For those who like, neat, tidy packages, the pieces here fall to place ever so conveniently.
In the article, the local builder is offering to match up to $25,000 in contributions made to the Blue & White Foundation’s drive to complete $1.5 million in donations for the new stadium project. Again, nothing wrong with the cause.
According to best estimates, the Covell Partners or whatever they are calling their enterprise these days is expected to submit an application for an 800 unit senior housing project next month to be developed on the former site of Covell Village. Voters back in 2005, voted down that 2000 unit project by a 60-40 vote.
The landscape may be even more unfriendly now for such developments given the collapse of the housing market and the failed efforts to develop a 191-unit project at Wildhorse Ranch. That project, marked by claims of 90-percent sustainability, was defeated in November by a 75-25 margin.
It appears long odds will not deter the Covell Partners developers. They have already created the astroturf group, CHA, Choices For Healthy Aging, headed by Lydia Delis-Schlosser, coincidentally also listed in the article. CHA has been organizing a small group of Davis Senior to make it appear that there is a grassroots movement pushing for senior housing.
Meanwhile, the Vanguard had previously reported on the Senior Housing Strategy, a process that has come forward out of the push by CHA to get senior housing agendized in hopes that the Covell Village project becomes more likely.
Elaine Roberts Musser reported in the Vanguard yesterday that staff issued a report on the revision of their Senior Housing Strategy, forwarded to the City Council as an informational item on the consent calendar of Tuesday night’s agenda. The matter will be taken up formally on January 12, 2010. The revised version of the Senior Housing Strategy took into consideration comments made by both the Social Services and Senior Citizens Commission.
Efforts to control the agenda have proven more meddlesome than the group anticipated. An effort to create a special committee comprised of a sizable portion of CHA backfired on council. Efforts to include CHA data have backfired. The council embarrassingly had to defeat by a 3-2 vote a call for survey research on Senior Housing Needs.
As noted by Elaine Roberts Musser, staff concurred with most of the findings of the Senior Citizens Commission. However, the big one that was not concurred with was that the Davis Senior Citizens Commission unanimously passed a motion that “recommends assuming there is no current deficiency of 65+ senior age-restricted housing subject to further investigation”.
“City Staff did not concur. Staff found “… there is current deficiency of approximately 60 units. Staff has compared the existing senior units in Davis in six ASHA categories to the proportionate number of units that would be needed using national averages. The existing units in four categories exceeded the proportions of national averages and the existing units in two categories (Assisted Living and Market Rate Senior Apartments) were deficient by a total of approximately 60 units”.”
In the agenda item on Tuesday, there appears to be three key strategies that staff is recommending:
- Developing the strategies related to exploring programs and policies to facilitate aging-in-placein existing homes, and developing a Universal Design ordinance; and
- Implementing the proposed strategies by additional work in development reviews and annual development status reports.
- Implementing the proposed strategy of actively exploring the potential for senior-friendly housing on two infill sites (PG&E and DJUSD sites).
Note the last item there. The suggestion of exploring two potential infill sites. This is perhaps most interesting of all. Because CHA has pushed hard for Senior Housing with the opes that they can create the demand for the housing and then Covell Partners will offer up their 800-unit project as the solution. But staff probably already recognizes that is not viable and to some extent due to the good work of the Senior Citizens Commission and Social Services Commission, CHA has lost control of the process even as they fought against an actual senior housing survey.
To get the boat steered back in the right direction is now going to take some council meddling. If you are into conspiracies, it does not take much of stretch to recognize Councilmember Stephen Souza’s strong tied to John Whitcombe. It is interesting to note that recently he became the “publisher” of another blog in the city of Davis. The editor of that blog is a paid PR consultant, according to the Form 700 filed with the city of Davis, for the Covell Village project.
It seems that part of this blog’s work is to push for the new Covell Village project and it is interesting to note that the alternative Measure J proposal was first published there are well. As they say, coincidence? I think not.
It seems likely that the Covell Village folks will get their project to a Measure J vote, it seems unlikely they will be able to kill Measure J before that can happen and it also seems unlikely that they can get a project past the voters. But as the recent article in the Enterprise shows, they sure as heck are going to try.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
If you think about the concept of putting +/- 1000 old people in the middle of a farm field, in what amounts to a ‘compound’ for the nearly alive – a gigantic ‘old folks home’ – you will begin to understand why most of the population prefers a planning scheme that includes *all* age groups. This is planning at it’s absolute worst. If this is the best they’ve got, the project will be laughed out of the Planning Commission.
