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Record of Proceedings

Castro Valley MAC Meeting Discusses Fire Safety, Crime, Code Enforcement, and Fireworks Ban

Board of Supervisors — Tuesday, March 17, 2026
BodyAlameda County, California
SessionBoard of Supervisors
DateTuesday, March 17, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:00

Okay, we're gonna go ahead and get started here.

0:09

We're gonna have a roll call.

0:17

Council member DeVini.

0:20

I'm here.

0:21

Councilmember Davis.

0:23

Present.

0:23

Council Member Phoebe.

0:25

Here.

0:25

Councilmember Mota, excused.

0:27

Council Member Thomas.

0:29

President.

0:30

Vice Chair Mulgrew.

0:31

Present.

0:33

Chair Moore.

0:34

Present.

0:35

We have a quorum.

0:36

Okay.

0:37

For the folks in the room, um, our vice chair will be from a remote location, but um, he'll have the ability to participate.

0:45

So just want to give you a heads up on that.

0:48

Okay.

0:48

Uh, next item on the agenda here is our pledge of allegiance.

0:52

So I can ask uh vice chair or yeah, I don't want to do vice chair.

0:57

Let's do uh Tim.

1:08

Under uh okay.

1:16

Thank you, Councilmember Faber.

1:20

I wasn't sure um Vice Chair Morgan we could hear you or not.

1:25

So I thought it would be best to go with that, Tim.

1:29

Okay.

1:32

And uh we have a quorum here, so let's go ahead and um open the meeting up for public comment.

1:38

Deputy Chief Moore.

1:41

We'll go three minutes for anybody that um um would like to speak on an item that is not on the agenda.

1:53

Good evening, commissioners.

1:54

Can you hear me okay?

1:56

Perfect.

1:57

Well, uh thank you for having me tonight, even though I didn't make the agenda, it was sort of intentional.

2:01

Um, I just wanted to come and give a couple quick updates on our fire station uh progress um before you actually see some change here in the community.

2:09

So um I'm gonna start with station 25.

2:12

It's on our San Miguel, it's our sort of our downtown station there.

2:15

And I just wanted to give an update as of this Wednesday.

2:18

We will officially have relocated that fire station to our CB sanitary um location.

2:24

So um tomorrow we're actually gonna start tearing down sort of the last little parts of the fire station.

2:31

Wednesday morning will be our official move, and then you'll see fire engines responding out of our CV sanitary uh location.

2:39

We will be putting a fence up in front of our old fire station.

2:43

Um we'll have a sign on it that says that we've relocated temporarily to uh Marshall.

2:48

And so I just wanted first and foremost to let you know that you're gonna see that in your community here.

2:53

It won't impact responses as we've talked about previously.

2:56

The same amount of apparatus are still responding.

2:59

They're just gonna be at a different spot.

3:01

So that's the first thing I wanted to say is is that we made a lot of progress on moving forward with station 25.

3:07

Uh maybe a little bit more on 25.

3:10

Once we get off the property, they're gonna start working on the abatement inside of station 25.

3:16

So all the asbestos we're gonna start removing before we uh start the demolition.

3:21

So hopefully by the second week in April, you're actually gonna see that station start coming down, and I could provide updates if you'd like on the actual demolition, but we are sort of in full stride at station 25.

3:33

So, really positive news there.

3:35

Um, I'll pivot quickly up to our station seven on Palomaris Hills.

3:39

Um, we are in the all the underground has been completed.

3:43

So we've done all the uh piping, the trenching, and we now have rebar and our form and our forms are going up this week.

3:50

So within probably by the end of this month, if not the first week in April, you're gonna see some foundation stem walls up at station seven.

3:58

So we've actually really made or made quite a bit of progress at our station seven site as well.

