The Davis Planning Commission on Wednesday listened to nearly an hour and a half of public comment. Thirty-seven people spoke on Wednesday night, and while the commenters were evenly split on whether they supported or opposed the Hyatt House Hotel project proposed for south Davis on Cowell Boulevard along I-80, with 20 speaking out against the project, the neighbors were near unanimous in their opposition.
In deciding to hold over the decision for another meeting, it was clear that while a number of the arguments from the neighbors were rejected, a big concern that the Planning Commission had was the issue of privacy, with many neighbors concerned that third and fourth story windows would look directly into their homes and with many expressing concern over the sufficiency and also permanency of the tree cover.
Commissioner Stephen Mikesell said, “I heard reference to a number of things that might individually or collectively constitute a nuisance – the visual impact of the hotel.” In addition to noise, he noted that there are concerns from the neighbors about public safety or “bad actors being added into the neighborhood,” traffic and privacy.
“I think I heard enough to come to the general conclusion that almost of those really don’t rise to the level of being a nuisance,” he said. “The one that was bothersome to me was, and was probably listed by 80 percent of those who opposed the project, was the subject of privacy.”
He said, “Privacy is a really sticky issue because even a residential development raises the issue of privacy because you have two-story buildings next to one-story buildings and it’s impossible to have a backyard that no one can look into.”
“That was the most strong statement that I heard from the community,” he said.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Cheryl Essex added, “I really don’t understand the concern about strangers. I have to say.”
“At our best, we’re really an open-hearted community,” she said. “We want to be a model … we talk about all the time, how proud we are of our community and how we want to be a model and so many different ways. To be a model, you have to show it off. We’ve got one of the finest universities in the world here – we like to show it off. We love strangers in our town.”
“I don’t understand the concerns about security in the neighborhood,” Ms. Essex continued. “I think the hotel would be a real benefit to that.”
She went on to note a number of benefits to the city in terms of business as well as noise reduction from the freeway. “I feel like it could increase security, so you don’t have to worry about arson in your backyard,” she added. But she said, “I think there is a strong potential for privacy impacts to the neighbors. I’m really concerned about that.”
Ms. Essex said she felt like they couldn’t move forward at this particular meeting because she doesn’t think “we know for certain what those privacy impacts may be and whether we have adequately mitigated them.”
Neil Denowa, one of the neighbors who presented the petition that was on Change.org, noted that, given concerns about the validity of the signatures, they scrubbed out non-Davis zip codes. “We still have 255 signatures before you today asking you not to re-zone this parcel of land,” he said.
He told the commission that he went door to door and through phone calls and email to speak with 75 to 100 households. He said he wanted to understand what the concerns were. “I would say the number one concern that I have heard from my neighbors is the 24-hour, 7 days a week occupancy of this business.”
He said that when they purchased their homes they were under the impression that this would be a business park or light industrial, most of the business occurring while people were at work and not in their homes. “I think that speaks volumes to the privacy that you expect when you’re building a property 50 to 100 feet away from our houses. The proximity of this to our homes is simply too close,” he stated.
Alyssa Burnett, an Albany Avenue resident, said she would face this hotel directly. Her first concern “is the impact on privacy on my home and those of my neighbors. The back of this hotel will have four stories of windows that will face our homes, our yards, the line of sight from the third and fourth story will be directly into the front of my house.”
She added that those across the street will have rooms facing the rooms of their children and their backyards.
“The tree study commissioned by the Hyatt noted that there are a number of trees that are not healthy or that need to be defoliated to some extent,” she said. “The drone video is inconsequential. If those trees don’t exist, you no longer have that line of privacy.”
Karen Ashby lives on Christie Court, five houses outside of the 500-foot zone. She said that the process has been mis-characterized as she never received any sort of outreach or communication about this process. “My home is affected as much as anyone else’s,” she said.
She said it was critical to separate the discussion of the hotel, the art, the wine bar and the pool from the location. “This is fundamentally about the location,” she said. “If you pick up this hotel and put it in another location all the points raised by the group presenting this – they all still apply… It all still exists but not on the backs of the South Davis residents.”
Ms. Ashby said that the existing noise doesn’t bother her and “I’m not asking for a 120 room hotel for noise abatement.”
