By Brett Maresca
On behalf of the Davis Downtown Business Association/ Davis Downtown, representing over 700 businesses and community leaders in our city, we’re writing to you in support of the proposed Aggie Research Campus (ARC).
We believe ARC will improve quality of life for our members and residents through its considerable contribution to our local economy and many small businesses, while making considerable efforts to support a vibrant downtown business ecosystem .
We believe that ARC is, in effect, a stimulus project for Davis, with ripple effects that will uplift businesses throughout our City. The effect it will have on the local economy should make Davis more attractive to local small businesses, many of which are struggling in the current economic downturn. It possesses huge potential for downtown Davis businesses, with a new base of customers living and 
working near downtown Davis who can help rejuvenate the vibrancy of our city ‘s core. We want the opportunity to compete for their business.
The diverse options provided downtown to dine, entertain, unwind, and shop will be a magnet for consumers earning good wages and looking to enjoy life in Davis away from the office. The prospect of a new hotel, a quick (electric) shuttle ride away from Downtown Davis and the Amtrak station, will also help us attract new customers.
The City is in for a rough patch of budget shortfalls, and anything we can do to dampen the harm felt by residents and the broader business community needs to be strongly considered. ARC is part of the solution.
The project is designed to help our community retain the entrepreneurial talent and inventive minds being cultivated at UC Davis that, unfortunately, often move to other jurisdictions because there’s no place for them to grow in the City of Davis. While some of ARC’s envisioned business owners and employees are already integrated into the community and familiar with the great businesses located in our downtown core, there is potential for so much more. That truly excites us about this project.
ARC provides a major opportunity to strengthen our businesses, improve our. ’employees’ earnings (especially our tipped employees), and our City’s tax base. As you review the project, we want you to know that the Davis Downtown Business Association strongly supports ARC, and we urge you to support it.
Thank you for your consideration.
In other news: Sun hot.
How does that comment advance our understanding of the project?
Well, I thought it was a freakin’ hilarious comment and about fell out of my chair laughing. The relevance is that in Mr. Miller’s own inimitable style (BTW – I refuse to acknowledge his first name because my parents named me first), it does pefectly reflect on the Vanguard’s continued propensity to post puff pieces supporting the ARC project without brining any new concrete or critical information to the discussion.
Agreed, for instance as soon as I see it is a developer that wrote a piece for the Vanguard I don’t bother reading because one already pretty much knows what it says.
Hence, sun hot.
Except that the Davis Downtown isn’t a developer
I didn’t say they were, I wrote “for instance” when a developer does write an article.
Alan, in fairness to David this particular piece is one that was submitted to the Vanguard, and the Vanguard’s policy is to print pretty much anything they receive. But with that said, certain people in the community would argue that the propensity that you point to does exist. Others would argue that no such propensity exists. Chocolate and Vanilla.
I am curious if they surveyed the membership, or if this was a board decision. Davis Downtown is a business improvement assessment district (tax agency, basically) and membership is mandatory for property owners and business owners in the official downtown area. So I do hope that an advocacy position of this nature was taken with input from the membership.