when averaged out is essentially 1975. Add fifty years, and here we are in 2025. The Community consisting of 2,973 units (which includes commercial), is on 918 acres, and we have five villages as planned, though two are split into Village 1 and Village 1-C, and Village 3A and Village 3B. Each village was annexed into the Community upon its completion, so the date that each association was completed will not necessarily correlate to the date the association was annexed into the Community or when your house was built. Associations filed their Articles of Incorporation between 1977 and 1990, which was generally in line with the plan, although it took a little while to get some of the associations built because as money ran short, other developers purchased the properties and built the houses. Only three of the associations became gated. Most associations have public streets that run through them. It is interesting to see how the passage of time has changed so many of the things people once thought were important. The City of Alameda thought it was very important to have less dense housing in 1973, whereupon in 2023 they made the requirement that homeowner associations allow eligible accessory dwelling units (ADUs) for housing. The 1973 Environmental Impact Report (EIR) required the developer to develop and widen streets coming in and out of Bay Farm. It stated the internal circulation proposed for HBI is specifically planned to facilitate and encourage pedestrian, bicycle and electric vehicle movement. And the developer was required to widen streets to avoid increased congestion and delay. Now in 2025 the City of Alameda, through their Pavement Plan, has notified the Community they will be narrowing the streets and

8 April | May | June 2025

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