By Michelle Millet, Don Shor, Judy Corbett, Stephen Wheeler, John Mott-Smith, Charles Salocks
We live in a world where there are pollution threats and environmental impacts around us every day at our workplace and in our neighborhoods. The real question is whether we can create a new model in Davis to reduce pollution and address climate change, thereby setting an example for the world to follow. We support Nishi Gateway – Yes on Measure A – because it is a model infill project in the right place for Davis. That’s why this site, directly between the campus and downtown, was selected as a top infill site by a citizen commission back in 2008.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a full analysis of all environmental impacts across fifteen separate environmental topics including traffic, biological and cultural impacts, noise, air quality, public services and recreation, and cultural resources to name a few. These issues were fully analyzed in the Nishi Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
Under CEQA guidelines, the City of Davis weighs all issues in the EIR, balancing all components of a project. The “Final” EIR for the Nishi Gateway concludes that the project is a model of sustainability for the region. That is why it was awarded a grant award as the top project in California by the Strategic Growth Council, a prestigious state rating organization. The project also won the UNANIMOUS support of the Davis City Council – and it is supported by regional planning agencies like the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG).
The reality of the world we live in is that every infill project will confront air quality challenges. The real issue is how we address these challenges.
The Nishi project is located steps away from Aggie Village, the Solano Park married student housing dorms, and downtown Davis – all very desirable places to live. Solano Park is scheduled for redevelopment by the University and we believe the mitigation on Nishi will be a model the University can follow. The EIR identifies specific measures required of the Nishi project to reduce air quality impacts:
- Plant a buffer of trees and vegetation between the highway and the project site to reduce pollution.
- Plant an urban forest on the southwestern apex of the site, closest to the freeway. Studies have shown that dense vegetation can remove up to 50% of airborne particulate matter.
- All residential buildings are set back from the highway and located behind the commercial buildings as a buffer, reducing exposure to residential areas.
- Residential condos are located next to the 100-acre Arboretum and the Putah Creek Parkway- a living, breathing particulate filter.
- All buildings will have state-of-the-art air filtration systems that remove 95% of air particulates.
In addition to the above-listed mitigation measures in the Baseline Project Features, the project is bringing local expert Don Shor, owner of Redwood Barn Nursery, to recommend species selection and monitor growth of the urban forest buffer. The hope is that this kind of forward thinking will inspire other proposed developments in the area, such as Solano, to implement similar mitigation efforts.
Furthermore, we are recommending to the city that they create a sub-committee to work with Mr. Shor and other experts to monitor and maintain vegetation levels in the urban forest and tree buffer. This committee would ensure a healthy buffer of foliage in the intervening four years while the developers complete the required infrastructure improvements around Olive/Richards before construction.
In the near future as emission reductions from fuel efficiency standards, fleet modernization, and steps to reduce particulate matter from vehicles take hold, vehicle emissions will decline. Encouraging car-free living brings us closer to this future. The land plan for Nishi is designed to change the way people live and work. Nishi is a live-bike community that will provide an opportunity for Davis residents to live without a car with 80% built-in bike ridership according to a UC Davis study.
The design and mitigation at Nishi include measures to protect healthy living far beyond what we see at Solano Park or many of the other projects built near the freeway in Davis, a city bisected by highways and railroads.
Nishi is part of the solution when it comes to reducing our carbon footprint and addressing the reality of pollution with trend-setting innovations. That’s why it has our support and why we are voting Yes on Measure A this June.
Michelle Millet is the Chair of the Natural Resources Commission; Don Shor is the owner redwood barn nursery; Charles Salocks is a PhD, in environmental toxicology UCD; Stephen Wheeler is a Professor, Department of Ecology, UCD and Judy Corbett is a former executive director local planning commission.
Toxic ghetto for other people’s children.
What-EVER!
Did you even read the article? The mitigation not only answers Cahill’s concerns but likely will create a phenomenal City asset.
First off… this is not an infill project. State definition of infill specifies that an infill be within existing City limit. Additionally, if this were truly infill we would not be voting on the measure as Measure J/R would not apply. The use of the term “infill” by the proponents is a false description.
It is surrounded by already developed land. It is infill from a practical definition. And everyone knows this. It is just an inconvenient practical definition for those No people.
It’s worth noting that the EIR used the term, infill: “optimize an underutilized infill location within and adjacent to the City of Davis”
The EIR used the term infill, so now we have an idea about the quality of the EIR.
Frankly
Brace yourself. We are in agreement once again. I feel that while Rodney’s comment is technically accurate, it is a distinction without a difference.