On the other hand, James Major, the owner of Davis Diamonds Gymnastics, which would be the next door neighbors of the Hyatt House hotel, noted that they have been in their current location for about a year and a half. “During that time, we have had three very serious, very expensive cases of vandalism on the building. From our point of view, the more traffic there is in this area, the better it will be.”
“The more activity there is around the area, the safer it’s going to be for everybody,” he said.
Mr. Major noted that there is subpar infrastructure and utilities in the area and they see the development of the Hyatt House as a positive for the development of utilities and other infrastructure.
“We would love to organize gymnastics competitions in Davis,” he said. He said visiting competitors and their families would stay for awhile and that would be a positive for the whole community, but “they need a place to stay. That’s not adequate right now.”
DeChristy Adams noted that, as a mother of two gymnasts, this might help improve the troublesome parking situation at Davis Diamonds. “The parking in their lot is very bad and there are lots of children,” she said.
She is also the fundraiser at Montgomery Elementary School, “Marguerite is the school that has a lot of low income housing in South Davis therefore there’s a tremendous low income population at the school… We have over 60 percent low income and the Hyatt House project has been tremendously generous with their offer of support to help these children get extracurricular exposure to things that a lot of kids get after school, in school.”
Scott Davis, while neither opposing nor supporting the project, noted he lives within 500 feet of a four-story apartment complex – the Eighth and Wake project built by the university on Wake Forest Drive a few years ago. “There were a lot of concerns about that project, but in retrospect we’ve all come to realize it was really a pretty good thing for us because we live right next to 113, and the noise off that highway is kind of ridiculous at times.”
“Without that structure there we’d be getting the full force of that 24/7,” he continued. “I’m not here as a proponent or a detractor of the project, that’s not why I’m here. I’m just here to share my experience which is that in my neighborhood we haven’t had any problems with this development… I can certainly vouch for the fact that the noise abatement has been a real benefit to our neighborhood in that regard.”
The Planning Commission discussed with city staff doing a full walk-through of the site as a public meeting. They would not make a determination on the project at that time, which right now is scheduled for their next meeting on September 14.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
““I really don’t understand the concern about strangers. I have to say.”
While I myself am leaning more and more towards a positive view of this hotel, pending a thorough review of the projected numbers involved which apparently will be upcoming at a future commission prior to presentation to the city, I am very troubled by Commissioner Essex’s comment. If she had said that she did not agree with the concern, or if she felt that other factors outweighed the concern, I might have agreed. But what she said was that she did not “understand it”. In that regard, perhaps I can help clarify. And I can do it in one word.
Kidnapping.
Having raised two young children, both a boy and a girl as a single mother, I had a single, irrational fear. It was that one of my children would leave home and that I would never see them again and would never know what had happened. I did not believe that it was likely to happen, nor did I have any reason to believe that it would happen to either of my children. I recognized it as irrational given the rarity of this event. I did not allow it to govern our lives and I let my kids walk and bike on their own when age appropriate. And, nonetheless, I feared it. I heard this concern in the voice of the father who when speaking about the increased number of people coming and going which is of course the business of the hotel said it “terrified” him.
So to the commissioners and to hotel proponents ( of which I am likely to be one) I would urge you, while you do not have to agree, while you may find other factors more compelling, this particular fear, please at least try to understand.. No matter how unlikely or unfounded you may find it, this fear is primal. The urge to ensure the safety of our children is basic to our existence. None of the people who shared this fear named it directly. Perhaps they cannot. I know I never bluntly shared my fear with anyone because I knew how it would sound to someone who did not have children or who did not have it. We all have irrational fears. We all have to overcome them, sometimes for the benefit of ourselves, sometimes for the benefit of others. But the least that we can do for our neighbors is to try to understand.
I think that says it best.
But the irrational fears that have been put forward by many of the neighbors and commenters on the V are not a reason to stop the hotel from being built.
BP
I tend to agree pending more specific information on the financial aspects still to come.
My partner however, did point out an error in my statement. I do not know that we “all” have irrational fears. All I can really say from 30 + years of direct patient experience is that it is my observation that the majority of people I encounter have some form of fear that is not supported by the likelihood of its occurrence.
That is what I get for having a “numbers oriented” psychologist for a partner. Please excuse my hyperbole.
Irrational fears are pervasive in this society. Women are more afraid of breast cancer despite the fact they are more likely to be killed by CV. A father is afraid of kidnappers while the child is more likely to be killed in or by a car.
