by David Taormino
The recent Vanguard commentary was inaccurate on several items. I am appealing the Conditions of Approval that are either contrary to what was agreed on originally in the Development Agreement (DA), as in the staff redesign of the Frog Tunnel, OR contrary to what I represented to the voters which also is reflective of the DA terms. These Conditions were altered by the staff after the election and do not reflect the plans, renderings or other documents shown and given to the voters during the campaign nor reflect the terms in the DA.
The one currently in the press, the Wildlife Corridor, was intentionally changed from the DA by the STAFF, NOT ME, after the Open Space and Habitat commission and myself agreed to a concept before the election. After the election, we submitted plans exactly reflecting what the Development Agreement and Conditions of Approval called for. Public Works staff rejected those plans saying they had the authority to reject what was previously agreed on by me and recommended by the Open Space and Habitat Commission. The language in the DA and Conditions of Approval is open to some interpretation; however, what staff substituted is a far cry from what the Commission and I intended. That’s why I’m fighting it. I look forward to the staff explaining how they actually decided on their tunnel design compared to what the DA states, the Conditions of Approval state, and what the Open Space 
Commission recommended.
Why an appeal NOW instead of 2 years ago?
The answer is simple and accurate: we waited until now to reduce the risk of a complete boycott of Davis and Bretton Woods by potential major builders. Davis has the worst anti-builder reputation of any city from the Oregon border to Bakersfield. EVERY major builder financially capable of building this sized project was presented Bretton Woods. EVERY major builder rejected it, most out-of-hand, including all the builders who are currently or have built homes in Spring Lake (North, North Davis), 6.8 miles from here. Most of the Spring Lake builders bought lots/neighborhoods in Spring Lake that I planned, entitled, and eventually sold to these builders. Even those relationships, some for more than a decade, were insufficient to overcome the City of Davis’s stigma. Why? Most “loved” the project but HATED Davis for not only its unending anti-housing rhetoric, but how badly, from their perspective, it treats builders. The common thread among major builders was “we can’t explain to our corporate superiors why, of all the cities we could build in, we chose Davis. We would risk losing our job just suggesting Davis.” The corporate firings most of them saw in the 2008 housing depression are still vivid to these executives.
According to builders, every other city in greater Northern California, including Woodland, is welcoming to Builders, so no amount of salesmanship could overcome their Davis fears. Our broker, who has sold more that 30,000 lots to major builders in most Northern California cities, finally, after 3 years, said it was hopeless and gave up.
During the last 18 months, having been turned down time and time again by major builders, we focused only on smaller Bay Area companies financially capable of building a 325-home subdivision. There aren’t many, but the decision makers have more latitude and are often owners. The ones we approached knew about Davis’s reputation from their relationships with big builders.
So, we waited to appeal since we couldn’t risk any more negative Builder/Developer comments by appealing earlier, otherwise NO financially capable builder would touch Davis. I was, frankly, shocked by how much animosity exists towards Davis, much of which is unfair. Perhaps I’ve become immune to unceasing criticism of those of us who build homes sometimes even for our most critical commentators. Rumors, conjecture, and half-truths expand on their own well beyond truth and facts as we all know from our own real-life experiences.
Mike Webb, Sherri Metzker, and Dan Carson were helpful in convincing DeNova Homes to give Davis a chance, which they did, but with anxiety and trepidation.
Is the City and its staff generally unreasonable and deserving of its reputation among builders? Absolutely not, but there are sometimes staff views and perspectives that, at least to me, don’t make sense or are not what is justified under the circumstances. I’m appealing six Conditions of Approval out of approximately 100. I have excellent, factual, historical precedence, and socially and legally based reasons for doing so. That is particularly the case as to those Conditions that are contrary to the DA and what I represented to the voters. These Conditions were placed on the project nearly 2 years after voter approval. I’ve tried unsuccessfully to avoid public dispute, but the staff refuses to budge; therefore, the appeal process.
Finally, the Cannery was poorly managed by the out-of-town development team. Bretton Woods is not the Cannery. I will deliver what I promised to the voters, including the Davis Based Buyers Program, and this appeal is, in part, about doing exactly that.
Taormino’s original piece also included inaccuracies.
First his branding of a wildlife corridor as a “Toad Tunnel” is dismissive of the diversity of terrestrial wildlife in and around Davis and along the watershed where his project is located. If this was only about toads there would be no need for a high and dry passage way. My guess is that the staffers want a state of the art passageway, something that is becoming more common all over the state.
Second, his assertion that that the $200,000 price will add hundreds of dollars to the price of each home is unsupported. It will add $200,000 to his costs but there is no certainty that the cost will be passed on to the buyers instead of squeezing his profit margins. He fails to explain why the cost will be passed through to the purchasers of the homes.
I supported his project at the polls. I understood and didn’t complain when he cut down the trees. However this seems so petty. An additional $200,000 expense isn’t nothing, but in a project with hundreds of millions dollars in value added, it feels to this observer that Taormino is barking up the wrong tree frog.
