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Board sets March 5 date for contested appeals after debate over repeated delays
Summary
After public comment on both sides and legal advice about due process, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted to continue two related appeals to a date‑certain of March 5, 2026, aiming to ensure all parties and expert witnesses can participate.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 8 voted unanimously to continue two related appeals (items 5 and 6 on the planning agenda) to a date‑certain of March 5, 2026, following an extended discussion about fairness and past delays.
President Halbert proposed the March 5 planning meeting as the most likely date to accommodate parties and technical witnesses. County counsel and Andrea Widdle, identified in the meeting as chief assistant county counsel, advised the board that the first procedural step was to consider any requests for continuance before reopening the hearings and taking testimony. Widdle said the items were originally heard together and should be considered together on reconsideration.
Members of the public who attended urged the board both to deny further delays and to allow a continuance. One in‑person speaker opposing delay said the matter “has been going on since 2019” and called repeated continuances “part of continued delaying tactics.” Another participant who said she represents the appellant told the board that recent storms delayed production of new evidence and that her attorney and a geotechnical expert could not attend earlier dates; she asked for a continuance so those witnesses and neighborhood residents could be present.
Board members weighed the competing concerns. A member of county counsel warned the board that proceeding in the absence of counsel or key expert witnesses could create a later due‑process challenge on appeal. Several supervisors said a date‑certain continuance — and an explicit condition that further continuances be limited absent emergency — would best protect the parties’ rights while avoiding indefinite delay.
Supervisor (speaker 4) moved to continue both items to the March 5 planning meeting; a colleague seconded the motion. The clerk called the roll and recorded unanimous support among the present supervisors; the board continued items 5 and 6 to March 5, 2026.
What happens next: the board will re‑open the matters on March 5 as de novo hearings, at which new evidence may be introduced and testimony taken. The board also indicated it may specify that additional continuances will not be granted except for extraordinary circumstances.
