Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, Hayward Acres and San Lorenzo make up the Urban Unincorporated Area of Alameda County. This area is collectively known as the Eden Area.
Unlike their neighboring cities of Hayward and San Leandro, unincorporated areas do not enjoy the same benefits as a city– namely, the ability to raise additional taxes for services, political representation through a mayor and city council, and city administration and staff to serve residents directly. Instead, in unincorporated areas typical “municipal services” (e.g., the fire department, police, library, public works) are provided by the county.
Why we are unincorporated
The Eden Area was historically rural farmland that didn’t become urban up until the mid 1900’s most of what is now known as the unincorporated area was rural farm land. While neighbors like Hayward and San Leandro were forming into cities, communities in the Eden Area primarily remained farms and orchards. In the mid 1900’s farm land was sold to build more homes. Due to racial segregation and exclusionary redlining, the Eden Area was one of the few places where low-income and ethnic minorities could live and own a home, creating the densely populated and culturally rich urban Eden Area we know today.
Why not incorporate?
There have been efforts to incorporate before, primarily in Castro Valley. However those attempts have been unsuccessful, mostly due to the inability of each community to generate enough tax revenue to sustain itself. The County Board of Supervisors would also need to support such a move because they would lose the revenue base currently derived from the unincorporated area.
In 2023 a development consultant proposed merging the six urban unincorporated areas into one city. However, the proposal was met with pushback from residents who are proud of their unincorporated status and concerns over how political representation would be shared across diverse communities.
The Eden Area today
As a result of its history of housing segregation, residents in the Eden Unincorporated area today still face many structural disadvantages. With over 160,000 residents, if incorporated, the Eden Area would be the fourth largest city in Alameda County. A lack of a central government in the unincorporated areas has resulted in insufficient representation, chronic underinvestment and little control over how budget funds are utilized.
For residents living in the Eden Area, the history and lack of governmental oversight substantially impact their lives. Residents in the unincorporated areas have some of the highest poverty rates in the county and face a large number of housing issues, including living in homes that don’t meet the state’s minimum habitability standards. Up until recently, renters in single family homes in the Eden Area were left out of state regulations that protect renters from unjustified evictions.
Because the unincorporated areas do not have a centralized government, the Eden Area receives its municipal services directly from the county. These services are fragmented across several departments, causing unnecessary hurdles and confusion for residents.
My Eden Voice was created by a group of residents across the Eden Area to address these inequities towards creating a community where residents are proud to live and work, with affordable housing, economic prosperity, quality education, and a healthy environment for generations to come.