It’s all a matter of degree.
Kidnapping by a stranger is a fairly remote occurrence. The idea that someone is going to bike or walk through the greenbelt into the neighborhood, find a kid, snatch them, walk out of the neighborhood and abscond with the kid has to be bordering on one in a billion. The idea that someone is going to drive around to the cul da sac streets and do the same is equally improbable. Rational discourse has to prevail or we cannot make reasoned decisions. It’s that simple.
David
I agree that stranger kidnapping is rare. However, from the father’s testimony last night, I think that you are mischaracterizing the concern. I believe that his concern was not that a “stranger” would invade their neighborhood to snatch a child, but rather that he feared that a child might be taken as she walked from her home to Davis Diamonds. I think that his concern was the possible additional restrictions on his children’s activities that he might feel compelled to make to ensure their safety in the face of higher numbers of non community related individuals moving through the same area where his children would be moving. While the fear of kidnapping may not be statistically sound, I think that the increased exposure to unknown individuals is doubtless accurate.
Fair enough, but from what was discussed last night, the current situation might be more dangerous.
Jaycee was stolen. It does happen, David.
Planes crash and people die, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t fly in a plane.
Exactly David. This all gets so exhausting. So are we never to build anything because it might draw in strangers and someone got kidnapped 100 years ago?
it’s the same thing with the lights. “Too dangerous in this town, safer to turn up the lights”
Of course there are extensive regulations regarding plane safety to make it safer including the locations of airports.
So the chances go from one in a billion to . . . one in 999,999,999. Scary . . . terrifying.
Tia wrote:
> I had a single, irrational fear. It was that one of my children
> would leave home and that I would never see them again
This is an “irrational” fear for most people but a “rational” fear for a divorced mom (or a rich family living in Mexico City).
I personally know two guys who were “kidnapped” by their dads to punish their moms (that dumped their dads). One spent years in Thailand and the other lived in Iran (until the fall of the Shah).
SOD
To add to your comment of 7:08. I understand that family member abduction is more common than stranger abduction. However, this statistic does not seem to ameliorate the fear of stranger abduction. I actually had both fears. The former because my children’s father, who I divorced, was from Turkey. The latter, well, just because…..
I was the target of a stranger abduction attempt when I was 8… a man in a car, came by, asked me where the nearby park/playground was, and I gave him directions… he asked me if I could get in his car to help him… I calmly declined… walked rest of the way home, told my mom to call the Police, gave them a description of the car and partial license plate. Wasn’t scared at all. Neither was Mom.
My parents trained me, before I was 5!
Violent abductions by strangers is exceedingly rare…
To this day I keep the refrigerator magnet that nice polite young man gave me as a siimple, sweet thank you for chaperone nght him. What a wonderful mom he had. He mailed me a thank you note immediately upon returning from Ashland.
We do need to chaperone our kids. We do need to keep a watchful eye even if they take a short walk to Davis Diamonds, for example. Like the very old couple who watched the toddler out their window in their old age. We can all contribute something to keep our children safe. It takes a village like Davis.
It wasn’t that difficult for me to taken my union assisted vacation hours to travel to Ashland for a few precious days. Thank you to my union for giving me paid vacation hours so I could take that trip with my child.
How wonderful that those kids experienced the great bard’s words.
Say WHAT?
dear pal AM…the moderators got rid of my off topic lead ins of DWB that is Driving while black..’
and my comment was a follow up…to the DWB….and that in this town fortnately I am not black so I haven’t gotten pulled over for that….jeez..
if the moderators are going to edit and censor they could at least do a better job at it..
I think they purposely leave such things to show me as a racist or bigot…or something…
edit
this planning commission sounds like they are new but want to learn..
I am sure way more info will be shared…and perhaps the PC will learn a lot….
I hope so….
Marina,
History can repeat itself though driving solely with the use of the rearview mirror is not very effective either.
fortunately I am not black…and even as a senior citizen I have shared my own experiences…
one learns from history and works on the present to try to create a better future for all.
Say WHAT?
everyone has their own agenda… the owner of davis diamonds wants more traffic….instead of a decent (and now very cheap) security system he wants more traffic…
he wants more people to find out about his business… he wants more business…
his place didn’t need a variance, (or did it) and he is happy to be where he is..
