City of Davis Archives - Page 418 of 463

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 Set To Approve Mailing of Notice of Water Rate Increases

By David GreenwaldFebruary 28, 201010 comments

The eventual more than doubling of Davis residents water and sewer rates will begin with a rather modest 5% increase in the water rate and 6% increase in the sewer rate. For the average ratepayer, the city staff argues this will be tantamount to a little over four dollars a month or less than fifty dollars per year in a rate increase.

The actual rate approval will not occur until May 4. However, this is just the first step among many that will see most people’s water and sewer rates at least double in order to pay for what might be a half billion dollars combined in a water supply project and a wastewater treatment project. The city has already taken the step of forming a joint powers authority with Woodland, making the water supply project a done deal without ever having final approval.

Council To Consider Measures To Sanction Council Members When Grounds Rules and Procedures Violated

By David GreenwaldFebruary 27, 201045 comments

In light of the fallout that occurred at the end of January during a Davis City Council Meeting that has attracted a lot of attention, Mayor Pro Tem Don Saylor and Councilmember Stephen Souza have submitted an item that would add language to “Council Meeting Ground Rules” and the “Procedures Manual for Council Members” to address circumstances when Ground Rules and Procedures are not adhered to and the range of possible sanctions that may be applied in the event of violation.

The Council will consider this item on Tuesday night.

Vanguard Firefighter Brochure Hits Davis Mailboxes

By David GreenwaldFebruary 27, 201043 comments

The Vanguard mailed out a brochure that informed citizens about issues involving the Davis Fire Department and the fiscal challenges facing the city as a the result of overly generous fire contracts and the purchase of influence by the Davis Firefighters Union, Local 3499.

Here is the brochure broken into panels below. Click on them to expand them to full size.

Staff To Bring Back Willowbank Development with only Small Modifications

By David GreenwaldFebruary 25, 201020 comments

Back in November, the City Council unanimously told the developers to go back and work with neighbors to resolve differences over the features of a 27-unit project.

The most controversial portion of the project was the reduction of he long-established 50-foot riparian buffer zone along the Putah Creek Parkway down to 30 feet. This went against the recommendation of the Open Space and Habitat commission and was seen by the council as going too far.

Was Fire Chief Conroy Forced Out?

By David GreenwaldFebruary 22, 20105 comments

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.

That arrangement ended abruptly last week, as she sent out a farewell email to the department.

The Davis Co-op Membership Intiative Process

By David GreenwaldFebruary 19, 201014 comments

by Gene B. –

We have often discussed the issue of process here on this blog with regard to city governance. Currently, an issue at the Davis Coop is raising some troubling considerations of process. The necessary signatures appear to have been gathered. to meet the Coop bylaw requirements to put a membership-generated measure on the upcoming Spring Coop membership ballot that would call for instituting a Coop boycott of Israeli products and potential Coop divestment of any investments in Israel. On Feb 7, the Coop board decided to deny the initiative a place on the ballot because it was “illegal”.

It is not my intention to have a highly charged “debate” on reasons to support or oppose a Coop boycott of Israeli products and divestment. I want to speak here only of process.

Word To The Wise: It’s All About Process, Or Lack Thereof

By Elaine Roberts MusserFebruary 18, 201014 comments

By E. Roberts Musser –

Lately, I have heard the following criticisms from various sources:

City Staff is incompetent, so managers and department heads need to be fired.
The Davis Senior Citizens Commission ignored a certain segment of the senior population.
City labor negotiations should have been transparent and not completely behind closed doors.

Can the City Pass Along Sales Tax Revenue To School and County?

By David GreenwaldFebruary 17, 201011 comments

What began as a public comment that I delivered before the Davis City Council grew into a bit of discussion about possibilities. The city is poised to place an of extension half-cent sales tax measure on the ballot in June. That measure would continue the generation of three million in tax revenue to the city. However, people like me have come out against the sales tax in part because it was used to help expand city employee compensation over the last five years rather than expand services.

Moreover, as I argued last night, while the city of Davis faces a long-term fiscal crisis that has serious ramifications, the short term forecast is not bad. As City Manager Bill Emlen pointed out, even the bad news from last night, falling short of revenue projections measures in the hundreds of thousands rather than the millions.

Budget Woes Increase For City of Davis

By David GreenwaldFebruary 16, 20108 comments

Councilmember Heystek’s Budget Projections Prove More Accurate Than Navazio’s –

The failure of Davis to adequately address its short-term budget crisis, combined with a further downturn in sales tax revenues has lead the city of Davis to run a new deficit of nearly a million dollars.

The city is in the short-term proposing to balance the budget by using the reserve and then develop new recommendations aimed at restoring the 15% General Fund reserve.

Another Call for Transparency in Labor Negotiations

By David GreenwaldFebruary 15, 201020 comments

The Davis Enterprise argued in an Editorial yesterday that the city’s labor negotiations should be conducted in public. They used the conflict that emerged last month on the council dais, that started over a dispute between two members of the council as to what happened behind closed doors as an impetus to once again argue for public negotiations.

It is an interesting idea that was broached by the Enterprise last spring before the commencement of bargaining. However, the city cited confidentiality laws among other reasons for not conducting negotiations in public. I would argue that while they may be correct, there could have been a lot greater transparency during the process.