Will a majority of the CC vote for this monstrosity in an election year?
CVII could be the best thing that ever happened for citizens who favor slow growth since it will be hard for CC members who are completely out of touch with voters wishes to run away from this one.
I don’t see how this passes the voters, but I do see an interesting campaign season coming up.
Let’s hope it doesn’t get passed by and past the CC to need a J vote.
Your lead-in on all this seems rather churlish. Thanks to Tandem and other development and property management firms for their donations to this fund, and for their many donations over the years to the Davis schools. That is laudable in its own right, and doesn’t need to be used as a starting point for another long thread about local growth issues.
Any $25,000 matching donation merits coverage by the local newspaper. Civic boosterism is always a part of what small-town papers do.
Don: Agreed.
To Tandem: Thanks!
I look forward to the next article.
“…you will begin to understand why most of the population prefers a planning scheme that includes *all* age groups”
This senior citizen project concept is a strategy to get the “camel’s nose under the tent”(getting the voters to become comfortable with the idea of a development project on this site). In our brief conversation at the Farmers Market, Mike Corbett’s opinion was that Covell Partners would add non-senior housing to the project plan. This PR strategy, to ostensibly then be responding to Davis voter dislike of “senior ghettos”,in my opinion, is what will be attempted.
I think in fairness to the editor, one could point out the difference between a “donation” and a “gift.” With a gift, there is no expectation of something in return, but a donation often comes with strings attached. I would hope the money from Tandem is indeed a gift. As for what will happen in the CC, I’d bet 10:1 that it will the same-old-same-old: 3 to 2.
Covell Partners has a LONG history of attempting to buy votes with “free dirt”(donations of Covell Partners land) to special interest voter groups in Davis.
City Staff did an excellent job of laying out a Senior Housing Strategy that is realistic, good for the community, and a positive for all seniors in Davis. The Senior Housing Strategy had extensive input from two commissions, the public, CHA and developers. Any developer would do well to pay attention to the parameters laid out in the Senior Housing Strategy, rather than try to push something on the community that is not wanted.
First, I have nothing but respect for the Blues and White Foundation, their cause here is worthy, the high school stadium was a mess.
But Don, with all due respect, you are being far too nice if you are arguing that this wasn’t about trying to curry public favor. Sorry but these guys have not earned the benefit of the doubt given what they have pulled in the last few months trying to get their project considered after it was handily voted down.
I agree with Don. Tandem Properties has been making donations to local school causes for years, including donations to DSF. What would you rather Tandem Properties do with their money? Support Republican candidates? Keep it all to themselves in perpetuity?
I agree with Don also. I have known the Covell partners for years as friends and neighbors. They have always given huge amounts to the schools and I think this is the type of thing they would be supporting even if they didn’t have a project in the works. John Whitcombe and Nancy Roe grew up in Davis and attended Davis schools. The Whitcombes and Roes are largely responsible for us having the art center on the corner of Covell and F St. and probably for many more things for the city and the schools than I could even begin to list here.
…Lydia Delis-Schlosser, coincidentally also listed in the article.
Triathlete competes for a good cause
By Bruce Gallaudet
September 19th, 2009
For the past 10 years, Lydia Delis-Schlosser has run, ridden and swam herself ragged — all the time enjoying her efforts, which have generally had an eye on charity.
Now, the 53-year-old Davis triathete will sing her competitive swan song next month in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. Her goal is anything but personal.
Delis-Schlosser wants to help raise money for the Davis High School stadium project. She wants her efforts to remember the late Steve Larsen.
She hopes a bicycle parking lot at the entrance of the new facility will be an appropriate memorial.
Larsen, 39, was a former owner of Wheelworks in Davis and was a high-profile organizer/promoter in the city’s bicycle community. He died in May while working out near his new home of Bend, Ore.
“I first met Steve in 2002 … I was already involved in triathlon and had been pretty successful at the shorter distances,” Delis-Schlosser explains. “I began riding with his group rides and that was the beginning of our friendship. It was so cool to be this 44-year-old mom trying to keep up with these young guys and gals and have a pro like Steve Larsen enthusiastically mentoring me.”