David: It is impossible to be both within and adjacent to the City of Davis what ever the EIR claims.
To Michael Harrington: The students at UCD don’t seem to agree with your assessment!
I think Mike’s record player is skipping, again. Someone, give the tonearm a little slap.
Good article, Michelle, Don, et al. and great recommendations.
Here’s a problem,,,, the folk tout Nishi as a model to reduce the use of SOMV, and encourage transit, bicycle, and pedestrian modes… I agree with the concept and support that…
Then, seemingly in the next breath, many of the same folk tout Nishi, particularly the direct VM connection to W Olive as a way to promote SOMV making left turns @ Richards/Olive, go thru the site to get to UCD… maybe relieving portions of First Street… but that is tenuous at best, as left turn movements rob from the capacity of signalized intersections… BIG TIME.
Which is it?
Nishi, with no motor vehicle (except EVA) access to W Olive and a grade-separated crossing to UCD, I whole-heartedly support… as currently proposed, am strongly inclined to reject the proposal.
Your logic escapes me. If cars have to sit for long periods at Richards Tunnel because there is no access via Olive Drive to campus, that is emitting a lot of GHG while waiting. Whereas if there is an Olive Drive connection that bypasses the bottleneck at the Richards underpass, cars will not have to wait to get into campus – less GHG emissions.
True. And the EIR said the air pollution at Nishi would be “Significant and “Unavoidable” even after mitigation. And this was the City’s consultant that wrote that.
The problem is that this living, breathing particulate filter is on the opposite side of the railroad tracks and downwind from the Nishi – it is NOT upwind between the freeway and Nishi where it could actually do some good. This is like wearing a gas mask on the back side of your head instead of over your mouth and nose. They just don’t work as well that way.
In only four years? Dr. Cahill says it will take decades for the foliage to reach sufficient height and density to create an effective buffer. I know Don Shor can make plants grow fast, but I was raised on an almond ranch and have been commercially farming fruit and nut orchards for 4 decades since – so I know a bit about trees too. There is absolutely no way you are going to create an effective “living and breathing” urban forest that effectively mitigates ir pollution in this short of a time period. Don, did you really say that?
Dr. Cahill acknowledges those studies (he did them!) but claims that some forms of pollution could be 5 times higher or more than other nearby areas because of Nishi’s low-lying area between the tracks and the freeway. So after 3 or 4 decades, this vegetation mitigation measure “maybe” could reduce this air pollution to only 2.5 times higher than surrounding areas. Well, to me that sounds like your kids’ kids would not even want to live there.
I know that a building “buffer” sounds really great but computer modeling shows us that the commercial buildings could also hold a down-drafted pocket of pollution between them and the residential buildings that could actually increase the air pollution exposure to residential buildings and not protect the residents and this wishful thinking contemplates.
Off to table at Farmer’s Market but I’ll be back for more discourse this afternoon
!
Yes, with proper selection of species, optimal size at planting, correct siting and irrigation, and appropriate after-care, you can readily achieve “a healthy buffer of foliage in the intervening four years.”
A 2″ caliper bareroot Fremont cottonwood, which would be 12 – 15′ at planting, can grow several feet a year with proper watering. Giant timber bamboo doubles in height each year. I’m not saying that the whole buffer would be cottonwoods and bamboo (although that would be pretty cool). It’s just a matter of bringing together the right expertise for selection, air quality mitigation, aesthetics, and developing planting and care specs to ensure the goals that have been established.
The key will be to select the right species to achieve fastest growth rate and greatest density, combined with those known to be most effective at filtering particles. Then the most important part is the after-care and followup monitoring.
What happens in the winter time, when the leaves have fallen off, when air quality is at the worst due to inversion?
That’s what the evergreen species are for.
Sorry, I don’t claim to know anything about this – but are the evergreen species fast growing? (cottonwoods and bamboo not being evergreen, right?). And the evergreens do not tend to be as good at mitigating air quality?
This is what Dr. Cahill’s document says about mitigating:
Bamboo is evergreen. Evergreen species are more effective at mitigating particulate matter, from my cursory review of research on this over the years; the deciduous tree species generally grow faster than conifers. I’m not sure what he exactly means by “as dense as Land Park in Sacramento.” I know it is possible to achieve much greater foliage density than the neighborhoods in Land Park, and rather quickly. I know who to work with on developing a planting plan, and where to find the research on this topic. It happens that we have some of the foremost experts here at UCD.
