Elder Care to stick with assisted living plan Elder Care to stick with assisted living plan (December 20, 2002)

Neighbors, Planning Commission oppose facility
by Jeb Bing

Rebuffed by neighbors and the Pleasanton Planning Commission, Elder Care Alliance said it will try again to gain approval for an assisted living and skilled nursing care center adjacent to St. Augustine Catholic Church on Bernal Avenue.

"We have received a lot of encouragement from people throughout Pleasanton who support this project," said Janeane Randolph, Elder Care's chief executive officer. "We're not going to walk away. There are simply too many underserved frail elderly, and we won't turn our backs on them."

Randolph said she and her management team will work with church and community organizations in presenting a plan that can be accepted by Pleasanton officials. She indicated her organization, which operates retirement, assisted living and nursing care facilities throughout Northern California, will seek a formal hearing before the Planning Commission next month.

Her response came after a 5-1/2 hour workshop conducted by the Planning Commission. More than 200 packed City Council chambers for the debate, where neighbors adjacent to St. Augustine voiced their objections, and church members and affordable housing proponents in Pleasanton applauded the proposal.

Elder Care is seeking city approval to build its Mercy Retirement and Care Center of Pleasanton on a vacant 5-acre site next to St. Augustine. It would be bordered on three sides by homes, with its main entrance facing the church and a driveway that extends from Bernal Avenue to Bonita avenues. The facility would house 183 residents, including 94 in assisted living one bedroom and studio apartments, 59 in a separate skilled nursing facility, and another 30 in an Alzheimer's wing.

Led by Pleasanton Attorney Patrick J. Kernan, who represented Elder Care, proponents argued that Pleasanton lacks assisted and skilled nursing care facilities despite a growing need and a maturing population. Kernan said research indicates that by 2004, more than 3,000 Pleasanton households will have an elder 75 years of age or older.

But in the end, all of the members of the Planning Commission said they would oppose the plan if it comes to them for a vote. They urged Elder Care to reconsider both the size of the facility and its location.

"I agree that there's a need for this kind of care facility in Pleasanton, but not here at this location," said Trish Maas, chairwoman of the Planning Commission.

Commissioner Mary Roberts agreed.

"It would be just too massive for this site," she said. "I walked across this site and found myself looking in the bedroom windows of houses on the other side of the fence. I felt uncomfortable and I can imagine what it would be like for them to have this kind of a structure facing them. These residents have been here for years. It's too much development to put here now."

The workshop was the second confrontation Elder Care representatives have had with church neighbors. At a meeting in October, more than 70 from the neighborhood told Elder Care that they would oppose the project because it's too massive, that the three-story building planned would tower over their homes and that traffic and noise from a care facility that would be operating 24 hours a day would be too much for their residential neighborhood.

Besides Kernan and the Elder Care representatives, Garry Senna, senior pastor of Harvest Valley Christian Church, spoke on behalf of an interfaith group in support of Elder Care.

"As a chaplain to police and firefighters, I hear first-hand about the need for senior care," Senna said. "Our community needs these services, and we can all live in peace together."

Nancy Aguiar Fargis, a retired Pleasanton school teacher, presented more than 600 letters of support to the Planning Commission.

"The issue is whether our community is willing to take positive steps to prepare for the future," she said. "I respect the concerns of those who fear change. But we have to remember the need in the community and the opportunity this quality program provides."

Adam Lubow, whose home on Bonita Avenue borders the driveway leading into the St. Augustine church parking lot, said no one disputes the community's need for elder care.

"But this proposal calls for more assisted living and skilled nursing care residents than ValleyCare hospital has beds," he said. "It's just too much for a residential neighborhood."

Randolph indicated that Elder Care Alliance might modify its plans for the Pleasanton facility, but that it needs enough residents to make it financially feasible. She also said that the neighbors who opposed the project repeated inaccurate statements.

"For the record, the proposed structure is mostly single story (16 percent of the site area)," she said. "A small second (12 percent) and third story ((9 percent) make the program financially feasible. Most of the lot will be landscaped."

But at the end of the Planning Commission workshop, it was Lubow and neighbors who prevailed, applauding the Planning Commission as members stated their objections. Except for the Elder Care representatives, most of the supporters had left the meeting, which saw one of the largest crowds ever for a Planning Commission hearing.

City Planner Jerry Iserson said it will be up to Elder Care to ask that its proposal be considered formally by the commission, which would likely be scheduled in late January or February.

The Rev. Dan Danielson, pastor of St. Augustine, said he was disappointed by the opposition "to a facility Pleasanton so desperately needs."

"The church is committed to using the land for public benefit," he said. "We could explore housing and school options, but intend to continue pursuing these important senior services."