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Coalition Develops Innovative Proposal to Save Historic Domes Community

Residents, alumni, and community organizers invite UC Davis officials to consider costsaving maintenance and ADA compliance plan to preserve student cooperative. A coalition of students, alumni, and community organizers have submitted a proposal to save the Domes community, a unique student housing cooperative in Davis, CA.

The proposal responds to the University's announcement on January 24 that no new leases would be offered for the coming academic year due to the prohibitive costs of addressing repair issues and Americans with Disability Act (ADA) compliance. All eyes are on the University to see how they will respond to the innovative plan, which proposes the use of recycled materials, spot repairs, and volunteer labor to affordably address structural issues - and which could give a new lease of life to this 40-year-old center of ecological and social innovation.

"We hope the university will embrace this option as a win-win situation that will preserve this important hub for innovation and experiential education at UC Davis while adding no extra costs to tight university budgets," said current resident Tom Denton. The proposal, developed in collaboration with engineering faculty, ADA experts, and local nonprofit housing developers, will repair existing structures and provide Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance for approximately $50,000, a significant cost savings on the $900,000 estimate for repairs made by Student Housing.

This plan would provide for the student community to remain intact and on-site while the Sustainable Living/Learning Project (a University commission composed of students, faculty, and the head of campus planning Bob Segar) completes plans for new Domes structures to be built in 5 years. The coalition is proposing that a local cooperative housing nonprofit, the Solar Community Housing Association (SCHA), act as a third party management agency.

The Solar Community Housing Association is a currently finishing a collaborative project with the city of Davis to provide new low income housing by relocating and renovating aging structures. Since receiving notice of Student Housing's plans to close the Domes, residents have continued informal discussions with university officials while a dedicated group of current residents, Domes alumni, and local nonprofit housing developers prepare a detailed business plan that they aim to submit on April 13th.

"Essentially, without further action on our part, by this July 31 The Domes will be slated for destruction," said resident Marguerite Wilson. Baggins End, more commonly known as The Domes, is an iconic Davis landmark, consisting of 14 round cottages on the edge of the UC Davis campus. The student-governed, student-maintained cooperative promotes sustainable living through its land-based, alternative education model.

Built and designed by students, engineers, and university officials in 1972, the Domes inspired architects and community organizers of well-known innovative communities, such as Davis' own Village Homes and N Street Co-housing. Over the years, Domes residents helped spawn innovative community projects such as the Davis Food Co-op, the Davis Farmers' Market, the Davis Bike Collective, and the Davis Feminist Film Festival.

The threat to close the historic co-housing community comes just one year after students successfully reversed the University's decision to close the historic Davis Student Cooperative (DSC). "As a university location, a student-build, student-run, student managed location in the United States, even in the world [The Domes] is unique. It's historic. It's powerful."

While the community only houses 28 students at any time, a list of Domes alumni displays an impressive range of professional successes within academia, including Yale professor Dr. Mark Brandon (Geophysics and Geology), UCD professors Dr. Beth Rose Middleton (Native American Studies), Dr. Lee Milton (Education), and Dr. Dina St. Claire (Vegetable Crops), and University of Pacific professor Dr. Alison Alkon (Sociology). Other notables include disability rights attorney Micheal Kluk, environmental activist David Kupfer, and environmental justice organizer Peggy Mathews. Many Domes alumni and other concerned community members have become involved in the current struggle, evidenced by 1,200 members on the "Save the Domes" Facebook page.

The current threat to the Domes began in 2009, when residents approached Student Housing with a plan to repair damage to the insulating foam in one dome using volunteer resident labor, which has been the standard practice since 1972. Student Housing instead ordered an expensive round of inspections, after which they declared that the cost of repairs would also force major renovations including compliance with ADA at a total projected cost of approximately one million dollars. Based on this estimate "[Student Housing] determined that it would not be appropriate nor financially prudent to continue to utilize these facilities for residential living," Associate Vice Chancellor Emily Galindo wrote in a letter to the Domes residents.

Residents and the administration agree that the best solution for structural issues and ADA compliance is to replace the aging dome structures with new housing structures within the next five years. But they disagree about what to do during the interim, 5-year period. Residents are concerned with keeping the community intact and on-site until new structures are completed.

"What is most important," said current resident Veronica Pardo, "is that we stay on land during this crossover to the new sustainable structures. This is because Baggins End is a living, breathing community; the knowledge and history residents have from living here will be gone as soon as there are no students living in this space."

Domes residents have identified immediate, low-cost solutions to structural issues with the goal of keeping students on the property through the transformation into the next stage of community living. Residents proposed a repair plan that will cost less than $50,000 to implement, and address all major maintenance and accessibility issues necessary to allow the community to remain open for the next five years. Their proposal for short-term repairs has been backed by expert contractor Mason Knowles.

Residents suggest that this project might be better overseen by a third party, the local nonprofit housing developer, the Solar Community Housing Association (SCHA). Residents plan to raise money from an increase in rent, donations from the very active Domes alumni community and other interested institutional sources, thus placing no additional burden on tight University budgets. Additionally, the residents of Baggins End are excited about the idea of building a new series of locally-sourced, energy-efficient structures, nicknamed "Domes 2.0."

The Domes has proven to be an effective and innovative educational program. Past residents often point to their time in the cooperative as formative to their education and career development. "The Domes saved me. I wanted to quit graduate school. I was like, I don't want to do this anymore. I hate this topic, it's too hard, [...] but if I stay in school, I can keep living at the Domes," stated former resident Max Stevenson.

Stevenson currently works at the Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District.