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Author: davisite2

  • Recommendation for revision and recirculation of the DEIR for the I-80 widening project

    The following letter was submitted this morning by Dr. Stephen Wheeler and the Sierra Club Yolano Group as formal comments for the Yolo 80 Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), addressed to Dr. Masum Patwary, Environmental Scientist C at the California Department of Transportation. A copy was also sent to the Davis City Council. The letter concludes by stating that the Yolo 80 DEIR should be revised and recirculated.

    Dear Dr. Patwary:

    This letter provides detailed comments on the Yolo 80 Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on behalf of the Yolano Group of the Motherlode Chapter of the Sierra Club.

    I have prepared these comments as an unpaid Technical Advisor to the Yolano Group. In my professional life I am a Professor of Urban Planning and Design in the Department of Human Ecology at the University of California, Davis, and Chair of the UC Davis Community Development Graduate Group. I have studied urban and regional planning topics for more than 35 years, including interactions between transportation systems and regional land use patterns, and was formerly chair of the City of Berkeley Transportation Commission and cofounder of the Bay Area’s regional transportation-land use-housing advocacy organization Transform. I am the author of urban planning textbooks used in universities worldwide, including The Sustainable Urban Development Reader (Fourth Edition, 2023), Planning for Sustainability (Third Edition to be published in late 2024), and Reimagining Sustainable Cities (2021). My awards in this field include the Dale Prize for Excellence in Urban and Regional Planning.

    Let me say first that it’s very unfortunate that the Yolo 80 project has proceeded this far without better alternatives being considered. As has been widely known for decades, widening freeways does not fix congestion problems; it just defers them for a few years while increasing overall motor vehicle use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, local air pollution, suburban sprawl, and related problems. The climate crisis gives particular urgency to the need to stop increasing road capacity and vehicle use. Although California is making progress in many sectors towards reducing its GHG emissions, transportation is one area in which it is not. Transportation is also the single largest source of the state’s GHG emissions, accounting for 38 percent of the total.

    In order to meet California’s GHG reduction goals, the state has adopted policies that discourage road expansion and its concomitant VMT increases. SB 743, passed in 2013, required agencies to use VMT as a metric for analyzing transportation impacts of new projects after July 1, 2020 instead of Level of Service (LOS). Put another way, this bill made reducing overall motor vehicle use the goal of state policy rather than short-term reductions in road congestion. The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA)’s Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI), adopted in 2021, establishes policy that “projects should generally aim to reduce vehicle miles traveled” and counsels agencies that “when addressing congestion, consider alternatives to highway capacity expansion such as providing multimodal options in the corridor, employing pricing strategies, and using technology to optimize operations.” However, Caltrans appears to be disregarding the state’s new policy framework with multiple projects including Yolo 80.

    A certain amount of congestion isn’t bad in that it puts realistic constraints on the public’s behavior. However, if congestion is deemed to be a problem beyond that point, the academic and professional literature shows that pricing, better land use planning, and other demand management solutions (e.g. working with large employers to promote vanpools and transit use) are the best strategies. But Caltrans never considered those alternatives in the Yolo 80 case. It clearly wanted to widen the freeway from the start, and indeed appears to have illegally begun widening I-80 east of the Mace intersection and west of the I-50 split in early Fall 2023 well before the current environmental review was completed. This action  shows a high level of disregard for CEQA/NEPA processes, and we ask Caltrans to suspend construction activities on Yolo 80 until environmental review is completed and the environmental document certified.

    The Yolo 80 DEIR has a great many deficiencies which require revising and recirculating the document. These include the following:

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  • I-80 before City Council on Tuesday

    Caltrans wants to turn the Davis Climate Plan into a just a carbon offset

    I-80 at council

    By Alan Hirsch

    On Tuesday January 9th council meeting there will be a discussion on DEIR for I-80 widening.

    Please show up to the Davis Council and object to this project that won’t fix congestion for long…but will destroy Davis Climate plan by turning it into a carbon offset- An offset so others can drive more on the wider freeway.   Toll lanes also create social inequity as it allows the richest to buy out of congest so there is no incentive to work for good public transit system.

    Housing costs are also impacted- by allowing others to live in Davis and commute even further — remember the Cannery homes was advertised for sale in the Bay Area.

    Key ask: City should ask that Caltrans “recirculate the corrected DEIR as  it is deeply flawed.

