Consultants defend gay retirement complex

The environmental impacts of a proposed gay and lesbian retirement community in Santa Rosa's Fountaingrove neighborhood are "less than significant," the project's consultants told planning officials Thursday.

With plans to use low-noise machinery, replant trees, install a traffic signal on Fountain Grove Parkway and perform other mitigation measures, residents should be confident Fountaingrove Lodge, the community proposed by Aegis Senior Living, is an environmentally superior proposal, said Andrea Gardner, project manager for CH2MHill, the consultant group hired to study the project.

But nearly 100 residents attended the Planning Commission's first public hearing on the draft environmental impact report, and some called it incomplete and, in some cases, inaccurate.

"The report tells us that no raptors have high potential to occur or nest at the site and only a few -- Cooper's hawks, white-tailed kites and long-eared owls -- have moderate potential," said resident Hank McGuckin. "Moderate potential? They're already there."

Others called for the report to reconsider the proposed project's visual impacts.

"The report is flawed because it failed to consider a smaller project," said resident Susan Nowacki. "It will forever change the character of a residential neighborhood. Do we want another Oakmont?"

The community is proposed for nearly 10 acres on Thomas Lake Harris Drive that are now covered by brush and oak trees. It would include a three-story main building with 74 apartments, a "flat" building of 18 apartments, eight cottages, a 36-unit acute-care center and an employee housing building. About 242 parking spaces are planned.

The city has identified the area for housing, but what that development might look like has residents debating.

"I would far rather see a senior housing project than the sprawl of town houses," said Susan Moore.

Some neighbors say a three-story hillside development, if viewed from the bottom of the hill or from some of their homes, would look like a five-story building with two stories of retaining wall.

Thursday's public hearing was not an action item, and commission chairman Scott Bartley said it will be several months before the commission discusses the project's specifics and votes on the environmental report.

Commissioners asked consultants to expand their report with additional drawings of the development's visual impacts, including its size from various angles and its appearance before the proposed landscaping matures.

The commission also asked consultants to include more information about Sonoma County's aging gay and lesbian population and the impacts of their age-related illnesses and health-care and assisted-living needs.

Project supporters say a retirement community for gay and lesbian seniors is necessary for those who may lack family to care for them or experience discrimination at nongay-centered facilities.

Shirley Zane, chief executive officer for the Sonoma County Council on Aging, said the planned development would be a "compassionate response" to the population's specific aging challenges.

Public comment on the draft environmental report remains open through Monday, and residents are encouraged to submit their thoughts to the Planning Commission in writing, Bartley said.

You can reach Staff Writer Laura Norton at 521-5220 or laura.norton@pressdemocrat.

com.