Month: August 2013

As the Davis City Council finally emerges from its summer doldrums, it will have many issues on its plate.  However, one issue that it already decided will begin to have some major impacts.  Back on July 9, by a 3-2 vote, the Davis City Council made critical changes to its Affordable Housing Requirements that would allow credit for Accessory Dwelling Units (Granny Flats or ADUs) to count toward inclusionary requirements on a 50 percent basis.

In the wake of the loss of RDA funding, the city has limited options, given Measure R’s limitations for new large housing projects on Davis’ periphery, city officials successfully argued.

The Sacramento Bee today depicts the Cannery as potentially “the last subdivision built in the university town,” but notes it would have to “overcome the city’s powerful anti-growth streak.”

This continues a long-standing Sacramento Bee string of articles that depicts Davis as the anti-growth town.

The city of Davis has been undergoing major changes in the last year or two.  As the city undergoes a change of direction on economic development, it needs to reach some sort of consensus on future growth and the issues of affordable housing, infill and peripheral development.  Now might be the right time to approach the question about a General Plan update.

Like so many things, the past council and city management made some critical errors in their approach to the last General Plan.  The result was that, while they may have been able to ram through the process by a 3-2 vote, there was not a community consensus of backing for them.

In our scenario where Cannery ends up on the ballot for the voters to decide, the critical swing issue might be traffic and circulation.  The project itself, nestled against the railroad tracks, presents a logistical challenge without western access.  In addition, to the east is the Covell Property, and right now it is preventing eastern access.

That means all access to the project is on the southern end, on Covell Blvd.  The bicycling community has pushed for two access points that could take bicyclists under Covell Blvd onto existing bike paths, but those access points are also problematic.

I read with some interest Doby Fleeman’s op-ed today on downtown parking, in which he writes, “In an opinion piece last week, the communities of San Luis Obispo and Boulder, Colo., were shown as shining examples of how paid parking can be a positive means to ensure at least one free spot per block while providing ongoing revenue for transportation-related initiatives.”

Mr. Fleeman continues, “Comparison with these cities is useful, framing a larger discussion in our community about two issues: 1) an understanding of Davis’ role in the regional economic structure and 2) our ability to finance municipal services and essential infrastructure.”