Sun, Oct. 13, 2002

Cityhood vote looms at last for tucked-away Castro Valley
Some fear the now-quiet community would have to attract big-box retailers to pay civic bills, but advocates say not

By Kiley Russell
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

CASTRO VALLEY - With just a few weeks to go until residents decide if they want to form a city, political activists on both sides are firing off conflicting claims about whether the area would be better off running its own affairs.

On Nov. 5, Castro Valley voters will choose the fate of Measure Q, which would form the 58,000-resident community into a full-fledged city, complete with a mayor, city council, police chief and planning department.

Measure Q would authorize the new city council to levy a 10 percent hotel room tax and extend the county's utility-users tax beyond its sunset date of June 2009.

Supporters say it's high time the area, one of the largest unincorporated urban areas in the state, takes responsibility for its own future.

"All we are trying to do is to protect the community by keeping the tax money here so we can decide how to spend it to promote our own priorities," said Sal Tedesco, a longtime incorporation booster and member of the pro-incorporation group Citizens for Castro Valley.

Police, fire and other public services are now managed by Alameda County, with help on planning and growth decisions from the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council. MAC members are appointed by the area's representative on the Board of Supervisors.

Opponents say there's nothing wrong with the way Castro Valley is governed now and that the area doesn't have the tax-base to support itself as a city.

A study of the proposal prepared by an independent consultant relies on overly optimistic economic forecasts and the proposed city budget is therefore flawed, said Peter Kavaler, a member of the anti-incorporation group The Residents Understanding The Hype, or TRUTH.

"We can't afford it ... so we'll have to make a future choice between more taxes or less services," Kavaler said.

It's a claim proponents of cityhood dispute.

Castro Valley now sends about $18 million or $20 million a year in taxes to the county, which more than pays for any services it uses, "so why the hell are we going to be faced with tax increases or service cuts as a result of incorporation?" Tedesco asked.

After a year of study and several public hearings, Alameda County's Local Agency Formation Commission approved the incorporation proposal. LAFCO found the new city would bring in enough money to provide necessary municipal services, and the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to put the question to voters.

If Measure Q passes, the new city's first-year budget will include about $18.4 million in revenues and roughly $16.7 million in spending. By year 10, the city will take in $19.5 million and spend $20.3 million, according to Economic and Planning Systems Inc., the company hired by the county to draft a fiscal analysis for Castro Valley.

The budget forecast shows the city accumulating a roughly $4.8 million budget reserve by its eighth year of incorporation, at which time it will begin to run roughly $800,000 annual budget shortfalls until year 10, when the shortfall will shrink to about $200,000. The ongoing reserves are expected to cover those shortages.

"A feasibility study is an estimate; it's not a solid predictor of whether a city is going to make it our not," said Alvin Sokolow, a public policy specialist at the University of California extension at UC Davis.

Sokolow has been researching incorporation and other local government issues in California for the past 30 years.

"In most cases, however, residents of newly incorporated cities have been really pleased (because) the cities have provided lots of benefits and they've been more accessible to their citizens than county governments," Sokolow said.

But because the city would have a low sales-tax base and because of state laws that limit the ability of local governments to raise taxes and some fees, incorporation opponents say the city would be forced to lure in unwanted retail development.

"The future city council will be very highly motivated to seek businesses for Castro Valley that will generate sales-tax revenue," Kavaler said.

Over the past few months, TRUTH members have said they fear the city will have to attract "big-box" stores or auto dealerships to boost sales tax receipts.

Incorporation activists say no new retail development is necessary to finance the new city, and none is projected in the fiscal analysis.

"There are a lot of cities that have a very limited sales-tax base," Tedesco said. "One reason we want to incorporate is to retain the current character of the city. We don't want any spreading commercial development in the city, we've got enough of it."

Many incorporation supporters say the city, with its dedicated planning staff, would be in a better position to begin a revitalization program for the downtown area along Castro Valley Boulevard. The area is now dominated by strip malls and fast food restaurants that lack aesthetic charm and fail to give Castro Valley any sort of cohesive community image, pro-cityhood residents say.

"It's not a money issue," Tedesco said. "A lot of people are just afraid of change."

Another battle is being fought over whether the 67 police officers accounted for in the proposed budget are enough to protect the city, which, if Measure Q passes, will include the Castro Valley urban area, the Five Canyons and El Portal Ridge areas.

Castro Valley's police force would be made up of Alameda County sheriff deputies, paid for by city funds.

Members of TRUTH think the new department would be seriously understaffed.

It's a belief held by Alameda County Sheriff Charlie Plummer, whose officers, along with the California Highway Patrol, are now the main law enforcement presence in Castro Valley.

The level of police staffing, however, is based on numbers provided by Plummer's office and the CHP that show there are indeed about 67 officers patrolling Castro Valley, according to the consultant, EPS.

Plummer insists 67 officers is too few, but on Friday he said he didn't know how many officers were patrolling the area now and wouldn't say how many he thought were needed.

The incorporation vote coincides with a city council election, with the five highest vote-getters of a field of 19 candidates becoming the city's first municipal officials.

Four of the 19 are opposed to Measure Q, one hasn't taken a position and the others are in favor of incorporation.

Valley Times Articles
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/2002/10/13/news/
local/states/california/counties/alameda_county/
cities_neighborhoods/livermore_pleasanton/4275791.htm