H  i  g  h  l a  n  d      V  i  l  l  a  s     Hayward Hills, California

Highland Villas  has created a novel development to interface between the single density residential community and medium density zoning on Hayward Boulevard. For the best site design, the development allows single-family detached units of different sizes for the optimum use of land. The coverage for the structures in the property is only 25%. 

C-units    luxury single family homes with more than 3100 SF of living space with a 4-car garage, B-Units  Attractive single family homes, each with more than 2,200 SF of comfortable living spaces.  A-Units Single family houses facing Hayward Boulevard with the garages and each with more than 1800 SF of living and offices.

Highland Villas is an attempt to create a car-less-dependent community.  It is within a walking distance to schools, California State University, a shopping center,  as well as the chain of beautiful natural trails and parks for walking, hiking, biking, and even horse back riding.   The bus in front of the development can take one to the shops and restaurants of Hayward’s revitalized downtown areas.

Neighbors Support  & Questions, & Concerns

Density, Zoning   

A.  City’s Classifications

The City of Hayward has the following general zonings:  

1. Single Density, SB6, minimum lot size: 6000 SF

2. High-density, (17.4 - 34.8 per acre)

3. Med-Density  (8.7-17.4 units/acre )

 B.  Density, Zoning in this parcel is  currently PD (Planned Development) The zone for this property can be explained as follows: 

 C.  Density Designation and History about zone change

 All the properties along Hayward Boulevard were zoned High-density.  Based on a Neighborhood Committee’s recommendation in 1998, (The Highland Taskforce), the zoning was reduced to Medium Density. However, in the interim, the zoning was changed to SB6, and the City encourages applications to be processed through the PD (Planned Development).  According to SB6, there could be about 9.57 units in this piece of property, and according to the medium density zoning, there could be up to 22.62 units (8.7-17.4 units per acre). Accordingly, the application for zone change for this development is PD. The other planned developments in this neighborhood are: 1)  Ridge View with 32 units   2)  Parkside Village with 18 units, and  3)  Hayward Common, 14 units. 

 Land Use and Coverage

 This property is located on a major artery (Hayward Boulevard) and is in a walking distance to a small shopping center, to California State University, and through a bus system to Hayward Downtown and the BART station. City of Hayward encourages application for this parcel to be processed through PD.  In order to achieve the best site design possible, this development allows single-family detached units of different sizes for the optimum use of land. The coverage for the structures in the property is only 25%. The City allows up to 40% coverage for the single family housing. The following table shows general statistics about land coverage and open space. 

Landscaping  

The landscaping is designed to use all natural, native trees and shrubs and create an attractive visual transition. There would be a maintenance agreement among the home owners to ensure the proper care of the landscaping. It is planned to replace  existing Eucalyptus trees with high quality trees, native trees, gradually  

 Parking

Each unit has a 2-car garage, covered Parking. Each C-Unit has a 4-car garage covered parking. For Units A and B, 11 extra parking spaces are provided.  The City requires at least 2.1 car per unit parking for med-density. The following table shows some parking information.                   

Grading, Drainage, and Engineering Work

The team of engineers who are working on the proposal are: soil engineers, land-slide experts, drain and water experts, Landscape Engineers, Structural Design Engineers, and Architectures.   The houses are designed to meet all the ordinance and requirements, like majority of houses in the neighborhood

 An important feature of the planning is the Clear Water and Standards which will be followed carefully. The development not only designs Stormwater ponds or infiltration basins, for filtering pollutants, but also has considered to conserve natural areas, concentrate or cluster, maximize trees and other vegetation, and promoting the use of native plants.

Neighbors Position

Neighbors Concerns and Questions

In a general neighborhood meeting in December 2004, some of the neighbors were in the support of the project, and some raised issues of density and traffic.  The summary of the comments indicate that the neighbors who attended the meeting were concerned about:

• Density/Zoning
• Values and the value of the surrounding houses
• Quality of houses and functionality
• Parking
• Safety
• Landscaping

The most common comment was the density.  The development has addressed the issues of density and parking by reducing the number of units, increasing the amount of open space, and increasing the number of parking. (The conceptual plan started with 18 units. The applications was submitted with 16 units, and per City of Hayward recommendation, two units were dropped. The current proposal contains 12 units in the multiple unit part, and two units in the single family part.)

