(From Press Release) The Yes on Measure A campaign this weekend reached a milestone: 1,000+ public endorsers and supporters for the Nishi Gateway Innovation Center.
They include every current city council member, every person running for city council, 11 former mayors and city councilmembers, former Assemblymember Helen Thomson, former Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin, Davis School Board President Madhavi Sunder, City of Davis Finance and Budget Commission Chair Jeff Miller and Vice Chair Dan Carson, Yolo County Public Guardian Cass Sylvia, the Davis Enterprise, the Sacramento Bee, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, the Davis Downtown Business Association, the Davis Chamber of Commerce, the Associated Students of the University of California at Davis, and hundreds of business leaders, environmentalists, bicycling advocates, and supporters of education. The full list is available here.
“Leaders in Davis past, present, and future understand how Yes on Measure A meets many of our city’s most pressing needs, from neighborhood preservation to support for our local schools to 1,500+ local jobs to fixes to Richards Boulevard traffic flow. We’re humbled to reach the 1,000 endorsement benchmark, the most public support I can recall in a Davis campaign,” said Tim Ruff, the managing partner of the Nishi Gateway Innovation Center.
Support for Yes on Measure A is broad and deep because Measure A is designed with Davis’s most pressing concerns in mind:
Richards Boulevard
“Most helpfully for Davis as a whole, the Nishi Gateway project provides funding to redesign the Richards Boulevard freeway intersection. Project or no project, that intersection is a nightmare, and Nishi gives us the only chance of fixing it,” the Davis Enterprise wrote.
Car-Free Living Near Campus
“The Nishi Gateway project has been designed over several years with significant community input. It will provide much needed housing in close proximity to the university and downtown. Its first of their kind parking restrictions will reduce traffic impacts and incentivize car-free living on the site,” said Vice Mayor Robb Davis.
Responsible Economic Growth
“The Nishi Gateway project follows a citizen-driven economic development strategy, addresses numerous identified community needs, and honors our critical partnerships. I believe this project is an opportunity we cannot miss, and I strongly support it,” said City Council Candidate Will Arnold.
City Finances
“Speaking as two Davis citizens who spent much time reviewing the data presented to us, we have concluded that Nishi Gateway economic development project will help put the city of Davis on a long-term financially sustainable path. Accordingly, we will be voting yes on Measure A on June 7,” said Budget and Finance Commission Chair Jeff Miller and Vice Chair Dan Carson.
Davis Joint Unified School District
“If voters approve Measure A, Davis schools will benefit from the Nishi Gateway’s extraordinary and direct contribution to our budget,” said Davis School Board President Madhavi Sunder. “Under the binding Baseline Project Features agreement between the city and Nishi developers, Nishi would establish a minimum 30-year Community Facilities District. This is money from the developers to our schools that can keep teachers in the classroom, upgrade school facilities, or preserve after school programs. Measure A provides a rare opportunity to raise money for DJUSD without new taxes.”
It is estimated that Nishi would generate $400,000 annually for DJUSD, and $1,400,000 in upfront fees. Some of these fees would lower the outstanding bond obligations thereby reducing parcel taxes on existing residents.
Sustainability
“Nishi is part of the solution when it comes to reducing our carbon footprint and addressing the reality of pollution with trend-setting innovations,” said Michelle Millet, Don Shor, Judy Corbett, Stephen Wheeler, John Mott-Smith, and Charles Salocks.
