Board adopts interim zoning moratorium near University Mound after public outcry over planned closure

The Board of Supervisors adopted an urgency ordinance on July 22 imposing an interim zoning moratorium on institutional changes of use in a portion of the University Mound neighborhood — the area bounded roughly by Highway 280, Wayland Street, University and Cambridge — after an extended public hearing and many speakers urging protection for residents of the University Mound Ladies' Home.

Supervisor David Campos introduced the measure as an emergency action after the board received notice that the privately governed University Mound Ladies' Home, a long‑standing assisted‑living facility with licensed units for predominantly low‑income seniors, faced closure and possible sale. Campos said the moratorium would pause any change of use that could eliminate residential care capacity while the Planning Department studies the neighborhood and recommends options to preserve institutional care and the balance of uses.

Supervisor Campos noted he had worked with city agencies — the Department of Public Health, the Mayor’s office and the Long‑Term Care Ombudsman — and neighborhood groups to find alternatives and described the moratorium as a temporary, targeted tool to allow time for study and for possible designation work (for example, landmark status) to protect the site’s legacy and affordable senior care function.

The hearing drew many residents, family members and advocates; testimony described the facility as an irreplaceable neighborhood institution with long waiting lists for assisted‑living beds in the city. Several relatives said relocation outside the city would be harmful or physically dangerous for frail residents and urged the board to preserve in‑city options. The county’s Long‑Term Care Ombudsman and other elder‑care advocates urged preservation of beds and criticized a process they said had lacked transparency.

A representative of the University Mound board of trustees said a private operator (Aegis Living, as described to the board) had expressed interest in purchasing and operating the facility, and asked the board to allow a short period to finalize a private transaction. Trustees said they were pursuing a sale to preserve services; others questioned the motives of some board members and called for additional financial and governance review.

After public testimony the board voted 10–0 to adopt the interim zoning moratorium. Supervisor Campos said he would ask the Planning Department to study institutional uses citywide and to report back with options for protecting the neighborhood’s balance of residential and institutional uses — including possible landmark designation or other non‑zoning tools to help preserve affordability and care availability.

The moratorium is temporary (an urgency action) to allow time for the Planning Department’s review and for the city to explore options to retain assisted‑living capacity and find relocation or operating alternatives if needed.

Next steps: The Planning Department will analyze institutional uses in the University Mound area and propose recommended controls; the board and relevant city agencies said they would continue to work with community groups and potential private operators to try to preserve in‑city assisted‑living beds for low‑income seniors.