When the Davis City Council unanimously passed the budget on Tuesday night, they included for the first time funding that would allow the city to actualize the move of the fire station from Fifth Street to a still unknown location in North Davis. In the process, they provide clarification to the issue of STEAC’s location at the corner of 5th and D as well as concerns about the impact of the Fifth Street Redesign on the ability of fire engines to gain access to the road.
The council on Tuesday voted to add $2.3 million to the Fire Station Relocation Project, which will be funded by public safety impact fees.
“We will start doing initial cost estimations and we will come back to you with a report with the first round of site review and a better idea of what we think the actual costs will be,” City Manager Steve Pinkerton told the council on Tuesday night.
“Very little of this would be spent on planning,” he added. “But now that we have the money allocated we can start the planning process.”
The city manager sees this as about a 30-month process with a year going for planning and then another 18 months for site work and construction.
While this is an early step in the process, it is critical as it formalizes the council recommendation from the fire discussion that occurred back at the end of April. At that time, the Davis City Council voted by a 3-2 margin to reduce overall staffing to 11 firefighters while looking at either moving or adding a fire station in northern Davis to better align the city’s resources.
While the council was split on the staffing changes, they were unanimous on the issue of the fire station relocation.
In a Sunday commentary in April, the Vanguard found that a close examination of this new information reveals that the city could resolve most of the concerns of residents about the staffing changes by a commonsense redeployment, moving Station 31 north from 5th Street to North Davis.
With the boundary drop, the boundary in coverage areas shows overlap between Station 34 (UC Davis’ fire station) and Station 31, which is the central fire station. The map shows that Station 34’s four-minute zone ends at Station 31.
The Vanguard wrote, “That means, in a world where we have boundary drop, Station 31 is misplaced. Station 34 can comfortably respond to a huge area currently covered by Station 31. By moving Station 31 up to Covell, the station can still cover its current zone, but could then also reasonably cover Wildhorse and the northern areas to the west, easily within the four-minute travel time.”
Moving the fire station to Covell would allow the northern areas to the east and west of Pole Line to remain under the four-minute response time and still allow both UC Davis and the newly-located Station 31 to keep the core of town covered within a four-minute travel time.
At the time we wrote this it seemed like it would be a bold move.
But with the council putting $2.3 million into the move on Tuesday night, it takes a step closer to reality.
The money also puts additional clarity on the issue of STEAC. In early April, STEAC opted to push through council a design for a $200,000 modular building on the corner of 5th and D.
At the time, they opted for a five-year deal on that site, as opposed to a 20-year deal on a site between L St and Pole Line.
Council made it clear at that time that they had plans for the site, but reportedly directors of STEAC were skeptical that the city would follow through on plans to move the station in the foreseeable future.
That calculus has clearly shifted, both with the April move and now the funding toward the relocation project.
Mayor Joe Krovoza had argued that the staff recommendation was reasonable, but at the same time said, “The city has a very valuable well-positioned asset in its downtown that we’re not comfortable locking up for a long-term twenty-year period of time, but we don’t have any immediate plans for it.”
He argued that they could go for a twenty-year period at a neighboring site.
At the time, we noted that it was clear there is a majority on council who have a clear vision for the site, as well as the site of the fire station. There was talk behind the scenes that a Greek Theater might be well-situated at this location if the council can find a new location for the fire station that better serves North Davis.
This week that speculation is now concrete. The fire station is moving – the only question is how quickly.
The city is moving fast, and putting money behind this project means that within about two and a half years, the fire station will likely move to a more logical logistical location that will alleviate concerns about coverage areas.
Residents in North Davis, particularly in the Wildhorse area, have been concerned about coverage times, particularly with fewer personnel. However, the boundary drop, the increased flexibility, and now the move to North Davis should address those concerns while allowing the department to operate under a more sustainable budget.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
this is going to be interesting. i really thought this was a pipe dream a few months ago, now it looks real.
Where are the funds coming from to pay for the building of a 4th fire station? Is there a sweetheart deal, not yet disclosed, that the CC pro-development majority will push the Covell Village development? That’s what the CC majority tried in the summer and fall of 2005, and Measure X failed.
Also, a Greek Theater on the corner of 5th and D/E St would require massive new parking spots. Where are they going to get them? Underground?
Second paragraph: “will be funded by public safety impact fees”
This is not a fourth fire station, this is a move, they were very clear this is a relocation, not the building of a fourth fire station.
