Cove Point Retirement Community is one of the only low-cost senior living facilities in the city that not only provides end-of-life nursing care but also a large number of independent living apartments for seniors who cannot afford Jamestown, Treeo, Legacy, etc. but need more care than a typical 55+ development can provide. Right now there is a request from a potential developer to turn Cove Point into apartments for students. While Provo has thousands of student apartments, there are very few affordable homes for seniors. Granting this development request would mean that many Cove Point residents will be at the mercy of the Provo rental market that has already made housing so expensive for seniors. This is not just a question of convenience: all of Cove Point’s residents, including my father, eat one or more meals together each day, attend church on the premises, and rely on daily help from nurses, staff, drivers, social directors, cooks, cleaners and helpers. Their quality of life is much better than if they were struggling to get all of these services on their own. We looked into ALL of the Provo options (and all Utah Valley options) for my father, and Cove Point costs about one fourth to one sixth of the cost of all of the other assisted living facilities. It is important that Provo provide good housing and care for its poorer residents, not only for the well-heeled residents of Jamestown. I cannot imagine turning these older Provo residents out I onto the street in the middle of a pandemic so that someone can cash in on the property. Cove Point is a major employer, a health care facility and a community. Selling it out and strip-mining for cash is not only short-sighted and bad business, but it is really negligent governing. We are bringing my father and carloads of Cove Point residents to all of the meetings, because they need to tell their stories themselves and lay out their financial situations. These are not sad old freeloaders, but active Provoans who pay a sizable rent every month for the services they receive. They deserve to be close to shopping, doctors and other services. The needs of these many retirees outweighs the need for one person to make a bundle renting overpriced apartments to students and further letting the Columbia lane neighborhood sink into the status of a student ghetto. Cove Point’s residents deserve to have recognition for their contributions to Provo’s economy and success. They have all worked for decades and saved for their retirements, only to find that regulations favor high-end senior homes that are beyond their budgets. We are asking Provo’s elected officials to see Cove Point’s residents not as barriers to big development projects, but as neighbors who pay their way, contribute, and spend their money in Provo. And they vote, too!!!
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How you explain the issues and questions you ask on Open City Hall determines the responses. As a former boss of mine once said, "You have to use the right words to elicit the desired response."
In your introduction to the question about accessory dwelling units you state:
"In the 2021 Utah General Legislative Session, lawmakers passed a bill regarding ADUs and conditions of their permitted use in cities throughout the state. All cities in Utah must adjust their city ordinances accordingly to align with the new state law."
While you do provide a link to the new state law, most people are not going to read it. If they did they would understand that an exception was made for college towns and that what the housing committee is proposing is not in keeping with the new state law. The average citizen is given the impression that we have no real choice in allowing accessory dwelling units 'everywhere', and that heavily influences their response.
If you told them that we already allow accessories in over 20% of the city and only need to get to 33%, that would best summarize state law. If you then told them that any neighborhoods/areas that want accessories can ask for the right and it will be granted, then you would get a different response and you could see what parts of the city are interested. Instead you will apply a one size fits all solution that is not required by state law or wanted by every neighborhood.