Month: July 2009

A bare quorum of the Davis Planning Commission was on hand on Wednesday evening in Davis, but they agreed to approve the staff report unanimously with a 4-0 vote on all measures except the Final EIR which was inexplicably only received from city staff on Monday.  Commissioner Ananya Choudhuri voted against approving the Final EIR due to her not reading it (she probably should have abstained rather than voted no, but that’s largely a moot point).

The actions taken by the Planning Commission on Wednesday were fivefold.  First, they certified the Final EIR for the Wildhorse Ranch proposal, including findings of fact, statement of overriding considerations, and mitigation monitoring plan in the staff report.  Second, they approved the General Plan Amendment Resolution that establishes the land use designations for the Wildhorse Ranch.  Third they introduced the ordinance that rezones and establishes the use and development standards for the Wildhorse Ranch site.  Fourth, they approved the Affordable Housing Plan.  And finally they introduced the ordinance to approve the Development Agreement between the City and the Developer, Parlin Whildhorse Ranch.  Again, this item was approved as received as it was not complete at the time of the meeting.

After three years of sitting vacant, the West Lake Shopping center will have a new grocery store by November, in time for Thanksgiving according to a deal announced at Davis City Council.  This deal was agreed to by all parties involved including the current owners, the prospective grocers, the neighbors, and approved by city staff and city council. 

DeLano’s Markets is coming to West Lake.  The talks had been on and off for much of the last six months.  The deal at one point appeared dead when the owners pulled the financing, however due to the persistence of DANG (Davis Advocates for Neighborhood Groceries), city staff kept the pressure on the owners to put something together.  Those talks had heated up for the past month and they made steady progress until last week when the Vanguard announced the two sides were close to an agreement.

Back in January the issue of whether there should be a woodburning ban became a topic of tremendous controversy.  On the one side were some environmentalists and some health advocates concerned with both the impact of wood burning on the environment as well as health implications.  On the other side were citizens who, for a variety of reasons, use wood during the few cold months of the year to heat their homes and provide themselves with some sort of aesthetic enjoyment.

The council in January decided to punt after the Natural Resource Commission recommended an ordinance that would ban woodburning.  Given the time of year and the fact that it was the end of the burning season, it made some sense to defer a decision in this case.  The council will now hear the issue once again and perhaps make some sort of determination.

In a letter dated July 1, 2009, the city received a sustainability proposal from the Wildhorse Ranch developer and the project’s energy conservation consultants that will put the city of Davis back on the map in terms of environmental sustainability and innovative developments.  The proposed Wildhorse Ranch development would achieve a 90% reduction in green house gas (GHG) emissions.  A typical single family home will create around 5.5 metrics tons per year of GHG emissions.  This proposal would reduce that number by 4.95 metric tons per residence to .55 metric tons per residence.

In April, the Davis City Council passed a resolution recommending GHG reduction thresholds and standards for new residential housing projects.  It set as its initial goal a 2.4 metric ton reduction per residence, or a 44% reduction of GHG emission for new homes.  This project more than doubles the city’s goals.