Land Use/Open Space Archives - Page 3 of 5

Supervisors Ignore Senator Wolk’s Concerns; Rubber Stamp Conaway Ranch Agreement

By David M. GreenwaldFebruary 9, 201111 comments

The Board of Supervisors went into the meeting on February 8, where the issue of the Conaway Ranch Agreement was revisited, acknowledging that the meeting was in place not to revisit substantive concerns but rather to deal with the formal issue of erring on the side of caution, regardless of whether the first meeting violated the Brown Act.

But if the first meeting did violate the Brown Act, this one may have as well because the Board of Supervisors really was not taking in new information and opening up a true public process, instead it was rubber stamping the results of the previous meeting.

Group Files Suit Challenging CEQA Exemption to County Water Agreements

By David M. GreenwaldFebruary 2, 20114 comments

A newly-formed Environmental Group, CARES (“Citizens Alliance for Regional Environmental Sustainability”), has filed a writ in Yolo Superior Court that requests the court direct The Yolo County Board of Supervisors to vacate and rescind approval of the Notice of Exemption and the Agreement by which the Board of Supervisors determined on December 17, with regards to Conaway Ranch, that those agreements are exempt from CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act).

The petition alleges that the Board of Supervisor’s approval “based upon a Notice of Exemption, violates the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (‘CEQA’), Public Resources Code, section 21000 et seq.”

Deal with Tsakopoulos Goes Through by a 3-2 Vote

By David M. GreenwaldDecember 18, 201026 comments

Provenza and Chamberlain Fall One Vote Short of Blocking or Delaying the Deal –

On Friday, by a narrow 3-2 vote, Yolo County signed an agreement with a company held by Angelo Tsakopoulos to allow the acquisition of a majority interest in the Conaway Preservation Group, which further protects the agricultural, natural and habitat resources on the Conaway Ranch, an active farming operation on 17,000 acres in the heart of Yolo County.

“Yolo County has long had an interest in protecting the values on the Conaway Ranch in the heart of Yolo County, and has been an active partner in the management of the Conaway Ranch for the benefit of the residents of Yolo County and the region,” said Yolo County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Helen M. Thomson in a release from the County late Friday afternoon. “This agreement sets the framework for the county to continue to protect this huge swath of agricultural land and its water, well into the future.”

Troubling Tsakopoulos-Conaway Deal with County

By David M. GreenwaldDecember 17, 201014 comments

The Davis-Woodland water deal in part rests on an agreement with the county to approve the agreement with Sacramento area developer Angelo Tsakopoulos in his effort to buy Conaway Ranch.

We called this on Thursday a deal with the devil, and at least one Yolo County official is concerned the agreement is being rammed through without much forethought to the consequences.

In Search of An Alternative Radio Tower Location

By Matt WilliamsDecember 15, 20096 comments

by Matt Williams –

The third agenda item on Thursday’s Yolo County Planning Commission was a public hearing for Results Radio’s application for a use permit for a 335 foot tall radio tower on Mace Boulevard, three quarters of a mile south of Montgomery on agricultural land zoned A-1, which means the land should only be used for agriculture.

Because Results Radio had officially asked for a continuance, County Council told the Commissioners that the only decision they could legally make was to continue the hearing until a later date. Before they made that decision, the Commissioners heard Staff’s report on the application, as well as testimony from the applicant, the public, and Bill Abbott the land use lawyer engaged by some of the members of the Southeast Davis Coalition that formally opposes the application. After the testimony each Commissioner made comments and gave the applicant guidance. The continuance was officially until March.

Proposed Radio Tower in South Davis Generates Controversy

By Matt WilliamsNovember 30, 200917 comments

What Strobe Light Through Yonder Window Breaks?

by Matt Williams –

Approximately 35 South Davis area residents filled the East Davis Fire Station conference room when they joined the five members of Yolo County’s Willowbank Service Area Advisory Committee (WSAAC) for its Quarterly meeting Monday evening. Supervisor Jim Provenza, his assistant Gina Daleiden and Planning Commissioner Rich Reed were also in attendance. The main topic of the evening’s agenda was a discussion of the conditional use permit application by Results Radio, which owns the Woodland FM radio station KMJE, to build and operate a radio broadcast tower off Mace Boulevard about three-quarters of a mile south of Montgomery Avenue.

Does the Loss of Williamson Act Put Farmland and Open Space in Peril?

By David M. GreenwaldAugust 17, 20098 comments

One of the victims of the budget cuts was the suspension of the Williamson Act which was created in 1965 as a means to preserve farmland and open space from speculative buying and development. The loss in revenue from the counties has historically been made up by the state. However, in the budget crunch, the state has for some reason chosen to take the 28 million dollars that go to counties and place it towards balancing the budget.

While it has led to an outcry from rural counties and agricultural circles, in the scheme of things $28 million is relatively little money both from the standpoint of balancing the budget and a standpoint of popular outcry.