• What is the Density/Zoning in this property? Isn’t the zone for this property SB6?  

• Are the houses appropriate for this neighborhood?  

• There are too many housing units  

• Parking is a problem  

• Does it affect the property value of a surrounding house?  

• Traffic: Does it add traffic to Tribune?  

• The entry/exit is close to the intersection. Is it safe?  

• Are you asking for zone change?  or any variance?  

• What do you do with the mature trees?  

• How about Fire-Engine entry/exit and safety

• How about mail distribution, and garbage collection?

• How about the design of the houses and heights  

   

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  Highland Villas Main Page

• What is the Density/Zoning in this property? 

The current zoning for this property is SB6, but the General Plan designation for the property is Medium Density Residential (MDR).  This property is located at the corner of Hayward Boulevard and Tribune Avenue, and is considered a Hayward Boulevard Property. The zone and density designation for all Hayward Boulevard properties were High Density until 1998.  In 1998, the City of Hayward Council changed the zoning from High Density to Medium Density based on the recommendation of “The Hayward Highlands Neighborhood Task Force.”  However, the City Council indicated that the applications for Medium Density should be processed through PD -- a Planned Development process.

There was a proposal for this parcel in 2003 to develop 8 single houses, per SB6.  The City expressed that “the General Plan for the Hayward/Tribune area calls for between 8.7and 17.4 dwelling units per acre. Therefore, lots of 6,000+ SF would not be consistent with the General Plan in that the density is not high enough." The Hayward Highlands Neighborhood Plan states:            “ . . . in order to achieve the best site design possible, development applications are encouraged to be processed through the PD (Planned Development) District."  

The variety of housing in this project is a good way for blending in with the community by creating a transition of large to small units. Density wise, the General Plan designation of Medium Density allows for up to 17.4 dwelling units per acre. The proposed density is less than 10.7 units per acre, and structure coverage is only 25%, which is much less than the allowed 40%.

• Are the houses appropriate for this neighborhood?

  Through careful planning and consideration, the houses along Tribune Avenue are designed single family style and the homes along Hayward Boulevard are designed with higher density, - which is not out of ordinary for either area. 

  The proposed development housing units are of different sizes and designed to create a transition between the larger homes along Tribune Avenue and medium density housing along Hayward Boulevard. The two proposed single houses in the upper part of Tribune is planned for 3,200 SF of living space or more.  The  single houses in the middle are designed to have approximately 2,200 SF of living space.  Each of the single units near and facing Hayward Boulevard have a living space of approximately 1,800 SF, which is more of a medium density style. The variety of housing in this development blends very well with the community, and has created a transition of large to small units. 

  There would be a visual transition from both Tribune Avenue and Hayward Boulevard. The transition between the larger homes, along Tribune and medium density housing along Hayward Boulevard was the main objective to create this kind of Planned Development, of “blending in” with the existing community.

• Are there too many units?

  Again, the designated density for this property was originally high-density, then later changed to medium density. Per high-density designation, there could be up to 40 units in this property. Per medium density, there could be up to 23 units in this property. Actually, the City approved a 39-units housing proposal in 1989, and there is a plan available that shows 23 single units can be placed in this property per Med Density criteria. Even with SB6, there could be up to 9 units in this property. 

  The proposed plan has 2 single houses per SB6 guidelines, and 4 single houses with a common driveway and 8 single houses with a common driveway near Hayward Boulevard, a total of 14 units that is significantly below the allowed 23 units.   The overall density and landscape area is also more than average for a similar development.  The proposed development is using only 25% of the parcel for structure coverage, whereas the City requires the structure coverage to be less than 40%. The amount of green area used for landscape or open space area is approximately 30,190 Square Feet, which is 54% of the 1.3 acres. 