The Greek Theater idea was thrown out. I was told that if there would be one, entrance would be on E Street, parking in the back. But there is no specific proposal for that site.
Moving the fire station north sounds pretty logical. I’m glad they are moving forward on this.
Next, the City should resolve North Davis not having an off leash dog area.
Greek Theatre on 5th street? Noisy venue along the main road.
Maybe they could put the new station at the Cannery with easy access to Covell Blvd.
David, there is not a fourth fire station up on the northern side of town.
I takes many millions to build one.
Can you get and report on the status of the public safety impact fees account, and the wish list projects that want the money?
What is on the list that is getting dropped or delayed for this?
[quote]Moving the fire station north sounds pretty logical[/quote]Yes, but to where?
DJUSD site, where City taxpayers can pay “top dollar” to infuse City money to the school district?
[quote]This is not a fourth fire station, this is a move, they were very clear this is a relocation, not the building of a fourth fire station. [/quote]Yeah, right… but with land costs, construction costs, this is NOT a ‘zero-sum’ game.
forgot demolition and transitional costs. Might be a good idea,m but we need to see the balance sheet…
“There was talk behind the scenes that a Greek Theater might be well-situated at this location….”
What the…? David, where did you get this weird piece of doo-doo? I can understand why this is a secret source, behind-the-scenes item: Nobody would have the guts advance such a ridiculous proposal in public.
We can’t afford to irrigate our parks, to maintain our streets, to keep our pools open, to pay our firefighters and tree-trimmers and on and on. A Greek theater!
David, what do you mean that such a project be “well situated” at this location? And, pray tell, who floated this scheme in the first place? I need names!
If Davis has even the tiniest requirement for another theater (a Greek one, yet), I’m sure UCD has the land and money and parking and talented players to meet the need. Geez….
[quote]Yes, but to where? [/quote]
I think the Little League fields deserve a look. The general location is right, arterial access is good if not spectacular, the city already owns the land, and they’re planning to move the fields to Howat Ranch anyway. Depending on configuration, there’d be room left over for additional development. (Future home of STEAC?)
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“where did you get this weird piece of doo-doo? I can understand why this is a secret source, behind-the-scenes item: Nobody would have the guts advance such a ridiculous proposal in public.”
It was one possible use discussed during the council meeting when they were discussing STEAC.
Jim: When I asked about the Little League fields, was told, “too valuable” for current uses.
I wouldn’t expect the city to send DLL packing so they could replace the ball fields with a fire station. However, neither the sports park nor the fire station has all the funding lined up yet, and I’m wondering if the timing of the two couldn’t be synchronized.
Unless by “current uses” your source meant current use of the adjacent property, i.e. apartments. I would think that a well-situated fire station site would be considered pretty valuable.
I got the impression the timeline for moving the fire station is a lot shorter than moving the little league fields.
Is the fire station move because of the 5th street road diet plan?
If so, we can add this to the cost of helping to prevent a few Darwin-challenged bike riders from harming themselves.
The fire station move is due to the coverage map above.
Families First site: With the city and the county attacking FF from all directions, what’s in store for the FF site? Fire station, homeless shelter, jail transition lodging?
How about the Bicycle Museum moving to the 5th Street site and re-open the 3rd & B Teen Center? Parking wouldn’t be a problem. (The current Museum doesn’t have parking onsite.)
One site that I believe should seriously be considered is 2020 F Street just above the Davis Rentals building. That is an odd triangular shaped piece of property that will be hard to make into viable retail. The triangular shape of the 1.586 acres it contains would not be a significant impediment for a Fire Station. It is Parcel #0532570005 on the Yolo County GIS system.
2020 F is APN 035-270-005, right where Bueno Drive hits F Street. It looks like a nice parcel for a fire station, but it *is* the Davis Rental Center. They don’t use the northerly 1/3rd or so of it, which is pretty narrow, but the southerly 2/3s comprises their buildings and yard. You’d have to send DRC elsewhere in order to put a fire station there. It might be doable, but as of now it’s not a vacant parcel.
Thanks for that additional information Jim. At over an acre and a half total, the upper 1/3 is something like a half acre in size, with the railroad right of way behind it. The current Fire Station parcel at 530 5th Street is less than half that size (0.208 acre), so the narrow end could be used for the parking lot and the wide end for the building. If the railroad relocation goes forward the land behind the parcel becomes available as well.
BTW sorry for the typo in the parcel number. Your parcel number is correct.