Ann M. Evans – Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

As a former Mayor and Councilmember of the City of Davis, (1982-90) I support Measure L, which amends the Land Use Map of the Davis General Plan to include the West Davis Active Adult Community. This project provides housing for adults 55 years and older, to the west of the Sutter Davis Hospital. The location is perfect, the need is great, the time is right.

 

Projects recently approved, by the council and by citywide vote, increased housing for the university’s student population. This supports the growth of the University, part of the heart of our town. Now we, as citizens, need to increase housing for active seniors, also part of the heart of our community.

 

Davis needs new and smaller housing with a focus on seniors. Many of us want to age in place, in Davis, but our houses are too large. Families want to bring aging parents here. Measure L provides smaller, one-story homes.

 

When I ask friends and community members about Measure L? They say, “I want to move there.” They like the location near shopping, the hospital and a branch of the Davis Farmers Market. Downsizing from larger homes frees up housing choices for families near schools.

 

Measure L provides affordable housing for seniors by Neighborhood Partners, in which my husband is a principal. As the daughter of an active 95-year-old mother in town who lives in Twin Pines Community, I can attest to the need for more of such housing, as does the 220-plus waiting list at Eleanor Roosevelt Circle, both affordable housing projects of Neighborhood Partners, the latter for seniors.

 

Due to Measure R, the “Citizens Right to Vote for Future Use of Opens Space and Agricultural Lands,” we all get a say in the matter. Let’s say, we care, and support Measure L in building housing options for seniors.

 

Ann M. Evans, former Mayor, City of Davis