“Just outside the Davis Post office there is a hidden miniature town. But the small homes were not build for humans, they were built for toads.
Yes, you read that right, toads.
There is just one problem the tiny dwellings have been vacant for over a decade.
“The Western Toad was very common before Pole Line Road went in.” said Davis Wildlife Specialist John McNerney.
The area is known as Toad Hollow. The pipe runs under the busy street to a dried up wetland.
“People call it the toad tunnel,” McNerney, who had no part in project, said.
In 1995 there was a real life “Frogger” game happening on Pole Line road. Cars were running over toads as they tried to migrate to a wetland on the other side. The city’s solution — a $14,000 “Toad Tunnel” under the road.
“I have never seen toads in it. There has been no reports of it being used,” McNerney said.
The toad tunnel was a such a big flop that Comedy Centrals Daily Show mocked the project back in 1998.”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.abc10.com/amp/article/news/local/davis/davis-has-a-tunnel-for-toads/103-280013068
I’ve forgotten most of the details of the toad tunnel — it wasn’t real prominent on my radar screen at the time — but if I were to guess I’d say that back then there was no established best practice for mitigating toad migration disruption on new road construction projects. $14k was a minor budget increment even back then for a project of that magnitude, so I’m inclined to call it a good effort rather than lampoon it as an egregious waste of taxpayer funds.
Bill Marshall can probably provide the details that I don’t recall.
It was a popular tourist attraction at the time, especially after Ted Puntillo Sr., father of Postmaster Ted Puntillo Jr., wrote and illustrated a charming children’s book about it and built the very tidy little toad village on the post office side (https://www.amazon.com/Toads-Davis-Saga-Small-Town/dp/0967441706). I would often see people standing there taking pictures of it.
It would be interesting to examine what occurred during the housing crash, and the financial impact on the city itself resulting from Spring Lake during that period.
No argument there, if you limit your comparison to the valley. Is that a good thing?
Have you tried building in Marin county? Or, even most of Sonoma county?
Indeed. And, we’re entering another significant, nationwide housing downturn, now. Builders know this, and are cutting back everywhere. Maybe that’s why you’re having trouble, now (and returned the deposits that you collected for Bretton Woods).
Maybe if Taormino didn’t spending so much time dressing up in full body frog costumes to bash Davis, then ribbitting and yiffing at the City Council Davis would have a better reputation with builders.
Doubtful Colin. I’d say more but I have a frog in my throat.
I must be on some kind of “feed” regarding the housing market.
Pretty much any real estate agent will always say “now”, and/or “yes”. It’s always a good time to do so, according to them. Hopefully (according to them), do “both”. And do it every few years, at a minimum.
“The more you buy, the more you save” (something like that). “Act now, to get in on the savings”. “Do it before prices and/or interest rates rise, even further”.
(I think I missed my calling.)
And somehow, a several hundred thousand dollar price change (one way or another) amounts to a “cup of coffee per day” – according to them. (For the next two thousand years, I guess. Of course, NOT referring to coffee made at the home you just sold, or bought. More likely, referring to that $10 cup (and a side of avocado toast)?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/million-dollar-homes-losing-luxury-status-as-buyers-get-less-space-for-their-money-research-finds/ar-AA11paoP?cvid=0fafb466c2cd4490932252856e0cd1c2
I’ve been telling you guys for the last few years that Builders avoid this place like the plague. For me as a resident; I’m fine with limiting builders of market rate RESIDENTIAL development . It’s a drain on city’s finances. HOWEVER, it’s a big problem for much needed commercial development which should fuel the city’s finances (which in turn pays for stuff the residents use…..like roads, police, fire..etc..). And housing and commercial development tend to go together as far as population growth and economic growth goes. Obviously you’d want to control the former to optimize the latter. But it appears that Davis tends to slap around either kind of development effort which has led to stunted economic growth.
Now Taormino comes off in tone again as a perturbed stereo-typical businessman developer. It’s a bad look. But he’s not wrong. There’s a big no fly zone for development and economic growth in this town. To fix that (at least to pay for things to stay the way they are….if not better city) a town needs leaders and local operators to bring in development and business. I suppose if you want residential development; that’d be a guy like Taormino. But it goes beyond that; someone that can get a business park built. Someone that can gain the confidence of outside businesses where they feel comfortable and confident to do business in Davis. On the economic/business development leadership side; that appeared to be Dan Carson. But his recent actions make him seem to lack any sense of political self awareness. And the leaders are hamstrung by local voter’s direct say in many development efforts (through measure j and other means).
ALL costs are passed down to purchasers of homes. So OF COURSE the cost will be passed down to the home buyers. Profit margins are what they are (and they’re typically not huge for newly constructed homes…unless they already owned the land for a significant amount of time). Often times, certain kinds of financing are contingent on the project penciling out a certain minimum profit margin. Did you seriously think the big bad builder would just eat the $200K cost…because he has some nebulous magical bag of money?