Maybe the two of you smart people could have a chat, given your complementary expertise, and come to some sort of understanding for the rest of us, e.g., I understand that that he has suggested that evergreens are not as good at mitigation in the summer months.
One would select a mix of species to meet the multiple goals of rapid growth, foliage density, most effective mitigation, suitability to the site and the region, longevity, and appearance. That will require input from people with a range of knowledge and skill sets. I was simply giving a couple of examples. I could list a dozen species that would probably be used, depending on site factors and other considerations.
I guess I clicked the wrong reply and it didn’t line up correctly. I can’t even tell you how much I hate this interface.
Once again, Mr. Pryor is presenting an ingenuous argument. He and the opposition have been howling about the fact that Section 8 housing won’t be built at Nishi (which would house a much larger share of sensitive receptors than the current plan for student and senior housing), but now, apparently, they want to claim the air quality is a dire threat. Not only do he and the opposition conveniently ignore who is actually going to live at Nishi, but they are grossly over-exaggerating the health risks. It is orders of magnitude more dangerous to drive into Davis from places like Woodland, Dixon, and West Sac which is exactly what more people will be doing if Nishi isn’t built.
So, families with young children are not wanted at Nishi, nor anyone disabled who would be affected by the very poor air quality?
I would say the project is primarily for students.
Students get pregnant. Students have children. Students have asthma.
Students do get pregnant. I experienced that first hand my senior year at Cornell. If a female student got the very first day of the Fall semester (September 21, 2015 this academic year) and the pregnancy went full term, the child would be born on June 27, 2016, which is 18 days after the end of the 2015-2016 academic year on June 9, 2016.
With that said, it would be interesting to see what the UCD pregnancy frequency is for sophomores, juniors and seniors.
Not sure what your point about dates is, Matt, since there are potential effects on the developing fetus. And the mother might not think “oh, I should move out,” since she is not likely to know of the environmental impact of the site.
If there are not many pregnant women among students, do we decide that they don’t matter? This is where utilitarian thinking gets you.
Roberta, the point of the dates was to put the potential risk into context (utilitarian context?).
All the residents will know about the risks, and a woman who has gotten pregnant prior to the beginning of the school year would probably be exercising good judgement to not ignore the notices/warnings about potential health risks, and find her housing for the academic year elsewhere. The student women who will really be in a bind will be those who get pregnant during the course of an academic year. All of those newly pregnant students will face a choice. Those that choose life will have to weigh the risks of exposure for their fetuses. Those that do not choose life will not have to do so.
Its a complex multi dimensional, multi variant model. Lots of permutations.
Matt, sorry, how do you imagine that prospective renters will know about the risks? Whoever handles the rental is going to hand prospective renters clear and straightforward fact sheet of some sort? Containing what information? And explain it to them, make sure they understand it, and let them ask questions?
In fact, I imagine that none of this will happen, or nothing anything like this will happen. What on earth gives you the idea that it will?
I expect it to happen because their liability lawyer and insurance company will insist that they do so. In our litigious society that is simple risk management.
Actually, I have never argued for Section 8 housing at Nishi. I have complained that Nishi was getting off from the in-lieu fees of $11,550,000 which would otherwise go to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund for leveraging to build more additional affordable housing at a better location.
BTW – Seniors are definitely a sensitive receptor also. There is a body of evidence showing senior hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiac distress rise in direct proportion to particulate matter concentration in ambient air.
Alan… you do know, of course, that the entire area including Davis, West Sac, western Sacto is one of the LAST places to live if you have, or are prone to respiratory distress?
I suspect that more folk have respiratory problems from pollens, molds, etc. than from brake dust, PM 10’s from diesels, and WOOD SMOKE. Have no cites, but have experience…
“Furthermore, we are recommending to the city that they create a sub-committee to work with Mr. Shor and other experts to monitor and maintain vegetation levels in the urban forest and tree buffer.”
In addition to this recommendation, I would further recommend that a formal process be undertaken at the city level perhaps in conjunction with the county epidemiologist to monitor the health of the residents of Nishi specifically to provide actual safety data rather than extrapolation and speculation about the safety of the area. Nishi would thus provide an excellent and much needed observational prospective study providing proof either for the “this is exemplary planning” or “this is a health disaster” schools of thought. Wouldn’t it be great to have some actual facts for future developers to use in their planning ?
” Wouldn’t it be great to have some actual facts for future developers to use in their planning ?”
And for Michael H. and Alan P. to distort, as needed.