Transmission Lines Lead to Chaotic Energy Future

By David M. GreenwaldJuly 30, 20095 comments

by Shawn Smallwood –

The people of Davis and surrounds dodged a bullet recently when proponents of a transmission line through Yolo County withered against vocal opposition. Some opponents were probably surprised by the proposed transmission line, but some were probably more surprised by the quick collapse of the proposed project. What caused the collapse? The financial environment? Uncertainty over the regulatory environment? The utilities’ respect for public concern?

I don’t know why the Transmission Agency of Northern California’s (TANC) project collapsed, but I do suspect scrutiny of the project, had it continued, would have surprised folks even more than the project’s arrival or its demise. The project’s goal was to bring renewable energy to our region from northeastern California – sounds good, so far – but TANC didn’t say much about the renewable energy they’d be delivering, or the likely project impacts or alternatives.

The Failure of TANC To Provide Renewable Energy

By David M. GreenwaldJuly 28, 20091 comments

By Royston Sim –

On July 15, the Transmission Agency of California (TANC) shelved a proposed 1.5 billion dollar project to build more than 600 miles of high-voltage power lines that would provide renewable energy from Lassen County to the Bay Area and Central Valley.

TANC, which is composed of 15 municipal utilities, halted planning for its transmission program after three of the five utilities involved pulled out of funding the program. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which was supposed to fund 35 percent or 525 million dollars of the program, announced its decision to pull out on July 1. The Modesto and Turlock Irrigation Districts, which together accounted for another 35 percent, pulled out on July 14. A loss of 70 percent in funding meant the TANC project simply could not continue.

Supervisor Provenza Successfully Changes County Land Use Designation of Covell Village to Agriculture

By David M. GreenwaldJuly 22, 200975 comments

On Tuesday the County Board of Supervisors approved a change to the land use designation of Covell Village for County purposes to an agricultural use/ project specific definition. While this stopped somewhat short of the outright agricultural use designation that County Supervisor Jim Provenza sought on Monday, he told the Vanguard that he believes it accomplishes nearly the same thing.

The main thing it accomplishes is that it would prevent the site from being sold to a new owner from immediately being able to place an industrial use on the site. It would also require basically a new general plan discussion in order for there to be a change of the land use.

Proposed Power Project Draws Concerns for Residents and Environmental Groups

By David M. GreenwaldApril 20, 200917 comments

The Transmission Agency of North California (TANC) is proposing the development of a project that would include new and upgraded transmission lines, substations, and related facilities designed to provide new access to renewable energy resources in the west, including northern California. The transmission line towers will stand approximately 100 to 150 feet in height and will cover up to 2,000 square feet at the base. Four to ten towers will be built per each linear mile of power line.

The proposal includes three alternatives routes for the project–all of which would cross through Yolo County. One proposed route (Central 3) would traverse the western portion of the county along the west side of the Capay Valley, before passing west of the City of Winters. A second route (Central 2) would pass near the community of Knights Landing, as well as directly east of the cities of Woodland and Davis. A third route (Central 1) would traverse the eastern portion of Yolo County, through Elkhorn and around the City of West Sacramento.

City of Davis Responds to Yolo County General Plan’s Inclusion of City Edge

By David M. GreenwaldNovember 4, 200844 comments

Yolo County

The Vanguard is fully aware that most of the population is following the election today, and the bulk of our coverage today will be on the election. However, this is issue is too important to let slide. Tomorrow evening the Davis City Council will be taking up a response to Yolo County on the General Plan.

Here’s the key sections of the General Plan that impact Davis’ planning area:

Policy LU-6.2 reads: Coordinate with the University of California at Davis regarding the Long Range Development Plan (LRDP), campus facilities, off-campus agricultural and open space property and joint venture development with the private sector to achieve the best possible outcomes consistent with the General Plan.

Yolo County Releases Draft of Updated General Plan

By David M. GreenwaldSeptember 12, 200832 comments

Draft General Plan Document Released

[FROM COUNTY PRESS RELEASE] (Woodland, CA) – Today, the Yolo County Draft General Plan was released to the public. On September 16, a joint meeting of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission will be held to receive a presentation on the Draft General Plan. The General Plan is the basic document used by local government in land use planning. It provides the comprehensive long-term plan for the physical development of the county, and is often referred to as “the constitution” of the county. All cities and counties are required, under state law, to have one.

2007 Year in Review–10 Biggest Vanguard Stories of 2007

By David M. GreenwaldJanuary 2, 200835 comments

Yolo County

As the first full year of the People’s Vanguard of Davis comes to completion, we will countdown the top 10 stories from year. This is the second year we have done this.

Last year we counted down the 10 Biggest Stories in Davis.

This year we countdown the 10 biggest stories that we followed on the People’s Vanguard of Davis.

We conclude with the top story of 2007: The County General Plan Process.

Land Use/Open Space