4:03

So um my goal is to come back to you officially on the agenda, but I wanted to wait about another month, month and a half until I had some pictures so I could actually give you a real progress report.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Code Enforcement███████████████████████████████████35%
Public Safety████████████████16%
Fireworks Regulation█████████████13%
Transportation Safety████████8%
Public Comment███████7%
Procedural████4%
Public Engagement███3%
Fire Safety██2%
Traffic Safety██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) Meeting - March 17, 2026

The Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council met on March 17, 2026, at 2:00 PM to discuss a range of community issues. Key topics included updates on fire station relocations, California Highway Patrol statistics, crime trends, code enforcement activities, sidewalk vending enforcement, and a proposed fireworks and social host ordinance. The meeting featured public comments, council discussions, and a vote on the fireworks ordinance.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Deputy Chief Moore (Fire Department) gave an update on fire station progress: Station 25 is relocating to a CV sanitary location effective March 18, with demolition and abatement starting in April. Station 7 on Palomaris Hills has underground work completed and foundation work beginning. No questions were taken, but the chair asked him to present a formal update at a future land use meeting.
  • Ann Ponagati (Beacon Hill Drive resident) expressed concern about a short-term rental property on her street operating as an event space, creating noise, traffic, safety, and fire hazards. She asked the MAC to help influence the Board of Supervisors to adopt regulations similar to neighboring cities (e.g., 30-day minimum stays, non-hosted rental prohibitions). She also raised fire safety enforcement issues.
  • Roy (public comment on CHP item) thanked Officer Paps and reported a severe cyclist-vehicle accident on Center Street/Edwards. He criticized the MAC for historically obstructing bike lane infrastructure, stating that the council shares blame for such incidents.
  • Brenda (Fairview resident, on fireworks item) urged the MAC to pass the fireworks ordinance, noting it had already been presented to other MACs and that delays could miss another Fourth of July enforcement opportunity.

California Highway Patrol Update

Officer Paps presented statistics comparing February 2025 to February 2026. Traffic citations decreased due to personnel changes, but DUI arrests increased. Injury crashes decreased, while non-injury crashes increased slightly. Stolen vehicle recoveries remained the same. Ongoing enforcement includes side show prevention, trespassing enforcement on state properties (using CARES program partnerships), and pedestrian safety operations. Upcoming events: Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April, a maximum enforcement period for speeding on April 28-29, and the Every 15 Minutes program at Castro Valley High School. Officer Paps also discussed traffic complaints (e.g., Proctor Elementary food distribution) and future Start Smart classes. Council members asked about e-bike regulations, jaywalking fault, DUI education, intersection safety (Alman/Christensen, Crow Canyon, James/Redwood), and coordination with CHP on speeding hot spots. Officer Paps noted that no presumptive limit for marijuana exists.

Castro Valley Crime Statistics Update

Deputies Lazouk and Finley presented crime statistics comparing 2024 to 2025. Key trends:

  • Crimes against person increased 4% overall (fondling doubled, but aggravated assault/simple assault offset).
  • Property crimes increased 3% overall (robbery down 34%, burglary down 30%, larceny/theft up 31%, motor vehicle theft down 25%).
  • Crimes against society increased 32% (fraud up 113%, disorderly conduct up 111%, DUI and drug violations up). Captain McMillan provided context: calls for service are down, homicides decreased (2 in 2025), and proactive enforcement is increasing. He noted that the department is 20% short-staffed but actively hiring. Council members discussed flock cameras, catalytic converter thefts (down due to lower copper prices), deputy consistency, and comparisons to surrounding areas. Vice Chair Mulgrew requested patrol hours data for the upcoming annual report.

Code Enforcement Update

Ed La Bayo and John Cransky presented code enforcement data for 2025 and early 2026. In 2025, there were 1,924 reports countywide, 531 in Castro Valley. Top complaint types: weeds/vegetation (81), trash/debris (73), and other nuisances. Proactive programs include tobacco retail licensing (down from 85 to 65 retailers), cannabis inspections (3 permitted retailers, 4 illegal grow ops in 2025), rental inspections (125 cases countywide), and sidewalk vending enforcement. John Cransky detailed sidewalk vending enforcement: in 2025, 13 locations were addressed; in 2026 (Jan-Feb), 22 vendors were contacted, with 41 warnings/citations issued. Environmental Health (Antonio) reported confiscation of food and equipment, though larger items like steam cookers cannot be taken due to lack of lift gates/storage. Council members discussed Beacon Hill short-term rental case (open), need for weekend code enforcement coverage, and barriers to enforcement (coordination, equipment). Chair Moore emphasized the need for a lead agency and discussed cleanup responsibilities and potential tow company partnerships.