Great idea – let’s pack the kids and pregnant women and seniors into what know to be a terrible environment and study how badly they are affected. Never mind that this is the research that has already been done and produced “actual facts” referenced by Dr. Cahill. BTW, are you anticipating getting a Human Experimental Subjects research permit?
Alan
Oh for Heaven’s sake Alan….why don’t you just revisit the “Tia is trying to poison our children for profit” nonsense from your colleagues that you let stand at City Council meetings, all the while winking at me and telling me that you knew all that was false but did not challenge it because it did not suit your purpose.
I know for a fact that your knowledge of statistical evidence would allow you to fully know that small sample sizes in Southern California or other countries do not equal to proof of harm here. But one would never know that from your posts.
I like you as a person, and respect your knowledge and expertise. But I frankly loathe your willingness to stand by outright lies about the motivations and intent of others.
For some, “it’s whatever it takes” to ‘get your way’… we see that all around us… no such thing as ‘collateral damages’ for those folk…
I have no idea what you are talking about here.
As we have previously discussed, Tia, I believe the difference between us is that I do not require the same level of statistical significance as you as to proof of harm of an environmental toxin and when steps should be taken to avoid that harm. I think our disagreements really boil down to the simple difference as to when we invoke the precautionary principle.
Read the posts of the past few days, Tia, including Frankly’s comments and your own direct references to my lack of integrity above and below. Look at how many people have called me out personally by name. Then tell me honestly whose motivations have been more severely questioned and criticized in the Vanguard? – my own by others? or others by me? I have been vilified and pilloried by you and Robert and Frankly and Pugilist and the list goes on and on.
And yet you accuse me of lying while questioning others motivations? Did I just zoom into a parallel universe here or what?
Now come on now Mr. Pryor. You are one of the sharpest tacks in the shed. I think folks are going at you hard to get you to back down to help preserve your credibility. We need you in this town to fight the good fight not to waste so many of your hard-earned chips on twaddle.
With the blustery foolishness generated by our resident MIMBYs and No people, we should be able to counter that prevailing wind and send any dangerous particulate matter south over to Solano County.
A crappy old apartment and min-dorm house will have many more unhealthy environmental attributes than will a brand new clean unit made with materials that environmental and health concern extremists have succeeded in getting put into the construction codes.
OK, I’ll bite… know the terms NIMBY, BANANA and CAVE… what’s a “MIMBY”?
I know that this is only one example of collaboration, but I want to call this out specifically . My hat is off to Don Shor and Tim Ruff for their collaboration on how to minimize the potential adverse consequences of environmental risks to future inhabitants of this project. This is exactly the kind of sharing of expertise that I can see as beneficial to many aspects of our community. This aspect of the process is planning done right and it has my support.
You yes people keep talking, but all I hear is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
Yes, $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ for the city and hence for the taxpayers!!! Hallelujah!!!
Even though I like much of the project and am most likely voting for it that’s where i have a problem. The city didn’t get as much $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ as they should have.
Roberta
“I guess I clicked the wrong reply and it didn’t line up correctly. I can’t even tell you how much I hate this interface.”
Big smile. I am guessing that you are a relatively new poster. Even with all its glitches, I can’t tell you how much better this is than our previous arrangement.
I’ve posted here before, but not recently, I think. I don’t know if it was the old system or the new. I notice that you often just post on the bottom of all of the comments, which I guess is one way of getting out of the problem.
Roberta and Matt
“With that said, it would be interesting to see what the UCD pregnancy frequency is for sophomores, juniors and seniors.”
With a little luck and ingenuity, I might be able to get that information for you. Stay tuned after Tuesday.
Roberta and Matt
“With that said, it would be interesting to see what the UCD pregnancy frequency is for sophomores, juniors and seniors.”
With a little luck and ingenuity, I might be able to get that information for you. Stay tuned after Tuesday.
nameless
“The students at UCD don’t seem to agree with your assessment!”
Well, at least we know that the one’s that are being paid by the Nishi campaign to table and otherwise promote the “Yes on Nishi ” campaign are not in agreement with Michael. What we don’t know is how many would agree with him if he were paying them to do so.
Just because I am pro Nishi doesn’t mean that I agree with every positive statement nor do I agree with every statement made against the opponents.
Do you know that ALL the students speaking in favor of Nishi are getting paid to do so??? That is a pretty sweeping statement. Which ones are getting paid, if any??? Proof???
I am sorry. I seem to have created a brand new glitch. This is twice now that my posts have been duplicated without the “duplicate comment” alarm being triggered.
David or Don – any hints how I can stop doing this ? Since it is annoying to me, I suspect it is to others also.