    Local elected officials (Josh Chapman) continue to stand with Caltrans-and deny science from UC Davis… because they have been in effect bribed by congress with $86million in free starter money to give up our climate plan- trouble is $200 million is missing.    (Congress was likely lobbied by business interests in Sac, Bay Area and Tahoe rich folk who love a toll lane so they can opt out of traffic.)

    Three Ways to Comment to Council Tuesday

    1. In person at council chamber agenda -8pm agenda item : https://www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/city-council/city-council-meetings/agendas   Staff report (see City staff Draft letter to Caltrans which affirm  below concerns ) https://documents.cityofdavis.org/Media/Default/Documents/PDF/CityCouncil/CouncilMeetings/Agendas/2024/2024-01-09/08-Yolo-80-Manged-Lanes-Draft-EIR.pdf
    2. Leave voice mail (12-4) on Tuesday JAN 9th: 530-757-5603 (2 minutes)
    3. Send a message to council: citycouncilmembers@cityofdavis.org

    Issues with Caltrans Draft Environmental Impact Report

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  • Davis Covid Spike Makes National News

    Humor by Alan Hirsch

    Image0 28Ever since the  success of “Healthy Davis Together” right wing anti-vax crowd has been waiting to strike back.

    It happen last week when the below Facebook picture from Central Davis made Fox Cable nightly news under the headline “Is A Covid Spike laying low older men?”

    Fox of course was reframing a social media post  of where the administration was claiming to have brought down inflation for Christmas.

    But then Newsmax ran the photo. Noting it was taken in Davis a 90% democratic  liberal college town, said it uncovered evidence of the secular “War on Christmas” ™. 

    CNN hearing story was about “shots”  ran picture of another mass shooting—this one a Christmas day !

    Fox picked that angle up, adding it was evidence of just another crime wave — in a Democratic city–  after a home invasion.

    One America Network then said it was reported they were “made in China“.  So their commentator conjectured they were clever disguises on spy balloons that were shot down.

  • Sierra Club Yolano Group comments on Village Farms scope of work

    The following comments were submitted to the City of Davis by the Sierra Club Yolano Group on December 8. Transmitted via email to <SMetzker@cityofdavis.org>

    Biological Resources

    1. The Biological Resources should be studied in detail as outlined in the 5 December 2023 letter from Madrone Ecological Consulting, “Subject: Summary of Biological Resources Surveys Planned for the Village Farms Project, Yolo County, California.” but with the following suggestions:

    1. In the Aquatic Resources Delineation study, we recommend the timing of the determination of the extent of wetlands be expanded to include any times in which the area is water-inundated rather than at specifically identified times because inundation can occur during variable periods.

    2. We recommend the then current leasehold farmer not perform any cultural activities resulting in soil disturbances, including planting of cover crops, until the all wetland studies are completed.

    3. In the analysis for rare plants, we recommend all historical records be consulted.

    4. All surveys performed for determination of Biological Resources should be performed by specialists approved or certified to perform such studies under CEQA guidelines and performed in accordance with CDFW protocols.

    5. Environmental evaluation should also be performed considering the Yolo Regional Resource Conservation Investment Strategy/Land Conservation Plan (RCIS/LCP) in addition to the Yolo Habitat Conservation Plan & Natural Community Conservation Plan (HCP/NCCP).

    Traffic

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  • Israel Needs to Ceasefire

    Jew-for-ceasefireBy Scott Steward

    I want to thank the City Council's Mayor Will Arnold and Councilmember Gloria Partida for placing a "Proposed Resolution Calling for Peace in Israel and Gaza" on the December 12 City Council Agenda. 

    The current violence, persecution and loss of Palestinian lives is abhorrent. As much as Hamas is rightly condemned and routed for its most recent attack, it is not acceptable that Israel will not ceasefire and instead finds reason to continue to disproportionately kill thousands of civilians, mostly women and children, to randomly kill a small number of combatants. 

    The continued use of a government's military to kill a functionally incapable combatant, and in so doing kill a vastly disproportionate number of millions of displaced civilians, with munitions and by furthering the conditions of starvation and disease, is a war crime. 

    Israel needs to ceasefire. Thousands in Davis are part of this worldwide plea. 