That group, the Mad Cows Triathlon Race Team, has grown over the years — and like many other bike-related organizations — got a lot of its oomph from Larsen’s participation and commercial support.
“Here’s a guy who jumped into the triathlon world and immediately made an impact at the most prestigious events around the globe,” recalls
Delis-Schlosser, who works as a design consultant. “In his first six months, he broke multiple course records and set new standards for performance. (He) was amazing to watch.”
Larsen inspired Delis-Schlosser to grow as a competitor. As the number of events increased, so did her distances.
In Hawaii next month, the 30-year Davis resident hopes to raise $25,000 on behalf of the Larsen stadium memorial.
“The Janus Charity Challenge is a unique fundraising program designed to help athletes make a difference in the lives of others,” Delis-Schlosser explains. “Janus makes additional contributions to the beneficiaries of the 50 top fundraisers at the Hawaii Ironman.”
The top five finishers receive between $2,000 and $10,000, while the next 45 finishers get additional contributions based on raised minimums.
Delis-Schlosser previously used triathlon and Janus to raise money for the Davis Farm to School Connection, a program that works to create an understanding of food choices, personal health and how community, farms and schools can work together to ensure wise eating and better conditioning.
Delis-Schlosser wants all her efforts on behalf of the kids to point to healthy lifestyles.
With two sons — Mikie, 14, and Frankie, 18 — she has a vested interest in the subject.
Notes: Delis-Schlosser is working with Davis Neighbors Inc. and has just finished a couple of commercial interior designs. She continues to be active in the schools and her kids activities — Her 14 year old is gearing up for the lacrosse season at Davis High and the oldest is working full-time and involved with his singing, song writing and band.
Follow up Note: Delis-Schlosser fininshed 4th in the Hawaii Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. She was the highest fundraiser for the Janus Charity Challenge at the event and recieved the $10,000 matching grant from Janus. In all she raised over $20,000 for the Davis B&W foundation to help fund the Steve Larsen Memorial Bike Plaza.
[quote]You have Bruce Gallaudet writing an article in the Davis Enterprise on Friday, you might recall that Mr. Gallaudet is the former Editor of Enterprise and is the husband of the current editor.[/quote] What is the relevance of your mentioning the status of Bruce Gallaudet’s matrimony or even that he was the writer of this piece. In other words, was there anything in this piece that would have been different if, say, Jeff Hudson or Lauren Keene had written it? [quote]For those who like, neat, tidy packages, the pieces here fall to place ever so conveniently.[/quote] What does that mean? Did you intend to say “fall into place?”
The irony is that the language in this blog entry seems to indicate that it has uncovered some great secret. But what is the secret? That businesses which give to charities do so in part to promote themselves? That is supposed to be news?
[quote] Neutral said – If you think about the concept of putting +/- 1000 old people in the middle of a farm field, in what amounts to a ‘compound’ for the nearly alive – a gigantic ‘old folks home'[/quote]
I could give a heck about Covell Village (pick a number) at this point, but your remarks are disgusting. The nearly alive? Please.
“That businesses which give to charities do so in part to promote themselves? That is supposed to be news? “
A purely charitable act by Whitcomb et al, without the perception of it being colored by personal gain, would have been given (and publicly announced in the Enterprise) AFTER the Council had made their decision next month concerning Whitcomb’s senior citizen proposal. To my mind, the pertinent “news” is the TIMING.
To my mind, the pertinent “news” is the TIMING.
I suppose, but it seems like Whitcomb et al. seem to have regular business going on all the time, that timing would always be called into question.
Personlly, I’m grateful that they’ve shown interest in our community apart from development plans. But I’m confident it doesn’t affect how I vote in the ballot box.
By the way, this reminds me of the comments that have arisen the past about advertising on the Vanguard from entities connected w/ development who might agree or disagree with views articulated here. In those instances, David defended the Vangard accepting their money. I believe David can present a credible position apart from those transactions, but apparently a number of No on P advocates disagreed.
I suppose those potential conflicts are worth throwing out for consideration, but speculation can go overboard.
David,
I laughed out loud when I saw your graphic with the red circles and lines. It reminded me of a post I wrote that fully disclosed my relationships with all of the candidates for office that we would be covering in the 2008 election cycle on [url]www.davisvoice.com[/url]. Amused and tired of your (and others) ongoing conspiracy theories, I wrote:
[quote]Some of these people are friends, some are acquaintances, but none are enemies. All will receive a fair hearing on this site. Every candidate will be asked tough questions.
