A classic case of cowardly NIMBY paralysis in Riverbank
Riverbank Planning Commissioners who voted against a senior housing project ought to be ashamed for caving to pressure from neighbors rather than standing tall and doing the right thing.
Tuesday’s 4-1 vote to deny a 40-unit apartment complex for seniors is a classic case of cowardly NIMBYism, where neighbors’ Not-In-My-Back-Yard selfishness bullies an agency to make a poor choice.
Every unfounded fear articulated by those speaking against the project — along Pocket Avenue east of Roselle Avenue — reeked of “I got mine” myopia while ignoring the good of the greater community.
That Stanislaus County lacks adequate housing is a simple, undeniable fact contributing to the scourge of homelessness. Our lack of senior housing is a regrettable and acute subset of the larger dearth.
A major impediment to senior housing construction is a lack of enthusiasm among builders, most of whom prefer the higher profit margins in market-rate single-family homes. Finding someone willing to develop senior apartments is like striking gold.
So Riverbank had reason to feel they’d won the lottery when a respected investor, Randy Brekke of Brekke Real Estate in nearby Modesto, stepped forward with a plan for six single-story buildings on two acres a mile south of downtown Riverbank.
Instead of putting out the welcome mat, neighbors petrified of the unknown got up a petition to stop it. Most of their fears have to do with increased traffic and a vague notion that a bunch of seniors down the street would somehow threaten the “convenience and welfare” of people already in the Sterling Ridge area.
Never mind that there does not exist a quieter and less trouble-causing demographic than old folks.
Never mind that seniors are the least likely drivers to compete for road space when young parents are taking children to school, and when others are heading to work or returning home during rush hour.
Never mind that Riverbank has a perfect example only a half-mile away of how families peacefully co-exist with seniors, whose one-story apartments are nestled among regular homes on Prospectors Court.
All of this was pointed out to planning commissioners, who seemed more interested in placating the audience before them than sticking up for our voiceless, vulnerable senior population. Only one commissioner showed some backbone, but she was outvoted by colleagues who didn’t even give their reasons.
Here are facts that were not mentioned: One in five Stanislaus residents is 60 or older, and this segment is expected to increase 83% in this decade, according to the Stanislaus County Commission on Aging.
“They’re the ones who worked hard and created this country. The least we can do is build housing for them so they can live out their retirement years,” said Margie Palomino, director of the county’s Department of Aging and Veteran Services.
Desperate need: Affordable housing
Honestly, what we really need is a hefty increase in affordable housing — for all families, including seniors.
Fully 24% of our mature residents struggle with low income and are considered at risk for becoming homeless. The wait list for openings in subsidized housing is from two to three years. That’s both depressing and dangerous.
The Riverbank proposal is not aimed at low-income seniors, but every bump in housing stock lessens the intense pressure in our badly imbalanced market. Thank heavens that the Modesto City Council a week earlier cleared the way for construction of up to 700 badly needed apartment units across Dale Road from the Kaiser hospital.
Fortunately, Tuesday’s cave to the NIMBYs in Riverbank isn’t the last word on this proposal. City planning commission votes are considered recommendations to a city council, and Riverbank’s council will take this up in coming weeks.
Riverbank City Council members must have the courage to tell neighbors of this project that the world doesn’t revolve around them. The council should acknowledge their city’s extreme good fortune in attracting a developer who actually wants to improve the community at large by increasing our housing stock, especially for a vulnerable segment of our population.
The Riverbank council has a chance to right a wrong. They must seize it.