• Parking 

American love their cars.  Parking could be a problem for any community. Particularly for this neighborhood because there is no parking allowed on Tribune. The guideline for medium density indicates that there should be 2.1 cars parking per units.  The plan proposes 11 additional on-site parking spaces for 12 units in addition to 2 covered parking per unit, and 8 parking in the private driveways.  The large C units, each one has a 4-car garage and driveway spaces for 2 cars. In average, the parking ratio is 3.9 cars parking per unit, which is better than any development in the area.

• Does This Development affect the property value of a surrounding house?

Based on the estimated value, the lowest priced house on Hayward Boulevard will be appraised higher than $700,000, for an 1800 SF. That is approximately $390 per square foot. So if a house in the immediate area is 2500 SF, you may decide how it compares. However, houses are compared with similar characteristics. It is more likely that a house on Tribune will be compared with the proposed single unit on Tribune which is estimated to have a value of more than $1 million. 

• Traffic: Does it add traffic to Tribune?

If we assume that there would be 25 cars by the owners of this development who would likely go to work between 7 to 9 AM, then there would be one additional car per 5 minutes added to the traffic on Tribune. If each owner has 2 cars and half of them go to work at the peak time, between 7:30 to 8:30 am, still there would be one extra car every 3 to 5 minutes.  

• The entry/exit is close to the intersection, Is it safe?

There is no standard as to how close a driveway or a street shall be to an intersection. However, City of Hayward Traffic Code, Section 9.01 specifies that there must be no object or obstruction to the view from 30 feet of the intersection, and that no object’s height shall be more than 3 feet in this distance.   It is not uncommon to have a driveway or a street close to an intersection as long as the obstruction-safety factors are considered. The closest case to Highland Villas is the driveway for Hillcrest Apartments at the beginning of Call Avenue, which is a little over 30 feet away from Hayward Boulevard.  The first driveway for this development is 70 feet away from Hayward Boulevard.

• Are You Asking for Zone Change?  or any Variance?

Since the designation was changed to Medium Density Residential with the adoption of the Hayward Highlands Neighborhood Plan in 1998, the City encourages processing the applications through PD (Planned development) for general plan of Medium Density. Highland Villas proposed plan is to be processed through PD.  (Please see the zoning section for this property.)  At this time, there is no request for any variance. However, a Planned Development process is necessary to adopt the City of Hayward's General Plan.

What do you do with the mature trees?

There are approximately 18 small to medium size Eucalyptus trees along Tribune in moderate to poor health and structure. The City's Hillside Design and Urban/Wildland Interface Guidelines classifies the Eucalyptus trees as Highly Flammable Plants.  The project proposes to replace all of the Eucalyptus trees with high quality native trees. The City’s Landscape Architect recommends replacing the trees along Hayward Boulevard with a 36" boxed sizes. Most of the existing eucalyptus trees will be replaced with high-quality, high-grade native trees, according to the arborists and landscape Architect recommendations.  The plan is to do this in phases.

How about Fire-Engine entry/exit and safety, Mail Distribution, & Garbage Collection?

The entry to each driveway is designed with the consultation of the Fire Chief and City ordinance. It is designed so that a fire engine can have access to each unit in an emergency case.  The units are of single-family type and the garbage collection requirement needs to be met. With the cooperation of the Post Office, there would be a common mailbox (MUD), near Tribune, for all the A-units, and a common mailbox for all the B-Units.  

How about the design of the houses and heights

The buildings have been designed in a unique, attractive architectural style and each unit meets the architectural design guidelines applicable to single-family homes. Particularly, the height of each unit is not more than what is specified by the City of Hayward.  The Design is based on a creative architectural style that incorporates aesthetic quality. The design incorporates:

q       An offset is used to break up a building into components, and at least one side of the building wall above the first floor level is "set in". 

q       Necessary bays, trellises or other features are used to create relief, high shade, and contrast

q       Building penetration and projection is used to create a rhythm of patterns for viewscape.