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Civil war has broken out over plans to construct a massive kids’ summer camp in picturesque rural Castro Valley that it says will serve 1,000 kids in the Bay Area.
The Oakland-based Mosaic project would be built on 37 acres of land in Castro Valley along Cull Canyon Road with convenient access to the Bay Area. The group says the location is “situated in a picturesque canyon” that includes a creek, hiking trails, and wooded hills with valley views,” according to the website.
The non-profit organization has sought “approval for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to establish a local Outdoor Recreation Facility that will keep this work accessible to Alameda County kids.” They argue that it is not for the construction of an outdoor camp, but instead “an Outdoor Recreation Facility, which includes youth camps.” A total of 12 cabins, along with a dining hall and staff residence building are to be built on the site, with more than 30 acres left to get kids outdoors and off screens.
The project dates back to 2018, when a donor purchased the land for $1.9 million and gifted it to the non-profit. However, despite the group and donor’s plans to build, not to mention spending millions in hiring additional consultants for studies and environmental analysis to get the project off the ground, it has faced strong opposition.
“We expected that there would be some opposition,” Sabrina Moyle, the board chair of the Mosaic Project, which runs the camp and classroom programs for an additional 4,000 students at 34 Bay Area schools, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “We didn’t expect that it was going to be as deep as it turned out to be, so that was a bit of a surprise.”
The nonprofit gives Bay Area 4th and 5th grade kids a weeklong experience in nature and previously relied on renting land in Santa Cruz and Napa counties, whose locations are not tenable for staff to commute.
The project has faced opposition from the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council and from the West County Board of Zoning Adjustments who rejected the proposal to approve the environmental review and conditional use permit.
“My issues are life safety, fire hazard, lack of water supply,” a member, who voted against it, said, per SF Chronicle. “I am not convinced it’s not a school, not convinced that agriculture is the primary objective and I do think there is a land use conflict with the winery.”
Two members on the zoning board also recused themselves, including one of the owners of the winery, Teddy Seibert.
“My property shares two boundary lines with the proposed project site and my farming practices and licenses and permits associated with the winery may be negatively affected by this project,” Seibert, the vice chair of the committee, said.
The California Post spoke to a staff member of Alameda County Supervisor David Haubert of District 1 who said that the proposal now goes to the planning board of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. They will decide on the conditional use permit this Thursday. It is the first time the planning board is hearing it, he added.
A Facebook post about Thursday’s upcoming meeting has nearly 100 comments, and it’s fair to say the majority do not want this to be constructed. Concerns range from wildfire risks, to traffic and environmental impact.
“While I recognize and appreciate the positive intentions behind the Mosaic Project’s mission, the proposed site is not appropriate for a high-occupancy youth camp. The location presents serious safety, environmental, and land-use concerns that cannot be overlooked,” one person wrote.
“Fire Safety Risks: The project site is situated in a High Fire Hazard Severity Zone along a narrow, dead-end road. In the event of a wildfire, evacuating dozens of children and staff alongside local residents would likely create a dangerous bottleneck, putting lives at risk.”
Another added, “The site chosen by the project developers is overwhelmingly misguided and unsuitable…”
While a third wrote, “Years ago the same board denied a private school from building on the very busy Dublin Blvd land they had owned for decades. I don’t see why they wouldn’t deny this as well. I hope this is not in Cull Canyon.”
“It rests in the middle of a boxed canyon, next to a winery, with only one narrow two-lane road in and out with an extremely steep incline for the majority of the land area,” Linda Fusinati, who has lived in Castro Valley for 30 years, wrote in an email to the Chronicle.
For those concerned about the fire risk, Mosaic said that “Distinguished and recognized Alameda County fire experts and officials herald Mosaic’s plan in terms of fire safety,” on its website. Also, on days the National Weather Service declares “red flag fire weather days” no programs will be held on those days for kids.
As far as increasing traffic flow to the area, Mosaic said its plans “have been fully analyzed by experts.” The group also said that “Students will be transported to and from the camp in buses that are fully compliant with legal allowances and limitation of the access roadways.”
Then there were those concerns about water demand in the area increasing and taking away water from wells in the area. But the group said that the state “has approved Mosaic’s design and initial scientific assessment as to adequacy and sourcing. Mosaic cannot and will not operate its water supply system without and until full and final certification by the State of California, who will have considered its impact on nearby wells.”
Others worried about what it would mean for the nearby winery. However, the group again claimed that as part of the review process the county found there “are no compatibility issues of Mosaic with existing adjacent land uses,” which includes the nearby winery.
Not all residents are opposed to it. Colleen Breitenstein, who has lived in the canyon area for a decade, said she hopes it moves forward.
“What we have going on is a very vocal group of people who don’t have anything better to do,” Breitenstein told the Chronicle. “I think this camp would be amazing. I want to take my children to this camp.”
Even if it gets approval from the board on Thursday, the project will still have to go through lengthy state and county approvals for building permits and plans to construct a water and septic system.
The California Post reached out to the Mosaic Project, Castro Valley Unified School District Superintendent’s Nia Rashidchi office and the nearby winery for further comment.
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