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Measure L -- Active Adult Community
Measure L would authorize the creation of the West Davis Active Adult Community (WDAAC) by amending the general plan to turn 74 acres of agriculturally zoned land into residential & mixed-use.
Tucked into the northwest corner of Davis by Sutter Hospital, this development plans to offer small apartments, cottages, condos and homes for rent and for sale.
Here’s the kicker: ~80% of the units are reserved for seniors 55+ currently living in Davis or somehow affiliated with Davis.
Primary Project Components
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< 560 primary housing units, including affordable (<26.7%), market rate rental and market rate for-sale housing units.
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Provide land to accommodate [a maximum of ] 150 subsidized, affordable senior apartments [600 ft.²] - which means it’s not guaranteed (an outside non-profit has to raise funds for construction - likely to be completed in phases rather than all at once, without major support from outside sources).
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Provide ~3-acre parcel for specialized senior care facility, possibly University Retirement Community (URC)
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Include a mixed-use Activity and Wellness Center that is available to the public via paid membership.
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Includes oak-filled ag buffer area, five internal mini-parks, and more than two miles of walking and bike paths.
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Land donation for a landing area to accommodate bike overcrossing of Highway 113.
For:
Seniors need housing. This fab location adjoins a hospital and other medical services. Features include zero-net energy buildings, bike paths and landscaped walkways, parks, plus a wellness center w/ a 50 meter pool. What more could you want? Addresses the needs of seniors and the housing crisis in Davis, focusing on those living/working here, not those vile commuters to Sac (nothing against you personally, but… stop clogging the causeway!).
Building senior housing (including affordable) frees up housing for students & families, as seniors sell or rent their previous homes.
Opponents claim there’s a lot happening here that’s not obvious on the surface.
Inquiring minds want to know…
Against:
Arguments against Measure L claim irresponsible planning and developer giveaways/subsidies from the city. How green is another low-density development on the edge of town? Do seniors really sell their houses (opening up housing stock), or do they hold onto them, detris-filled, until 20 years later their children inherit & turn them into overpriced student rentals with absentee landlords?
And what the F!*C&R@ is with this “Caring for Davis’ Own” rhetoric? Will preferential housing for those with Davis ties further white-ify our fair (skinned) city?
City of Davis Resolution 10-118 (passed in July 2010) recommends an independent market analysis to determine the need for senior & disabled housing, to include impacts on the Davis community at-large. But this analysis was never completed. Was it good judgement in shortening the bureaucratic process? Or a lack of due diligence?
Straw Poll:
Yes -- 2; No -- 10; Undecided & Abstainers -- 2
We weren’t sure if we should be suspicious or not of the developer’s true intentions, so we erred on the side of caution and mostly voted NO - if the developers really want this project to go through, they’ll try again next ballot season. Maybe with less sprawl, no Davis-only requirement and no age discrimination!
The illustrator admits a certain… bias…