What is going on with the City Council? Tuesday’s meeting was surreal.
By Roberta Millstein
First, Councilmember Bapu Vaitla, critic of NIMBYs who dare to say that projects should be better, suggested that the proposed University Mall redevelopment isn’t good enough. Somehow, even though the site has been retail-only for decades, Councilmember Vaitla claimed that that use isn’t consistent with the General Plan – stating, among other things, that the project does not provide “a diversity of housing options” – and he called for an appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval of the project.
If Councilmember Vaitla were a defender of the project as approved, he would likely say that an appeal like this was just a delay tactic. But because it’s his objection to the project, he marshaled Davisites to come speak in favor of the appeal.
Then Councilmember Gloria Partida, who has consistently argued that we need more housing in Davis, voted to deny Councilmember Vaitla’s appeal, effectively guaranteeing that there would be no housing at the University Mall site (since the vote to hear the appeal had to be unanimous).
To further the up-is-down left-is-right Council meeting, the council – to a person – decided no, it will not go forward with putting any of four housing-projects-in-process on the ballot for November 2024.[1] This is in spite of, again, all four councilmembers touting themselves as being pro-housing, and perhaps even more puzzling, in spite of the fact that two of the four councilmembers wrote the report suggesting that the Council take up the question of which project to put in process for November 2024.
A representative of one of the developers of the four projects even got up to say that nothing should be put in motion for November 2024! Surely this was April Fool’s? Nope, April 4.
And then, just in case all of that was not enough, apparently on Tuesday – the same day as the meeting – the City received noticed that its Housing Element was not certified. It’s not clear who knew what and when, but the fact that Davis’s proposed housing plans are seen as insufficient by the state makes the City Council’s anti-housing moves all the more baffling.
So it is hard not to wonder what is going on. Someone attracted to conspiracy theories might think this is all a setup to take down Measure J/R/D, the Citizens’ Right to Vote on Future Use of Open Space and Agricultural Lands, by making it look like the City just can’t get housing done. This would make sense of David Greenwald’s repeated assertions that Measure J/R/D needs to be modified or that the state may swoop in to overturn Measure J/R/D.
Or perhaps it is best to keep in mind the old saying: “Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.” All of this thrashing around could simply be the product of a City Council that lacks direction.
Of course, other explanations are possible. For example, several councilmembers suggested that the City’s fiscal issues are its #1 priority. But that too is a change from past actions and past statements.
It’s a puzzle shrouded in bewilderment within a perplexity.
[1] It turns out that, according to City Manager Mike Webb, that the City Council has “no obligation to pursue [projects that involve rezoning and a General Plan amendment]; therefore whether or not the City is going to review and undertake or even consider any legislative type development proposal like the four that were on the map earlier is entirely discretionary on the part of the City Council” (emphasis added).
Davisite 
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