Can some good come from remapping fight?
Sacramento Bee, The (CA) - Friday, September 2, 2011
Foon Rhee; frhee@sacbee.com
Emotions are still raw. The process stank. Neighborhoods were pitted against each other. Lots of unkind comments have been lobbed back and forth.
Yet, after all that, some good can come from the ugly spat over Sacramento's election districts: more awareness of the importance of UC Davis Medical Center to Sacramento and its ambitious expansion plans -- and of the need for city officials and neighborhood leaders to be even more engaged in its future.
For that to happen, all sides will have to forgive, even if they can't forget.
It's a good rule to live by, actually: Don't hold grudges. If you look for common ground, it's amazing how often you find it.
Redistricting looks like a done deal that will be ratified on Tuesday with the City Council's formal adoption of districts that will be used for the next decade: The North Oak Park/Medical Center neighborhood will stay in District 5, but the 142-acre medical center campus will move to District 6.
While it has been the kind of political hullabaloo City Hall hasn't seen for years, it's mostly symbolic where the medical center lands. Its impact doesn't suddenly stop at a district boundary.
The medical center's reach is about to grow dramatically.
Now, there are about 12,500 staff, faculty, students, patients and visitors; about 3.4 million square feet of facilities; and about 6,400 parking spaces.
By 2025, the daily campus population would rise to 19,700 and there would be almost 6.6 million square feet of buildings and nearly 10,000 parking spaces, if all goes according to the Long Range Development Plan adopted last November.
Because it's part of the University of California, a state institution, the medical center does not have to go through the city's planning process. So its expansion plans don't always get the kind of local attention or scrutiny that, for instance, ones for Sutter Health or Mercy General do.
UC Davis does, however, consult with the city. That voluntary cooperation is where elected officials and neighborhood leaders can make a real difference.
Thursday morning, District 6 Councilman Kevin McCarty gave me a driving tour of the medical center campus and the Elmhurst neighborhood. He pointed out where the new facilities are planned and showed homes a stone's throw from existing buildings. He argued that he can be a much more effective advocate for residents if he also represents the medical center itself.
Thursday evening, District 5 Councilman Jay Schenirer marched with Oak Park residents and NAACP members. They're not giving up trying to keep the medical center with Oak Park in District 5, saying that it would be devastating to lose that connection with such a significant economic institution.
No matter the outcome on redistricting, McCarty and Schenirer pledge to work together on medical center issues. Mike Boyd, the medical center's executive director for facilities, told me that he's open to more face-to-face meetings with council members and neighborhood leaders than he has already been holding.
McCarty says he's interested in addressing neighborhood concerns with traffic, parking, noise and buffers. Schenirer also wants to pursue health, education, employment and other ways the medical center can be more involved in the community. Theirs could be a powerful partnership.
The medical center can be an even more vibrant economic engine for Sacramento, and a better neighbor. On that, at least, everyone should be able to agree.