Council Approves Business-Friendly Overhaul but Pulls Home Business Pilot

Hayward's City Council unanimously passed its most sweeping zoning and permitting reform in years — but not before a sharp, emotional debate over whether to let residents run small businesses out of their garages in south Hayward. Separately, the council ratified cost-of-living deferrals with all six labor unions and city executives, the centerpiece of a multi-year plan to close a structural budget deficit without layoffs.

• Business-friendly zoning overhaul advances with streamlined beer-and-wine permits, new entertainment and pop-up categories, and mandatory council approval for all data centers — but the novel home-based business pilot is shelved for up to a year

• All six labor unions defer COLAs in MOU amendments ratified unanimously, joined by city executives and unrepresented staff making parallel concessions

• Stratford Village flood control assessment passes narrowly, 53.66% to 46.34%, raising per-parcel rates to $341.74 with annual CPI increases

• Massage permit rules tightened with one-year terms, expanded owner-operator definition, and new advertising-based revocation grounds

• Cal State East Bay's 33-1 basketball season honored after the Pioneers became the first unbeaten Division 2 regular-season team in 30 years

After 15 months of research, outreach, and multiple hearings, staff delivered the most comprehensive package of commercial zoning reforms Hayward has seen in years. The council approved the bulk of it — then hit a wall over one piece.