The Gull's Call - Apr/May/Jun 2026

President'sColumn CHBIOA on the Cusp of Change by Bill Pai, Community Board President

To help address this issue, the State of California a few years ago approved for itself new authority to require every one of its cities to build additional housing units by 2030, the exact number for each city stipulated by the State. While Alameda is fortunate compared to many other cities in that it has much undeveloped space at Alameda Point where new housing can be built, the State mandates also require that all new housing development (including a minimum percentage for affordable housing units) cannot be located entirely in one area – the municipal governments must make efforts to distribute the new units throughout each city. In response to this State mandate, the City of Alameda proposed a plan (as required) to meet the target number of new units required. In this plan, much of the new housing outside of Alameda Point will be built in what are now the shopping centers in our city. Bay Farm Island has one shopping center: Harbor Bay Landing, which currently houses Safeway and other businesses. The City’s current plan (approved by the State) calls for 300 new housing units to be constructed on the Harbor Bay Landing site. As of late February 2026, there is no active development proposal in process. This state of affairs likely will not last long as the owners are actively seeking to sell the property.

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.

– George Bernard Shaw

[I guarantee this is my final column in this space as my term on the CHBIOA board of directors ends in March 2026. Thank you for the privilege of serving on this board over the past twenty years.] O VER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, CIRCUMSTANCES WILL transform the Community of Harbor Bay Isle to a degree that has not happened since its founding in the 1970s. Our community has long been successful in resisting change, especially when it comes to building new housing. However, multiple factors are converging now to ensure that the status quo is no longer sustainable. It is now clear that major change is inevitable, the open question is to what degree our community will take an active role in shaping what comes next. From my perspective, the debates to come will be contentious due to three macro trends in progress: We are all aware that the SF Bay Area is one of the most expensive regions in the world in which to live. A large part of this fact is due to the shortage of housing. The seemingly infinite number of homeless camps under highway overpasses and other abandoned areas is part of our daily visual landscape. THE THREE FURIES OF HARBOR BAY ISLE #1: STATEWIDE HOUSING SHORTAGE

In 2025, members of the Community of Harbor Bay Isle Owners' Association (CHBIOA) board and staff met with City of Alameda officials and representatives of Harbor Bay Landing’s owners. We emphasized that any development proposal must include at least a grocery store/pharmacy to receive our support, and that the proposed 300 units should be reduced due to traffic and other impacts. We fully expect new proposals will be submitted during 2026 as the State mandate is still in effect and the City has not changed its plan regarding Harbor Bay Landing.

6 April | May | June 2026

The Gull’s Call