The Gull's Call - Oct/Nov/Dec 2025

President'sColumn Farewell, for Now by Bill Pai, Community Board President I’d rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are,

outcome, but I have full confidence that Dawn Jaeger, the CHBIOA staff, and the rest of the board will move forward to protect our interests and preserve property values. My thanks to those who have provided feedback on the columns I have contributed to The Gull’s Call . Through the years, I used that forum to express my personal vendetta against squirrels, to reveal that the homeowners of Seastrand are descended from merchants of the fabled Scarborough Fair in medieval England, to warn against the dangers of meteor showers, to share recollections of Alameda history, and to encourage civic participation. I’ve also had the sad duty of providing eulogies and remembrances of heroes and prominent members of our community. Although I’ll be ineligible to continue serving on the CHBIOA board, I will still live in the nearby area and may encounter some of you again on the main island. For those who are members of the Mastick Senior Center (one of the largest of its kind in the Bay Area, alamedaca. gov/Departments/Recreation-Parks/Mastick-Senior Center) in Alameda, I continue to serve as president of the Mastick Advisory Board. We have many big plans in the coming 12 months to upgrade the facility and expand its range of offerings and operating hours. It's also possible that I will contribute again to The Gull’s Call in the future. Some might remember that I once contributed a column called “Reporter At Large.” If an appropriate subject arises in the future and the CHBIOA staff is willing, I may do so again. My appreciation to all who contribute to our community and help preserve our quality of life. It has been a pleasure and privilege to serve as your CHBIOA board president for all these years. Best of luck to all. If we do meet again, why, we shall smile; if not, why then, this parting was well made. - Shakespeare

For a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star. I’d rather be a has-been then a might-have-been by far, For a might-have-been has never been, while a has was once an are. - Milton Berle T HIS IS MY FINAL COLUMN AS THE PRIMARY BOARD president and a homeowner in the Community of Harbor Bay Isle Owners' Association (CHBIOA). After living here in the Seastrand Homeowners Association/HOA) for 24 years (longer than I have any other residence in my life), it is time to move on. I have a profound affection for this community, loved my house deeply, and had every intention of spending the rest of my life here, but circumstances determined otherwise. Once I am no longer a homeowner, I become ineligible to serve on the CHBIOA board or any of its HOAs. The CHBIOA 50ish Anniversary Celebration took place on August 2nd in the parking lot of the Community Center. Several hundred people attended and enjoyed live music, food and games. The cockpit section of a Navy fighter plane was provided by the USS Hornet to entertain children. Thanks to the Intercultural Committee (IC), all the vendors, and in particular the CHBIOA staff for coordinating the event. The feedback received to date has been positive, we may repeat this again in the future. As a result of the statewide push to address the housing shortage in California, our community now faces the imminent prospect of the Harbor Bay Landing shopping center being converted from a commercial to a mixed unit zoning classification. When approved, this will pave the way for development of what is anticipated to be 400 apartment or townhome units on the Harbor Bay Landing grounds. The impacts on our traffic flow, parking, bus routes, assessments, and other minor details at this point are not yet determined. What is clear is that this will be the biggest change to CHBIOA and Bay Farm Island since our community was first built in the 1970s. Having served on the Seastrand and/or CHBIOA boards since 2005, I have participated in many debates and controversies involving our community, from ongoing development proposals to airplane traffic patterns. The new proposed development on the Harbor Bay Landing property will transform and challenge our community in unprecedented ways. I regret that timing will sideline me from participating in this debate and helping to shape its

6 October | November | December 2025

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