RAFTA – Residents Alliance for the Fairmont Terrace Area

This group is horrible.
I moved to the Neighborhood about 2 years ago. The members (which is less than 5% of the homes) sees themselves as the neighborhood gods, patrolling and calling out people who don’t follow their «rules».
I have suspected that they have trespassed on my property before and have written messages in the dew on my car. Have filed police reports!
BEWARE OF RAFTA!!!

RAFTA is like a tumor that keeps growing back. Their President-​for-​Life sunk the organization in 2007. This person wrote a letter to the Board of Supervisors explaining that he represented all 6,700 residents of our neighborhood. Only, he never asked us to approve him as a representative. He was later fired by the Board of Supervisors for his actions as a member of the Planning Commission.
RAFTA won’t go away. They continue to post notes on the NextDoor site pretending they speak for the whole neighborhood. Some members continue to call it a «residential association,» which is a false claim. RAFTA is a club, nothing more, and represents no one but their 25 or so members.

I’ve lived in this area for about 14 years, and I’ve seen signs for the «RAFTA» meetings but I never gave them a second thought. I love my ‘hood, but I don’t want my neighbors knowing too much about me and my biz.
Suddenly, there’s all these flyers and posters telling us about this meeting for the planning commission to decide whether to annex our area out of Castro Valley and into San Lorenzo.
I went to the meeting, and it is SOOOOO clear that there is some seriously shady political shiznit going down.
The debate is about whether our area (El Portal Ridge — which is also known as the unicorporated area of San Leandro) should continue to be included in the Castro Valley General Plan, which it has been since 1961, or all of a sudden be included in the San Lorenzo General Plan, which makes ZERO sense.
The president of RAFTA, asshole elect Richard Hancock, sent a letter to the board of supervisors speaking on behalf of not just the 30 people which RAFTA represents, but ALL (1000’s) of El Portal Ridge, stating that everyone wanted to all of a sudden be a part of San Lorenzo.
What the EFF!
Most people here send their kids to CV schools, shop in CV, are civically involved in CV and have been ever since these homes were built in 1947! This douchbag, who I previously thought was mentally challenged because he lived with his mom and all I ever saw him do was walk his dog, is in reality a manipulative dick head who is trying to ruin our neighborhood, change the zoning laws, and create development that no one here wants.
This meeting was amazing. I am soooo going to be coming to the next one.
Bottom line, neighborhood groups can be real cess-​pools for power hungry nobodies looking for recognition when they are in reality 60 year old losers who live with their mothers.