Alameda County presents draft Environmental Justice element; staff recommends CEQA exemption

Alameda County planning staff on May 6 presented a revised draft Environmental Justice (EJ) element intended to bring the county’s general plan into compliance with Senate Bill 1000, the 2016 law that requires jurisdictions with disadvantaged communities to adopt environmental-justice policies.

Ally Abbers of the Community Development Agency’s Planning Department said the draft identifies priority communities — including Ashland, Cherryland, Hayward Acres, five census tracts in western and southern Castro Valley and a tract along Highway 880 in San Lorenzo — and sets goals to reduce pollution exposure, increase access to healthy food and public facilities, improve housing and promote civic engagement. Abbers said staff released the draft for public comment in May 2023, circulated a revised draft in November 2023 and released a second revised draft in January 2024.

The Planning Department told the Transportation and Planning Committee that the draft EJ element includes community profiles, a review of social and environmental determinants of health, and an action-oriented set of goals, policies and implementation measures aligned with the six topic areas required by SB 1000. Abbers said staff received “hundreds of comments” and incorporated many in the January 2024 second revised draft. She said staff anticipates bringing a final EJ element to the Board of Supervisors for adoption in June 2024, after the Board Planning body reviews the item.

The Planning Commission considered the draft on April 1, 2024, and adopted resolution PC 24-05 recommending approval of the EJ element and the Planning Department’s CEQA notice of exemption. According to staff, the Planning Commission also recommended incorporating suggested language from the Castro Valley and Eden Area Municipal Advisory Councils (MACs) and broadening an action (EJ 2.1.c) addressing potential pollution impacts from Hayward Executive Airport to explicitly include noise pollution. The staff presentation noted letters both supporting and opposing a specific airport-related measure; staff included those letters as Attachment E.

On CEQA, staff reported it concluded the EJ element is exempt from CEQA under the common-sense exemption (no reasonably foreseeable indirect changes to the environment) and under the Class 8 exemption for regulatory agency actions to maintain or protect the environment; staff prepared a notice of exemption for public review. The committee’s legal advisor reminded members that informational presentations do not constitute a formal hearing on the matter and that the Board would later consider any formal recommendations.

Why it matters: the EJ element directs land-use policy and county decision-making to prioritize health and equity in communities the county has identified as most affected by environmental burdens. The element will guide future discretionary land-use decisions, capital investments and outreach if adopted.

What’s next: staff said they will present the final EJ element to the Board of Supervisors for adoption in June 2024; the Planning Commission’s PC 24-05 recommendation and the list of public comments are part of the record for that consideration.