“I would further recommend that a formal process be undertaken at the city level perhaps in conjunction with the county epidemiologist to monitor the health of the residents of Nishi specifically to provide actual safety data …Wouldn’t it be great to have some actual facts (emphasis added) for future developers to use in their planning ?”
Rdcanning, completely separately, and more honestly than Alan Pryor brought up a point that I had not considered. He also suggested that what I was suggesting might be considered human experimentation. I was suggesting no such thing. But my use of the words observations study meant something very different to him than it would to someone in the social sciences.
When I wrote the above words, I was not suggesting an interventional study such as the creation of human guinea pigs. The anthropologist in me was considering pure data collection with collection of anonymous health data to track the number of certain diagnoses in people living in this area. This could then be compared with county derived data already under collection from other areas for comparison. This is really nothing new as health data is collected and compared by county public health services on a regular basis. But in this case, we would have a new development whose design is intentionally meant to be environmentally friendly and health promoting through diminishing the use of the private automobile, and a subset of people who believe the site is too hazardous. I think it is a very good idea either way to monitor health by community.
Once rd realized that what I was describing was pure surveillance such as what is currently done on a regular basis, this did not seem like such a ridiculous idea to him.
Alan
“I have no idea what you are talking about here”
I will be happy to refresh your memory. When I confronted you about the falsehoods being put forward by your colleagues during the fluoridation debates, you merely smiled at me, told me you knew there was no proof of their allegations, and no suggestion that I was getting paid for my advocacy…..but were not about to tell the truth since it did not advance your cause.
“I believe the difference between us is that I do not require the same level of statistical significance as you as to proof of harm of an environmental toxin and when steps should be taken to avoid that harm”
And I have heard exactly the same arguments from anti vaccinators who are willing to accept very real risk to their own and the children of others in order to prevent hypothetical risks based on their pre-existing biases. I will buy this as sincere belief on the part of the less educated. I have difficulty accepting this type of risk analysis from you.
“Tia, including Frankly’s comments and your own direct references to my lack of integrity above and below. Look at how many people have called me out personally by name. Then tell me honestly whose motivations have been more severely questioned and criticized in the Vanguard?”
You and I have posted under our own names by choice. How would you expect people to refer to us ? And as to my references to your integrity, let me remind you of the episode during the fluoride debate when you had written on the Vanguard that what you were seeking was for all voices to be heard…..only to block me from speaking to the council based on a technicality of the wrong list of speakers having been entered in error. These are the kinds of breaches of integrity to which I refer. If you see it differently, fine, counter my point and if I agree with you I will freely and willingly concede the point, and even apologize if I feel that is warranted.
Also do not forget, that when I have seen exaggeration, dishonesty, or hyperbole on the part of the Nishi advocates, I have also called that out with Vanguard posts.
It reminds me of the plastic bag banners claiming that Davis plastic bags somehow made their way to the ocean.
oh…and did YOU test it and do YOUR research… MR BP
where is YOUR proof that they do not? where is that study?
LOL, so you really believe that Davis plastic bags can somehow blow all the way to the ocean and that if even one or two somehow acted like Superman and made the trip that you would consider that a problem?
If I tell you Pigs can’t fly would I need to cite a study to prove it?
nameless
“Do you know that ALL the students speaking in favor of Nishi are getting paid to do so??? That is a pretty sweeping statement. Which ones are getting paid, if any??? Proof???
The answer to your first question is “no”. But then I never made the claim that “all” of them are getting paid. That, you made up yourself.
Do I know that some are, yes. Proof ? I have asked them. So I know that at least four students who man the Farmer’s Market table for the Yes on Nishi campaign and another two that I had not previously seen at the Farmer’s Market but whom were present at the forum by direct conversation with them are paid. I am sure that if you asked, the campaign could provide you with the number of students being paid.
PS> just read this yet another infomercial…and in response to the title? Says who?????
they get the model lease, right? will that state it is on a toxic dump site?
did the cannery owners get a disclosure THAT was a toxic dump site?
in the mounds of paperwork that all need to sign…..was THAT there?
If not, it should be…both for Nishi and the others…who are already built and buying
BTW. I was asking who is the Structural engineering firm on the project…still no answer…. on the Cannery I mean and now on the Nishi…
no, but you tell me to prove things just as absurd.
did you ever see a plastic bag on the street blow into the storm drains…guess where THEY go…
PS> Please cite the study that PROVES pigs cannot fly….
there are many places in the world that they can fly ….
now put on YOUR thinking cap class