    The Council's ascent to consider a ceasefire resolution was supported by some 15 public speakers and 10 callers, with a hundred people in the gallery in support, at the December 5th City Council meeting.  1 voice of public dissent.  "Ceasefire and Peace in Israel and Gaza" That would be an improved title for the draft resolution.  Why the word ceasefire was so obviously left out of the entire draft resolution, can only be guessed. The public needs to tell our City Council to add back the word ceasefire.  CityCouncilMembers@cityofdavis.org. 

    Davis groups for human rights, Palestinian human rights, Jewish Voices for Peace have been organizing around a ceasefire since October 17th, joining vigils and peaceful demonstrations to remind our members of Congress to sign HR 786 a "ceasefire resolution." The UN is trying to pass a "ceasefire resolution."  No one in the City Hall chambers on December 5th, speaking for a City resolution in support of humanity and sincere peace and repair for Palestine and Israel, was speaking to anything other than a ceasefire resolution. 

    I expect that Council members are honest about intending to constructively amend the draft resolution and to vote on the amended version on the 12th. Respectfully, Council, somewhere in the "Peace" resolution needs to be the word ceasefire.

  • A Critique of Village Farms

    In reference to the Village Farms Scoping Session

    The City has asked citizens to comment on the Village Farms project. Here are mine…

    by David J. Thompson

    The project is based on obsolete planning principles which feature the single family home.

    Preponderance of SF homes in this era is absurd for a town that thinks it’s green.

    Global Warming is guaranteed and increased by this car-centric planning model.

    Too few market-rate apartments for a community with such a low vacancy rate for the past 30 years. The lack of market rate apartments means tens of thousands of Students and working people will continue over paying on rent given the continued low vacancy rate.

    There should be many more market rate apartments to bring down the excessive rental costs in Davis. Most of the 55.7% of Davis households (the 36,780 renters) are already overpaying rent (more than 30% of income spent on rent is HUD guideline).

    Dos Pinos housing co-op has been the most successful home ownership program in Davis. 38 years later it is still providing substantial savings for its moderate income owners. It helps families time and time again rather than a one off bonanza and it’s gone forever. There are 122 households on the waiting list for DP (60 units) and the list has been closed since 2017 (2021 info from DP). There are between 6-10 turnovers per year. Why was another Dos Pinos co-op not included in Village Farms?

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  • Response to Davis Enterprise Article on December 6, 2023: “City, County, UCD Gather for Annual Meeting.”

    By Greg Rowe

    A recent Davis Enterprise article described the annual meeting of the Davis City Council, Yolo County District 2 and 4 Supervisors and UC Davis administrators, held on December 5.  UCD’s on-campus student housing construction program since 2018 was glowingly portrayed by the university representatives. The reality is that UCD had for years resisted building an adequate supply of on-campus housing to meet the needs of its continued enrollment growth, and literally had to be dragged kicking and screaming into agreeing to finally address the problem.

    Evidently forgotten amid UCD’s self-congratulatory presentation were the herculean exertions between 2015 and 2018 by a small alliance of dedicated citizens who committed countless hours working toward the goal of convincing UCD to address its student housing needs in a meaningful way. Those efforts focused on educating the Davis City Council and the Yolo County Board of Supervisors about UCD’s long-standing failure to provide on-campus student housing on pace with escalating enrollment, and the resulting negative community impacts. The group wrote countless articles, letters and a comprehensive “white paper,” met with UCD planners and elected officials, spoke at meetings of the UC Board of Regents, and documented the superior student housing accomplishments at other UC campuses. 

    Early drafts of UCD’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) proposed to only marginally increase the percentage of students living in campus residence halls between 2018 and 2030. The university’s initial intent was to simply redevelop existing campus housing rather than aggressively increasing bed capacity with new construction.

    It also appeared that UCD intended to dodge its housing responsibilities by continuing to “master lease”  apartment complexes in Davis for exclusive occupancy by UCD students. This “band aid” approach meant fewer apartments were available to workforce families. It also allowed apartment owners to avoid paying property taxes because the lessee, UCD, is tax-exempt.

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  • Help ‘Stuff the Bus’ With Food, Other Essentials

    Flyer_StuffTheBuss(From press release) Unitrans and the Davis Food Co-op invite the community on Dec. 16 to “Stuff the Bus” with food and some of life’s other essentials for The Pantry, which serves UC Davis students in need.

    One of Unitrans’ vintage double-deckers from London will be ready to take aboard donations for the seventh annual collection 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. in the parking lot of the Davis Food Co-op, 620 G St.

