City of Davis Archives - Page 417 of 463

City Priorities Off as Development Prioritized Over Urgent Budget Crisis

By David GreenwaldMarch 17, 201021 comments

Council Rams Through Development by 3-2 Vote While Re-Writing It From the Dais –

Last night, the Davis City Council spent three hours changing the development at Willowbank on the fly. Developers and city staff came forward with some last second changes to close the gap between developers and neighbors. However, there were still outstanding issues that remained. Nevertheless the city council through a series of 3-2 votes with Councilmembers Sue Greenwald and Lamar Heystek dissenting, approved the Willowbank Development with new proposals and new language.

One of the key new provisions was the incorporation of townhouses into one of the design features rather than standalone homes. Everyone found the proposal intriguing, but Councilmember Sue Greenwald and Lamar Heystek repeatedly asked for a more concrete proposal before approval. When the council proceeded to push through the item anyway, they voted against the project.

Heystek Introduces Strong Hate Crimes Resolution

By David GreenwaldMarch 17, 201050 comments

lgbt_vandalism

In an unusual move, Councilmember Lamar Heystek went to the podium during public comment to read his hate crime resolution into the record. He wanted to introduce the measure at 7 pm during public comment rather than the anticipated 11 pm or midnight when it would have been introduced had he followed normal protocol and introduced it during long range calendar items.

Mr. Heystek urged the council to act quickly in light of the most recent hate attack on campus Monday, in which a fifth swastika was found on the UC Davis Campus.

Co-Op Board Unanimously Rejects Boycott of Israel

By David GreenwaldMarch 17, 201020 comments

It had become a burning issue within a segment of the Davis Community, a proposed initiative that would authorize a Co-Op boycott of products made in Israel. Ultimately, the board has unanimously rejected such a boycott in a strongly worded resolution.

Among the reasons the resolution cites is that even the talk of the boycott has brought about disruption of the everyday business of the Davis Food Co-Op (DFC):

Hess Out As Community Development Director

By David GreenwaldMarch 15, 201052 comments

The rumors had been flying for two weeks from reliable sources that Community Development Director Katherine Hess would be making some sort of a lateral move out of the Community Development Department. The rumors heated up last week but City Manager Bill Emlen did not return calls from the Vanguard on Friday.

The Davis Enterprise however, reported this development buried deep within their story on the proposed elimination of the Recreation and Parks Department as a way to close a 1.7 million dollar hole in the 2010/11 budget.

City Proposes Elimination of Parks and General Services Department As Means of Reducing Ongoing Deficit

By David GreenwaldMarch 15, 20107 comments

The failure of the city to properly create the type of ongoing savings needed to balance its budget during the contract negotiations and the newly signed MOUs with the bargaining units, now means the wholesale elimination of departments and positions within the departments.

The city will have a budget workshop on Tuesday where it will fully discuss the options for reducing what is now being characterized as a 1.7 million dollar deficit, one million of which is on-going structure and an additional 785,000 dollars are due to the fact that the city used the reserves a month ago to close the deficit left by the failure to achieve all the savings needed in the MOU process along with the fact that the city’s budget assumptions were too rosy on the revenue side last June.

Commentary: Time For Councilmembers To Be Paid For Their Service To Our Community

By David GreenwaldMarch 14, 201036 comments

When Lamar Heystek announced on Friday for a second time, “the decision I announced on October 17, 2009 stands” it was a huge blow to those in the city of Davis who have been fighting for fiscal responsibility, against special monied interests, and against future sprawl development.

While many will undoubtedly come to support his decision to focus on his future marriage and family, from a public policy standpoint in Davis it points out a glaring problem in our system, as it is a system that if it does not completely preclude young councilmembers with young families, it certainly puts a huge strain on them.

Heystek: “The Decision I Announced on October 17, 2009 Stands”

By David GreenwaldMarch 13, 201011 comments

Lamar Heystek announced this afternoon at 4:30 pm in vestibule outside of the Community Chambers that his decision from October stood and he will not seek re-election. He thanked the outpouring of support from community members who signed the “Draft Lamar” petition. He said that this was a difficult decision the past two weeks, but he is placing his private life over his public life. He was surrounded by a small contingent of supporters, his father, his brother Louis, and his fiance Pui San.

