Eden Area MAC Meeting – January 15, 2026

The Eden Area Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) met on January 15, 2026, at 6:00 PM and adjourned at 8:40 PM. The meeting featured public comments, a deferral of the December minutes, presentations on the first annual Environmental Justice (EJ) Element implementation report and a Health Status Report for the EJ priority communities, followed by council feedback.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Officer Roger Jen Pabst (CHP) reported December statistics for the Eden area: 320 traffic citations, 20 vehicles towed/stored, 6 DUI arrests, 1 felony arrest, 5 misdemeanor arrests, 17 parking citations, 42 non‑injury crashes, 26 injury crashes, and 2 recovered stolen vehicles. He noted no fatal crashes during the holiday enforcement periods and announced seven new officers reporting February 16. He also urged pedestrian safety after two pedestrian crashes that day.
• Michael Moore expressed concern about a motorized quad driver recklessly driving and an Alameda County Sheriff’s deputy declining to pursue because “chasing him is just gonna cause an accident.” He stated, “That needs to change.”
• Chuck Meadows encouraged support for preserving the Sky West property (at the edge of the jurisdiction) as open space, citing its importance for wildlife and the community. He noted that a presentation by Mimi Dean the previous night had drawn a packed room.
• Gary Wolf announced his candidacy for the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) board on the November 2026 ballot, citing issues of water affordability, truck traffic, renewable energy, and drought management. He distributed contact information and stated he would listen and represent the community.
• Sandra Arculetta urged the MAC to establish a dedicated youth commission for the unincorporated area, noting that existing youth leaders would benefit from a pipeline to MAC seats and county commissions.
• Mimi Dean highlighted a 2011 airport layout plan that designated the Sky West Golf Course as a buffer zone for San Lorenzo, arguing that development there would violate environmental justice principles. She volunteered to present her research to the MAC.
• Anna Rasquiza (Resources for Community Development) thanked the planning department and health department for the EJ element and health status report, emphasizing that the EJ element provides a powerful tool for advancing equity.
• Michael Freed (Cherryland) urged immediate implementation of the EJ element, especially regarding Sky West, and encouraged the council to fill vacant seats.
• Brooklyn Marcado supported a youth advisory council for unincorporated areas and suggested youth seats on the MAC.
• Rennie Waggy supported trails and advocated for East Bay Regional Park District to consider Sky West.
• Gary Wolf (later) noted that EBMUD’s Community Assistance Program (CAP) is vastly undersubscribed: 33,000 households qualify but only 11,000 have signed up, and he urged outreach.
• Michael Moore (later) criticized the lack of progress on many EJ initiatives, calling the completion rate “a 90% failure,” and questioned how new drug threats are being addressed.

Discussion Items

Approval of Minutes (December 9, 2025)

• Councilmember Taylor questioned the accuracy of a quote attributed to Officer Pabst in the minutes. Staff clarified that the minutes are not a word‑for‑word transcript and that corrections require reviewing the video. Councilmember Stanley suggested including summaries of public comments, not just names. A typo was also noted (page five).
• Motion to defer the minutes until the next meeting to allow review of the video and consider improvements. The motion passed unanimously (6‑0).

Environmental Justice Element – First Annual Implementation Report

• Allie Abbers and Celestia Josefino (Planning Department) presented the draft report covering August 2024 to September 2025. Key points:
  • 162 actions; 58 are ongoing core functions. Of the 104 discrete actions, 9.6% were implemented, 7.7% showed significant progress, 56.7% were in progress, and 26% had not yet started.
  • Implementation across all seven goal areas; no goal area had zero progress.
  • Barriers included lack of dedicated funding/staff and shifting priorities.
  • Highlights included code enforcement forms in Spanish/English/Chinese, a child care needs assessment, improvements to healthy food access (mini‑grants up to $25,000 each), and the official USPS place names change for Ashland, Cherryland, Hayward Acres, Fairview, Castro Valley, and San Lorenzo.
  • Planned year‑two actions: strengthen the technical advisory committee, enhance community engagement (surveys, annual community meetings), publish an online companion guide, update baseline health data, and refine reporting tools.
• Council feedback: Requests for quarterly updates (rather than annual), better community engagement and translation access (e.g., Spanish translation of meetings), inclusion of partner agencies like HARD and fire department for accountability, and connecting EJ implementation to budget prioritization processes. Concerns were raised about actions not yet started (e.g., air pollution exposure zone ordinance, urban greening master plan, economic development strategic plan). Councilmember Weidler urged acceleration of projects like the San Lorenzo Creekway Trail and coordination with Hayward on the Sky West buffer.

Health Status Report for EJ Priority Communities

• Dr. Nicholas Moss, Sandy Galvez, and Dr. Julia Rafeman (Alameda County Public Health) presented data on demographics, social determinants of health, and health outcomes for the EJ area (Ashland, Cherryland, Hayward Acres, San Lorenzo, southwestern Castro Valley) compared to the county overall.
  • Demographics: EJ area is 42% Latino (vs. 23% countywide); Pacific Islander and American Indian populations are larger than county proportions.
  • Social conditions: African American children are 7 times more likely to live in poverty than white children. 13% of EJ area residents live in overcrowded housing (1.8 times the county rate). 86% high school completion rate in the EJ area vs. 92% countywide (Cherryland: 72%).
  • Health inequities: 15‑year life expectancy gap by race/ethnicity countywide. Life expectancy in Hayward Acres (75.2 years) vs. Piedmont (87.7 years). Middle‑aged (45–74) mortality in the EJ area is 49% higher than the county, driven by heart disease (62% higher) and cancer (30% higher).
  • Asthma and mental health: Stark inequities by race/ethnicity; 45% of transgender youth and 30% of LGB youth reported considering suicide.
  • The report is required every three years under the EJ element.
• Council feedback: Council members noted the data validates lived experiences and requested future reports include maternal health outcomes, disability data, senior‑specific data, trends over time, and actionable items tied to specific EJ actions. Dr. Moss agreed to follow up on infant outcomes and share links to prior board presentations on disability and older adults. Councilmember Stanley suggested comparing EJ area data to county trends to gauge progress.

Key Outcomes

• Minutes deferred to the next MAC meeting (February 2026) to verify a quote and consider adding public‑comment summaries.
• EJ Implementation Report: Informational item taken under advisement; planning staff will incorporate MAC feedback (quarterly updates, stronger community engagement, translation, inclusion of partner agencies, acceleration of high‑priority actions) into the final report to the Board of Supervisors.
• Health Status Report: Informational item; health department will follow up with additional data on maternal/infant outcomes, disability, and seniors. Council encouraged using the data to inform EJ implementation and broader county policies.
• No formal votes were taken on either report. Meeting adjourned at 8:40 PM.

Councilmember Announcements

• Councilmember Taylor reminded attendees to verify their congressional district after Proposition 50, as many in unincorporated areas may have changed.
• Councilmember Roll requested updates from staff on a pending language access policy and suggested that public‑comment summaries be included in future minutes to capture valuable community input (e.g., Gary Wolf’s EBMUD CAP program). Chair Weidler noted agreement.