Vanguard Analysis: Davis City Council Early Reporting Shows Marked Contrast in Two Announced Candidates

By David GreenwaldFebruary 14, 201026 comments

So far there are only two candidates for the Davis City Council, however, that is likely to change as the filing deadline approaches. In the meantime, the two announced candidates have raised roughly similar amounts of money.

Sydney Vergis who finished fourth back in 2008 has received 6733 dollars while Joe Krovoza has received 7675. How they got there was very different.

Brazen Supporters of Covell Village Senior Development Turn Up Heat

By David GreenwaldFebruary 13, 201067 comments

The Vanguard learned earlier this week that developers for Covell Village have yet to turn in an application for the development. That is still believed to be forthcoming, but the original word was that they would submit their application in January. That has not occurred.

In the meantime however, supporters of the project and members of the Astroturf Organization CHA (Choice for Healthy Aging) are turning up the heat with an apparent letter writing campaign following the February 2 editorial by Robert Chason, another member of CHA in the Davis Enterprise. Attempts to contact Robert Chason following our commentary last week have not succeeded.

NewPath Sues City of Davis Over Pulling of Cell Tower Permits

By David GreenwaldFebruary 12, 201090 comments

The Vanguard has learned that the telecommunication company, NewPath has filed a lawsuit against the city of Davis stemming from the rescission of encroachment permits by City Manager Bill Emlen in December the subsequent denial of appeal by the City Council in Janaury.

On January 19, 2010, the Davis City Council unanimously voted to deny an appeal by NewPath on the rescission of encroachment permits by the City Manager Bill Emlen. Bill Emlen made the decision on December 5, 2009 to rescind NewPath’s encroachment permits and related building permits for a proposed cell tower distribution system across the city.

Records Show NewPath Violated Conditions Specified in Encroachment Permits

By David GreenwaldFebruary 10, 201029 comments

The Vanguard in investigating how it was that encroachment permits were issued by the public works department has obtained copies of all of the encroachment permits that were issued to the company NewPath between October 21, 2009 and November 16, 2009. Counter to claims made by the company at the time, the city directly ordered the company to work with the owners of a given property as a condition of building the facility.

This condition was not adhered to and on that basis the city might have had the authority to pull the encroachment permits. This is important because there is a reasonable possibility that NewPath will sue the city of Davis as they have other communities.

Just When It Seemed Over, Noise Ordinance Issue Reemerges

By David GreenwaldFebruary 9, 20105 comments

When last we saw it in early December, the Davis City Council unanimously voted to direct the City Staff to fulfill its agreement with the neighbors of the Montessori Day Care Center and determine if problems still exist with noise levels two years after the construction of the sound wall and three years after all parties (daycare center, neighbors and the City) had agreed to implement a list of mitigation measures to reduce noise.

The agreement between all parties on August 24, 2007 was that after the soundwall was constructed, there were be a re-evaluation of the noise levels to determine if other measures needed to be taken.

Resignation of Covell Village Consultant in Op-Ed Raises More Questions than Answers

By David GreenwaldFebruary 5, 201031 comments

I read the op-ed in the Enterprise written by Robert Chason a few days ago entitled “Political Ills Found Locally, Too” and I came away completely perplexed by its purpose. Was he trying to criticize local government? Was he resigning as a paid consultant to the Covell Village developers John Whitcombe and Bill Streng? Was he decrying the problems of local governance?

Covell Village is expected to return to the Davis radar as the developers are revamping a proposal for an 800-unit, Sun City-style, retirement community on the property whose last project was handily defeated by the Davis voters back in 2005.

Commentary: West Village Needs To Be Annexed

By David GreenwaldFebruary 5, 20109 comments

On Tuesday night it became clear that despite the vote to continue to pursue options, that the idea of annexing West Village is on life support. The problem is logistical and financial.

The bottom line is that from the standpoint of either the city or the university, there may be a good reason for annexation to occur as studies have shown that the project loses the least amount of money under an annexation plan.

Council Moves on As Public Admonishes and Councilmember Greenwald Apologizes

By David GreenwaldFebruary 3, 201062 comments

All eyes of the city were undoubtedly on last night’s city council meeting. The meeting itself went off relatively smoothly, although one councilmember privately suggested that everyone was walking on eggshells.

Several members of the public came to speak during public comment expressing condemnation for last week’s conduct by some and imploring the council to move on with basic decency in the future.

Carlton Plaza Davis Assisted Living Facility Approved! Proper Process Worked!

By Elaine Roberts MusserFebruary 3, 20103 comments

By Elaine Roberts Musser –

Last night, at the City Council meeting, the proposed Carlton Plaza Davis assisted living facility was approved on a 5-0 vote in favor. Proponents were tickled pink, and I started a round of applause upon hearing the decision. It was a happy outcome for seniors in Davis, and good for all citizens. Why? Here are the positives of this project, as stated in a staff report:

1. “the few existing facilities …[that] offer… similar services… [have] waiting lists”;
2. “there are limited undeveloped parcels of the size desired” but they are not suitable

by Gene B. –

By E. Roberts Musser –

Councilmember Heystek’s Budget Projections Prove More Accurate Than Navazio’s –

By Elaine Roberts Musser –

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