Lamar Heystek had originally announced his decision not to run in October citing at that time family concerns. However in recent weeks a group of citizens launched a petition to encourage him to re-think his decision.

Commentary: Leveraged Influence in Davis City Council Campaigns

By David GreenwaldMarch 11, 201019 comments

As campaign time roles around, there is the bi-annual debate over what a campaign donation means and whether certain groups can purchase influence through a process of bundling checks.

It was interesting yesterday morning I had a long discussion about this very topic with a community member who argued it should not make a difference who a candidate took money from if that individual was open to taking money and representing a broad-coalition of people.

Heystek Reconsiders Decision In Light of Community Efforts

By David GreenwaldMarch 10, 201061 comments

In October of last year, Councilmember Lamar Heystek stunned many in the community and many of his closest supporters by announcing he would not seek a second term to the Davis City Council. As it turned out that would not be the end of the story for Mr. Heystek who has distinguished himself during his first term as a strong advocate for fiscal responsibility in the city of Davis while at the same time he remains graceful and civil on the dais.

Last week, the Vanguard reported that community members and supporters of Mr. Heystek had launched a “Draft Lamar” petition located at draftlamar.com that urged him to reconsider his decision not to run. Apparently those efforts have had a great impact on Mr. Heystek.

Rochelle Swanson Officially Throws Hat into Council Race

By David GreenwaldMarch 10, 20109 comments

And then there were three again. There was a brief period of time when it looked like candidates Sydney Vergis and Joe Krovoza would be anointed rather than elected to the Davis City Council. That was in a period where everyone believed that Mayor Ruth Asmundson would not run for a third term on City Council.

However, at the same time that the Mayor publicly announced that she would not run, a third candidate entered the race, Rochelle Swanson. She told the Vanguard last night that she now filed her paperwork and is officially a candidate for the Davis City Council. She did not send out a formal press release and she will not have an official announcement party.

New Path Argues For Preliminary Injunction to Be Able to Proceed With Cell Towers in Davis

By David GreenwaldMarch 9, 201017 comments

In November it was suddenly discovered that the city had issued 37 permits in the city of Davis allowing NewPath to construct a telecommunications network in the city. However, when residents caught wind of this, it was discovered that the permits were improperly issued based on the city’s Wireless Telecommunications Facilities Ordinance.

City Manager Bill Emlen and the City Council appeared to be caught unaware by these developments, but the City Manager quickly issued a stop work notice and revoked the Permits. NewPath appealed that decision, but the City Council on January 19, 2010 denied the appeal and upheld Mr. Emlen’s decision. NewPath as we reported a few weeks ago has filed a lawsuit against the City of Davis including a motion for a preliminary injunction.

Review of Letter From HCD Shows Staff Proposed Changes to Housing Element Go Too Far

By David GreenwaldMarch 8, 20106 comments

Last week we ran a story that examined proposed changes to the city’s Housing element Update that was apparently reviewed by the State Department of Housing and Community Develop (HCD).

The HCD reviewed the city’s Housing Element Update, a process that began back in 2007 and was completed in 2008. They made a large number of suggested revisions and apparently they need to approve the document before it is finalized.

Commentary: Time To Let Go of the Idea of Sanctions For Incivility

By David GreenwaldMarch 7, 201015 comments

In case you missed it last week, TV cameras and the news were ready to swoop back down on Davis to watch the expected carnage that would ensue if the council proceeded to attempt to implement new rules sanctioning a councilmember who got out of line in a serious way as we saw back in January. The problem with the rules is that they threatened to bring the police into the political process which invokes images of un-Americanism.

The good news is that the authors of the sanction provision have pulled back for now. The bad news is that at least one of the members of the dynamic duo do not seem to get what all of the uproar was about.

Davis Hires Interim Fire Chief

By David GreenwaldMarch 6, 20104 comments

Two weeks after Chief Rose Conroy abruptly retired, Davis has announced that they have hired William (Bill) Weisgerber, Jr. to serve in an interim capacity for the next several months.

Back in November at the same time the Davis City Council gave the fire department a 400,000 battalion chief leadership model, the city had announced that Fire Chief Rose Conroy would be retiring. In fact, she officially retired in November, but had agreed to stay on as the acting fire chief in order to allow for continuity and participate in some pending matters.

