Michael Belluomini: Make sure apartment complex outdoor spaces are livable

Soon, hundreds of apartments will be constructed in Merced. They will serve UC Merced students and staff and other residents of the city.

The daily lives of the future residents of these apartments will be affected by the actions of the Merced City Council on Monday at 5:30 p.m.

The council, in joint session with the Planning Commission, will consider additions to the zoning ordinance to improve apartment security and livability.

For increased safety and security, the proposal is to add guidelines that apartments be designed and grouped so that spontaneous “neighborhood watch” by apartment residents allows them to distinguish between a neighbor and an intruder. Another guideline allows residents to easily observe their neighbors’ entryways and shared recreation areas.

These guidelines were referred by the council to a citizens focus group. This group worked with the staff on the complete reorganization, some additions and clarification of the zoning ordinance beginning in 2014. The focus group recommended approval of these safety and security apartment design guidelines.

For increased livability the proposal is a guideline that every ground-floor apartment, single-family house or townhouse/row house should have a backyard or other outdoor space that is wider than now required.

Currently, the backyard from the wall of the house to the rear fence need only be 10 feet. Backyards provide a private space for friends and family to enjoy the outdoors, to eat together, play together, garden and enjoy pets. A 10-foot narrow backyard doesn’t work well for these activities. A space large enough for eight people to eat a meal at a table with room to move around and have a barbecue is a minimum of 12 feet wide and 20 feet long.

This additional two feet of width in the backyard makes the difference between a functional recreation space and a nonfunctional outdoor storage area.

An apartment above the ground floor needs private outdoor space for all the same reasons.

Apartments on the second and third floors have private outdoor balconies. Having a balcony available to all apartment dwellers, instead of only a shared common recreation area, is important.

For some people, a trip to the apartment common recreation area is a major effort or even impossible. Consider, the elderly person using a walker, a single parent with small children, those who are home-bound by illness or disability, or people who are emotionally distressed. Going out onto a balcony can be done safely for a relief from “cabin fever.”

Construction costs for a balcony warrant reducing the outdoor private space. A balcony that can accommodate six people sitting around three sides of a table to dine and socialize requires it to be at least 6 feet deep and 12 feet wide.

The zoning standards for security and livability will set Merced’s cultural expectations for what is an acceptable living environment for residents of Merced, whether they are students, low-income residents, senior citizens, single parents or large families.

What do we want the experience of living in Merced to be? Let your council members and planning commissioners know what you think regarding this important decision.

This story was originally published March 16, 2016 at 10:48 AM with the headline "Michael Belluomini: Make sure apartment complex outdoor spaces are livable."