Downtown San Rafael elder care center wins OK at hearing
The 5-0 vote by the council Tuesday clears the path for developer
"We think this is a project that really benefits senior members of the community," Monahan said Tuesday. "We think they have a right to be downtown."
The center will be built in a "mission-style design" on the vacant lot that has sat empty for the last 12 years at the corner of Mission and Lincoln avenues.
Appellants
In their three-page appeal filed
The appellants also took issue with the fact that Aegis, which has another senior assisted living operation in
The center would charge seniors an estimated
Considering that the assisted living center is technically considered a commercial use, the appellants also questioned whether city officials should continue to refer to it as a housing project, Wilson said.
"In order to comply with the general plan, the council must answer these questions: is this housing?" Wilson said.
"If so, the inclusionary housing requirement should be applied with zero hesitation to meet the demand of the total project. ... If this is commercial, how can the city afford to lose buildable housing stock that could meet the overwhelming needs of the community?"
Although the appeal was denied, the appellants were successful in stimulating a conversation about the city's housing goals.
"What it does, is it starts a broader conversation of what we need to do in the community about housing," said Councilman
Gamblin said that city officials have heard from developers that building workforce and affordable housing is expensive and often not cost effective, due to city constraints on building multiple stories. Gamblin suggested that the city discuss whether officials should consider building up beyond four stories to better address the housing crisis.
"If we don't start looking outside of the box on this, we're going to be having issues, more significant issues," he said.
A majority of the 20 speakers at the hearing Tuesday were advocates for senior housing who said the project would create jobs, stimulate the local economy and provide much-needed senior housing.
Resident
"I would love to have her in a place nearby," he said. "I think this is a great project for
Spaeth said that with the transit center and Whistlestop nearby, it is an ideal location.
"We sorely need more options for older residents to age in place, in the place that they call home, which isn't necessarily their house, but it's their community, the community they've lived in for many, many years, the community they've connected to, that they've contributed to, that they will continue to contribute to the diverse fabric of our city," she said.
"When we looked at it, it's pretty much a slam dunk that this should be approved," he said.
Councilwoman
She added that at first, junior second units were not counted toward housing units according to the Regional Housing Need Allocation guidelines.
"So I think to tie our future decisions to what counts as housing in terms of the state is actually nearsighted and not visionary enough," she said. "This adds diversity to our housing stock. We don't have anything like this in
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