The many neighbors also spent their money and some may have done their due diligence..
expecting nothing more than a small 8-5 business on that lot….
not a 24/7 monstrosity which was not even in the picture nor on any drawing board…. until these developers saw an opportunity to buy very cheap land – cheap due to the location and zoning…and it had been for sale for decades..
they then figure out what they could build to maximize profits….and so on.
if they would propose something…anything….which is according to the general plans which go back some years… neighbors would not be in an uproar…..and the neighbors are not just Rosecreek…it is El Macero Vista, Woodbridge, Willow Creek…
It is also neighbors in North Davis, East Davis, and etc.
(Rosecreek friends, please search back on the GPs for how long it was zoned that way)…
It is people who truly care about others in this town..regardless of where their own house is…
All of the town is affected…all of the children who bike are affected….and those who can barely get around due to construction everywhere and can no longer bike due to health reasons see this sit as completely inappropriate for the purposes …
it is TOO far from either I80 interchange…and it will mean many more cars on the roads of chiles and cowell…
If, and I don’t believe it, there is a need, it is not at that location…
and, the more compelling reasons will not be the fears, however, the fears are the ones that get the most press right?????
Too far from the I-80 interchange? It looks like it’s about the same distance from the interstate as the highly successful Hyatt Place on the UC Davis campus.
I don’t believe it’s too far from an I-80 interchange. Plus getting to the interchange would be accomplished traveling on business type roads, not through any neighborhoods.
do you ever drive down those roads to get anywhere??
Even the DV reported on this in March. COME ON PEOPLE.
Okay I have to thank Tia immediately for giving some kind of explanation to my own mama bear totally irrational fear. I must give another anecdote. a (If anyone hates my anecdotes then plz just stop reading. Now.
We rented a home for a while very very near a bus stop. 7th grade for my son: we practice the route, I decide to let him use public transportation without me. We do our due diligence. The first day he rides the bus home from jr. high, I spend my breaks at work crying in my car & praying no one bothers my son. He makes it home and into our house okay. But another day the as*hole bus driver kicks all the kids off the public bus because another brat was causing trouble on the bus. Those kids were dumped away from their safe homes to walk home alone. My best laid plan went awry. I was terrified for 18 years and I am still terrified, not every moment, of course. But it’s always in the back of my mombrain.
Thanks again Tia, for your empathy
The most interesting thing that came out at the planning commission is not in this article. It came in the exchange between Commissioner Hanson and City staff after public comment. The staff is actually recommending changing the business park zoning to allow for hotels, rather than changing the zoning of the site to a zoning that already allows for hotels. That means the staff is actually recommending changing the general plan in a way that allows for hotels to be built in several other places in Davis as well.
I’m not sure that’s accurate. David Greenwald, can you clarify?
I’m going to get clarification from Katherine or Ash Feeney.
I just reviewed the video and it was explained last night. There other options but what is being proposed is a change to the general plan that will effect all like zoned properties. You might ask what parcels this change in the general plan will effect.
No… the staff appears to be making a suggestion on revising the Zoning Code. As to definitions…
That is not, repeat, not, I say three times, not, a change to the General Plan. The General Plan, is well, “general”… not “specific”, not “precise”…
HPierce, I want to make sure I understand, they are changing the definitions to the zoning code and this change will effect all like zoned lots in the city.
It will if there are any ‘like zoned bare lots’ remaining in the City. It is unlikely anyone would tear down an existing building in a commercial zone to put up a hotel, so the only parcels actually impacted would be current bare ground with the exact same zoning classification. Probably only a few parcels at most.
And it will possibly save the city council on future hotel proposals the headaches of neighbors complaining about second hand cigar smoke and kidnappers, oh my.
I think Mark’s comment points to a very good question for city staff. What other lots in Davis will this change to the General plan effect?
Well, they are tearing down a hotel to put up a bigger hotel, so it’s not that unlikely.
That is their stated intent, but I will believe it when it happens.
So I just went and looked at the staff report. It is an amendment to the general plan that is being proposed and it effects all like zoned lots:
Works for me.
Or we could do like Houston and just get rid of zoning.
HouseFlipper
Thanks for pointing this out. Although I watched most of the meeting last night from home, I did miss a fair amount do to the comings and goings of house guests. This will be something to watch closely.