    The first 50 donors will receive a Unitrans pass good for 10 rides on the campus-city transit service and a $10 coupon for the Davis Food Co-op. Everyone is invited to have some fun by climbing to the top deck of the bus.

    Nonperishable food items — including easy grab-and-go snacks — dominate the list of needed goods at The Pantry, which is a unit of the Associated Students of UC Davis. Staff said toiletries and hygiene products are also a high priority.

    Some of the specific items on The Pantry’s wish list are canned, ready-to-eat meals; cooking utensils; healthy snacks; gluten-free foods; canned soups; peanut butter; jam; fruit juice; and baby formula.

    “Pretty much anything that’s reasonably healthy, we’ll take it!” said Sergio Bocardo- Aguilar, director of The Pantry. “Things we’d like to avoid are sugary foods and non- nutritious food.”

    Starting in a living room in 1972, the Davis Food Co-op has grown into a full-service grocery store owned and operated by more than 8,000 households. It features natural, organic and local foods but strives to offer a full spectrum of groceries to serve the entire community.

    Unitrans has been serving the community for more than 50 years with a fleet of red buses that includes new and vintage double-deckers and, more recently, electric, single-deck buses.

  • Experts at Only Pro/Con Teach-in on I-80 widening

    Thursday December 7th  at 7pm, Davis Community Church 413 4th street

    Image001 1601(From press release) The first (and only) public discussion of the pros and cons of the widening of the I-80 freeway is set for this coming week. The discussion has been organized by the Davis Futures Forum with help from Cool Davis. The public will learn about the Draft Environment Impact Report (DEIR) just released.

    The hybrid meeting will include a background by project advocates Yolo Transportation District staff, followed by a keynote from UC Davis Professor Susan Handy, the renowned Director of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation.  This will be followed by a diverse response panel and a Q&A for those in person.

    • Autumn Bernstein YoloTD – history of project.
    • Nailah Pope-Harden, ClimatePlan, (equity issues, transit)
    • Stephen Wheeler, UC Davis Professor – DEIR issues; alternatives
    • Don Mooney, CEQA Attorney — writing effective DEIR comments.
    • Moderator: Daniel Sperling, formerly of California Air Resources Board

    This is a hybrid event.  Sign up at Cool Davis for advance materials and a link to the YouTube live/recording site. Please note that the registration link is in the upper right corner.

  • Gift Basket Central returns to the Davis Farmers Market

    BaileyMorrisGBC

    Bailey Morris shows a completed Davis Farmers Market gift basket in December 2022. (Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo)

    (From press release) The Davis Farmers Market’s Gift Basket Central is back, offering free baskets and wrapping of market items on Saturdays.

    Every Saturday until the new year, shoppers can compile items for custom gift baskets, and have them wrapped for free at the market’s Gift Basket Central station. There are red, green and blue tissue options, neutral and red baskets, cellophane wrapping and various colored ribbons. The service is available to anyone who purchases three or more items at the Davis Farmers Market, at 301 C St. in Central Park.

    The market is open regular hours (8 a.m. to 1 p.m.), every Saturday through the holidays. It will be closed on Wednesday, Dec. 27.

    Looking for ideas? Besides the abundant produce, market sellers offer preserved jams and sauces, lemon curd, honey, balsamic vinegars, olive oils, dried herbs, nuts and nut butters. There are sweets like dried fruit or chocolate-covered almonds, pistachio brittle, and local wines. Other items include handmade soaps and lotions, wreaths, hats and scarves. Enjoy coffee and hot food, and peruse artisan crafts, market-logo merchandise, and surprising local ingredients for gift baskets.

    There’s also “The Davis Farmers Market Cookbook, Revised Edition,” which features seasonal recipes from market produce. Also at the Market Shed, there are shopping baskets, market-logo aprons, hats, totes, mugs and T-shirts. Shoppers have access to an ATM, and the Market Shed accepts credit and debit cards.

    Still need inspiration? Market staffers are prepared with a list of gift basket ideas for chefs, bakers, party hosts, chocolate lovers, and youths, or with themes like breakfast or relaxation.

    The rest of the year, the Davis Farmers Market is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Wednesday hours are 3 to 6 p.m. through mid-May, and 4 to 8 p.m. Mid-May through early September for Picnic in the Park.

    For more information, visit https://www.davisfarmersmarket.org/ or visit it on Facebook or Instagram.