If you’re still chomping at the bit to weave some conspiracy theories, you should probably just collect your rolls of string, multicolored push-pins, scissors, tape, and the last 400 issues of the Enterprise and head down to your basement. My work here is done.[/quote]
I created [url]www.davisvoice.com[/url] because I felt, and still believe, that our community needs an online forum that honors civility, fairness and thoughtful dialogue. As of yesterday, we have posted exactly 200 posts with hundreds of thousands of page views. Of those 200 posts, I can not find any posts that could be construed as beneficial to Tandem Properties or Davis Neighbors, Inc. The 4 posts of the Measure J rewrite series, a thought project initiated by Kevin Wolf, that you mentioned, could be beneficial or detrimental to developers if passed… I have no way of knowing how it would go down, but I do know that Kevin Wolf is a very respected and responsible community activist and I am glad to give space to him for public policy discussions. In fact, I have never turned away an author.
In just the last two weeks, our coverage has included: the weekly roundup of public meetings, a weekend guide to activities in Davis, photos from the Downtown Holiday celebration, an update on DJUSD’s budget shortfall, news about U-Dash, a Holiday Green Shopping Guide, several articles about the UC Davis fee-hike protests, and why the CA Redistricting Commission is important.
As an involved Davis citizen and a consultant with numerous clients, I often wear many hats. But, please do not confuse my enthusiasm for our wonderful little town on http://www.davisvoice.com or in ANY of my volunteer positions (Open Space & Habitat Commission, Climate Action Team, and the Downtown Davis Business Association.. to name a few) to be part of some nefarious plot to subvert the will of the electorate. That’s simplistic and just plain silly.
Stop looking for bogeymen and start offering solutions… can you think of a better way to get $25k + matching donations to help ensure that the Blue & White Foundation can fulfill its goal of restoring our high school’s biggest classroom?
[quote]A purely charitable act by Whitcombe et al … would have been given … AFTER the Council had made their decision next month concerning Whitcombe’s senior citizen proposal. [/quote] Let me be the first to call b&llsh&t on Davisite2. No one, and I mean no one, has any doubt whatsoever that if the gift had been made AFTER the council vote, you would have been THE VERY FIRST PERSON to jump up and down in your high chair and cry, “Waaaaaaah! Waaaaaaah! Whitcombe is trying to buy the public’s vote! Waaaaaaah! He should have waited until AFTER the public vote. Waaaaaaah!”
Richard Rifkin…… Timing IS everything here. One month before a Council decision is quite different from making this public donation 6 months to a year before a measure J vote. Of course, one would hope that Whitcombe would choose to be an anonymous contributor, the purist form of civic altruism. As offered, the support is usually accompanied by a belief that it entitles the donor to special privilege and entitlement. One can understand making it public, now as it is hoped that it will offer some minimal political “cover” for the three Council members who will, no doubt, again attempt to ignore the expressed will of the electorate in supporting their patron’s development plans.
[quote]Of course, one would hope that Whitcombe would choose to be an anonymous contributor, the purist form of civic altruism.[/quote] I guess, then, DAVISITE-DOS, an anonymous critic of a person giving to charity is the purist form of uncivil assh*leism. Good job, brother. You are really a [i]gonster macher[/i].
No name calling, please, even if it is Yiddish.
Gonster macher is a compliment.
Harrison: your remarks are disgusting. The nearly alive? Please.
I’ll try to limit my comments to “PC Acceptable”.
Let me try and divert the discussion slightly . . . but only after saying kudos to anyone who donates their money and time for the community.
Phil said in his comment
[quote]
Will a majority of the CC vote for this monstrosity in an election year?
CVII could be the best thing that ever happened for citizens who favor slow growth since it will be hard for CC members who are completely out of touch with voters wishes to run away from this one.
I don’t see how this passes the voters, but I do see an interesting campaign season coming up.[/quote]
The question I have is “how can an election that has an almost total absence of candidates be interesting?” So far I’ve only heard of two candidates for the two open seats (three if you count Saylor’s after he is elected to Supervisor). How is a campaign with two candidates (Sidney and Joe) running for two positions going to be anything but a yawn? The outcome is preordained unless some other candidates step forward.
Where is Rob Roy when we need him?