June 3, 2009 > Hayward City Council Hayward City Council May 26, 2009 Presentation of awards to Hayward K-12 winners of the City's Annual Recycling Poster & Essay Contest and recognition of teachers. City formally opposes state of California potentially taking $3.6 million of local revenue from the City of Hayward. Loss of this sum will deplete reserves and impact the City's ability to deliver essential services. Submitted application for $1,554,489 of HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding, as per the Housing & Economic Recovery Act 2008, and authorized implementation of the program when funds are received. Staff recommends a public hearing to consider how to apply the funds to NSP Programs. Confirmed South Hayward BART Plan revisions and entered into a contract with Hall Alminana, Inc. to develop a Form-Based Code for the South Hayward BART Station Area. Regulatory form-based codes, which use words and diagrams, manage the relationship between public space and physical structures - faŤade, massing, relative size, scale and types of streets and blocks - to create the character of a development/area. Conventional zoning focuses on land use and density using abstract parameters, such as dwellings per acre, floor area ratio (FAR), setbacks and parking ratios, and neglect integrated form. Mayor Michael Sweeney - Yes Kevin Dowling - Yes Barbara Halliday - Yes Olden Henson - Yes Anna Laveria May - Yes Bill Quirk - Yes Francisco Zermeno - Yes Public Comments Dr Hal Gin, President of the Chabot Los Positas College Board of Trustees, and Marita Cheng, Chair of the Hayward-Yixing Sister City Formation Committee, informed the Council and staff that the committee is organizing formal consideration as a sister city to Yixing and will seek official support and recognition by the Council shortly. Details of the Yixing delegates' Oct 2009 visit will be announced when finalized. Dr Gin presented images of Yixing. Carol Lundholm, Mimi Bauer and Andy Wilson favor form-based codes. People better understand visual images than abstract, conceptual ideas and are less prone to criticize a project if they are involved. The Dixon area, at South Hayward BART, deserves a better image. South Hayward BART could be the southern gateway to Hayward. A form-based code could also improve the Mission Blvd corridor. Chequita Parker sought clarification of a form-based code's benefits, costs and challenges for the community and the extent to which streets might be physically altered. Steve Murtaugh stated that American vehicles are on the verge of being halved in size. There will be excess parking because cars will be smaller and pointed to the entry of Mercedes' SMART car into the US market as a sign of things to come.