Water Rate Increase Just the Tip of the Iceberg

By David GreenwaldMarch 4, 20100 comments

On January 26, 2010, the Vanguard reported that the Natural Resources Commission had approved a water rate hike of 18% for next year. That increase was pending approval by the Davis City Council, but on Tuesday the City Council was asked to approve the noticing of a much more modest increase of 5% for water and 6% for sewer.

That is the good news. The bad news is that just means that water rates will have to go up much faster in the future to make up for the smaller increase now. When asked why that was, staff was unable to provide an adequate answer. However, as we learned on Tuesday, the residents of Davis are facing increases of 23% for next year, and 20% for the following three years as the result of the smaller increase starting in September.

Citizens Urge Councilmember Heystek to Consider Reentering Council Race

By David GreenwaldMarch 3, 201036 comments

Last October Councilmember Lamar Heystek announced that he would not seek a second term as Councilmember. The move stunned many in the community who had grown to respect him for both his principles and demeanor on the dais.

As time has gone on since that point, a small number of candidates has emerged Sydney Vergis, Joe Krovoza, and the most recent Rochelle Swanson. Meanwhile as we reported yesterday afternoon, Mayor Ruth Asmundson will not seek a third term.

Mayor Asmundson To Not Seek Re-Election; Rochelle Swanson Enters the Field

By David GreenwaldMarch 3, 201015 comments

Mayor Ruth Asmundson made official what many have speculated in the weeks following the January 26, 2010 City Council Meeting she will not seek a third term to the Davis City Council. Her decision is just one of several changes to what was shaping up to be a rather mundane council race. Right now her decision means that neither incumbent will seek re-election. Last October Councilmember Lamar Heystek announced that he would not seek re-election siting personal reasons in his decision. However, as we report above, a group of citizens is mobilizing to get him to possibly reconsider that decision.

The Mayor’s decision comes as little surprise. There was the well-publicized blow up on the dais between herself and colleague, Councilmember Sue Greenwald. Both have expressed regret for the incident, however at the time the confrontation left the Mayor badly shaken. She was rushed to the hospital, transferred to Woodland, where she remained overnight. She then spent a couple of weeks in the Phillipines, resting and recovering from the incident.

Updated Housing Element Guidelines Revise Language To Review Key Land Use Policies

By David GreenwaldMarch 2, 201022 comments

City Staff Argues Changes Are Needed for HCD Approval –

The City of Davis underwent a lengthy Housing Element Update process back in 2007 that was eventually adopted in 2008. While it was certainly a diverse committee, the work that they produced was commendable and seemed agreeable or at least tolerable to most.

What has apparently now happened is that the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has reviewed the document and has made some recommended changes.

Commentary: Proposed Sanction Provision Goes Too Far

By David GreenwaldMarch 2, 20108 comments

On Saturday the Vanguard covered an item that was submitted by Mayor Pro Tem Don Saylor and Councilmember Stephen Souza that attempted to add language to the council rules in part to amplify on existing rules in order to avoid a repeat of what happened in January that drew regional attention to the Davis City Council, but also in part to add language that could be used to sanction a member of the Davis City Council.

The Vanguard supports efforts to run meeting more effectively that would enable the council to avoid some of the problems that not only occurred on the night in question, but helped to precipitate an escalation of hostilities. However, ultimately the language in the sanction provision goes too far and would like actually incite what it hopes to avoid.

Staff Report Pushes For Willowbank Park Project Despite Neighborhood Opposition

By David GreenwaldMarch 1, 201014 comments

As the Vanguard reported on Thursday, February 25, 2010, the City Staff is bringing back the Willowbank Development after only small modifications despite the fact that the neighbors still have considerable concerns and they believe that they should be allowed time to work with the neighbors to reach an agreement most are willing to accept.

City Staff believes that the “after further neighborhood outreach it is clear that there is not universal support for this proposal or residential development of this site in general” however they believe “the proposed project presents a balance of fiscal neutrality, neighborhood compatibility, and marketability.”

Council Rams Through Development by 3-2 Vote While Re-Writing It From the Dais –

City Staff Argues Changes Are Needed for HCD Approval –

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