WHEN/WHERE: TOMORROW: Saturday, Jan. 10 • 11:30am-1:00pm: Heritage Plaza, 710 Main Street, Woodland • 1:00-2:00pm: Davis Central Park, 401 C Street, Davis
WHAT: Residents from across Yolo County will gather in Woodland and Davis for ICE Out For Good protests against ICE and the recent murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis along with all lives lost to ICE violence. The events will take place alongside protests across the country and will include protest signs, speakers and more.
On Wednesday, Renee Good, an American citizen, was killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This killing is part of a broader pattern of unchecked violence, impunity and abuse carried out by federal immigration enforcement agencies against members of our communities. Indivisible Yolo is joining a coalition of groups across the country for a coordinated Ice Out For Good Weekend of Action to demand accountability, honor the life lost and make visible the human cost of ICE’s actions.
[Note: a shorter version of this article appeared in today’s Davis Enterprise. This longer version gives additional details and background for Commissioner Rowe’s votes.]
By Greg Rowe
Introduction
The planning commission’s marathon December 17 meeting concluded with two recommendations to city council for the proposed Village Farms development: certify the project’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR); and approve the project for a Measure D election. It is expected that by January 20, Council will consider those recommendations and decide whether to place the project on the June ballot. (January 20 is the last meeting date when Council can meet the County’s deadline for June ballot measures.) Voter approval would be followed by a general plan amendment, pre-zoning, and annexation of the site from Yolo County.
I voted against certifying the EIR because of what I am convinced are serious procedural irregularities, based on working with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) since 1984. I likewise declined to support the project because I am convinced its location within a flood hazard zone would compromise the safety of Davis residents within Village Farms.
What is Village Farms?
The developer proposes to build 1800 market rate and affordable homes of various types, ranging from apartments to single-family detached homes. There would also be parks, open space, a protected 47-acre wetland habitat, a site for pre-K daycare, and a small land dedication to the City of Davis for public facilities. The property comprises 497 acres situated at the intersection of Pole Line Road and Covell Blvd, extending westward along Covell and north along Pole Line to the Blue Max Kart Club and Davis Paintball.
The proposed project would border The Cannery neighborhood, wrapping around that community on its north side and extending northward along the east side of F Street. A major City of Davis drainage course (“Channel A”) flows west to east through a portion of the Village Farms site. The developer has stated that grading and infrastructure installation would take about two years, and buildout would occur in four phases lasting an additional 15 years. Pursuant to the draft Development Agreement (DA) between the developer and the City, the developer would install grade-separated bicycle and pedestrian crossings of Pole Line Road and F Street.
Climate Change and Floods
The Central Valley has long experienced devastating floods, as described in historian Robert Kelley’s seminal 1998 book, Battling the Inland Sea. The risk of flooding is now much greater because of a warming climate and a higher population that would be exposed to flooding caused by large and intense storms.
Davisite 