Fireworks and Social Host Ordinance

Sergeant Kurt Imperial of ACSO presented a proposed ordinance banning all fireworks (including safe/sane) in unincorporated Alameda County, with a social host provision holding property owners/renters liable. Fines: $750 first violation, $1,500 second, $2,500 subsequent. Appeals to BZA and Board of Supervisors. The ACSO requested the MAC's recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. Council members raised concerns about holding property owners liable for tenants' actions and the overreach of banning possession of safe/sane fireworks. Councilmember Davini moved to recommend approval with an amendment that fines be assessed only against the legal occupant, not the owner. The motion failed on a roll call vote (DeVini aye, Phoebe no, Thomas no, Davis aye, Moore no). The MAC did not recommend the ordinance.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes Approved: The minutes from the January 20, 2026 meeting were approved unanimously (6-0, Chair Moore abstained as absent).
  • Fireworks Ordinance: The MAC voted 2-3 against recommending the proposed fireworks and social host ordinance to the Board of Supervisors. The motion to recommend with an amendment (fines only against occupant) failed.
  • Sidewalk Vending Enforcement: The council acknowledged progress but requested continued updates, especially regarding weekend enforcement and equipment storage.
  • Future Presentations: Officer Paps will return next month for an annual overview; Sergeant Coley will present the Real-Time Information Center at the next general purpose meeting; Deputy Chief Moore will provide a formal fire station update at a future land use meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, we're gonna go ahead and get started here. We're gonna have a roll call. Council member DeVini. I'm here. Councilmember Davis. Present. Council Member Phoebe. Here. Councilmember Mota, excused. Council Member Thomas. President. Vice Chair Mulgrew. Present. Chair Moore. Present. We have a quorum. Okay. For the folks in the room, um, our vice chair will be from a remote location, but um, he'll have the ability to participate. So just want to give you a heads up on that. Okay. Uh, next item on the agenda here is our pledge of allegiance. So I can ask uh vice chair or yeah, I don't want to do vice chair. Let's do uh Tim. Under uh okay. Thank you, Councilmember Faber. I wasn't sure um Vice Chair Morgan we could hear you or not. So I thought it would be best to go with that, Tim. Okay. And uh we have a quorum here, so let's go ahead and um open the meeting up for public comment. Deputy Chief Moore. We'll go three minutes for anybody that um um would like to speak on an item that is not on the agenda. Good evening, commissioners. Can you hear me okay? Perfect. Well, uh thank you for having me tonight, even though I didn't make the agenda, it was sort of intentional. Um, I just wanted to come and give a couple quick updates on our fire station uh progress um before you actually see some change here in the community. So um I'm gonna start with station 25. It's on our San Miguel, it's our sort of our downtown station there. And I just wanted to give an update as of this Wednesday. We will officially have relocated that fire station to our CB sanitary um location. So um tomorrow we're actually gonna start tearing down sort of the last little parts of the fire station. Wednesday morning will be our official move, and then you'll see fire engines responding out of our CV sanitary uh location. We will be putting a fence up in front of our old fire station. Um we'll have a sign on it that says that we've relocated temporarily to uh Marshall. And so I just wanted first and foremost to let you know that you're gonna see that in your community here. It won't impact responses as we've talked about previously. The same amount of apparatus are still responding. They're just gonna be at a different spot. So that's the first thing I wanted to say is is that we made a lot of progress on moving forward with station 25. Uh maybe a little bit more on 25.

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