To build community within our neighborhoods, Madeline B. and Joe K. started SHPNA in 1999. Although the seeds were planted at that time, SHPNA really took off in 2001. One day in that year Kathy K. was riding her bike through the park when she saw city workers cutting down a big shade tree at Manor Pool. No one in the neighborhood knew anything about the tree being felled; nor did we realize that Manor Pool was failing and needed attention (the tree being just the beginning of city efforts to revitalize the facility.) Because many Slide Hill residents wanted to get involved with city decisions about our park and pool, we re-discovered Slide Hill Neighborhood Association (SHPNA) to open up communication with the city, and to serve as a resource to our neighbors for further information involving land use in our immediate area and in Davis generally.

SHPNA is one of the largest neighborhood associations in Davis, with about 600 households; the park is our geographical and often our social center. We formed our volunteer association with the assistance of the city, but are governed informally by a volunteer board and have no bylaws. Over the last few years we have improved our neighborhood by planting more trees in Slide Hill Park, and, through a petition for a stop-light at Monarch and Covell, gaining construction of the "safe zone" for left turns from Monarch into west-bound Covell traffic. Our informal status allows us access to city resources for providing information that is specific to our neighborhood; it also allows us the freedom to use the association without city assistance for communicating issues of wider application, such as, in the past, the University plan to construct a biolab, and more recently, facts and arguments about Measure X (Covell Village).

With the new website we hope to provide a forum for gathering and sharing information about ourselves, our neighborhood, and Davis in general. We welcome any and all suggestions about how to make this website, and the association, more representative and more useful to our neighbors. Please take a moment to get acquainted with our site, and let us know what you think about it!