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Davisite Banner. Left side the bicycle obelisk at 3rd and University. Right side the trellis at the entrance to the Arboretum.

Author: davisite2

  • Letter concerning the Lumberyard Revised Affordable Housing Plan

    [The following letter was shared for posting to the Davisite by the author]

    October 12, 2025

    Dear Mayor Vaitla, Social Services Commission Chair Sverdlov, Planning Commission Chair Weiss and to all the council and commission members and Community Development Director Sherri Metzker.

    I saw last week in a recent Davis Enterprise the city’s public notice re

    The Lumberyard Revised Affordable Housing Plan.

    The core elements of the revision are as follows;

    The number of units will drop from 226 units to 205 units

    A reduction of 21 units

    However, the number of bedrooms will increase from 322 to 444

    An increase of 122 bedrooms and therefore at least 122 more people at one person per bedroom but many more if any of the bedrooms allow 2 people

    If various fees are based upon people and vehicle usage, then the project will; 

    Reduce project income to the city by about 10% 

    While increasing the number of noncontributing municipal users by 37+%.

    It appears to me therefore that the reduction of 21 units, the city will have a measurable loss of project-based income to cover the long-term costs while substantially subsidizing and increasing dollars spent on the wear and tear on the city.

    I would like one of you to pose this question to the Community Development Director;

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  • A Lawsuit Waiting to Happen

    By Elaine Roberts Musser

    There was a pretty lively discussion that transpired on social media recently. Many citizens in this town don’t understand why Village Homes is getting a complete pavement makeover, while arterials are going to pot(holes).  Some suspicion was expressed that there may be political leverage involved in the decision making.  Neither do voters understand why their streets are so riddled with alligator cracks, fissures and pits, while the current City Council seems relatively unconcerned about maintaining basic city infrastructure. This is especially true when a recently approved sales tax hike was supposed to help solve the pavement problem. In fact, someone was concerned enough to reach out to both the City and the City Council for an explanation. The City finally responded.

    However, the reply seemed contradictory.  The City’s representative justified prioritizing repairing Village Homes inner streets over major arterials by saying: “Most of the streets in Village Homes are in failed condition”.  Yet later in their explanation the City made the following contrary statement: “Pavement preservation—proactive maintenance of roads in fair or good condition—helps extend pavement life and maximize the value of each dollar spent. This is why some streets may receive treatment even if they appear to be in better shape than others.” 

    The city can’t have it both ways, especially when it comes to fixing very small neighborhood streets in poor condition, at the expense of not repairing main thoroughfares in fair condition. First, considerably more citizens in this town use the thoroughfares than tiny side streets.  And secondly, those major arteries are fast deteriorating from fair condition, and are a good portion of the way to degrading to poor condition.

    As it turns out, a case was just handed down in May of this year from the California Supreme Court, which gives a harsh lesson to cities allowing their roads to unacceptably worsen. In a 7- 0 decision, the California Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiff could sue the City of Oakland for serious injuries sustained as a result of bicycling on crumbled or cracked pavement. It said the City was obligated to “maintain its streets in a reasonably safe condition for travel by the public”. In a statement announcing the $7 million settlement in favor of the plaintiff, the attorney representing the injured party indicated the court’s ruling sent a clear message to California cities that “safe streets are not optional”.

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  • We the People Say No Kings: Second Yolo “No Kings” March and Rally to Take Place Oct. 18

    More than 4,000 Yolo County residents gathered in Woodland in June for the first NO KINGS march and rally. Indivisible Yolo is organizing the next NO KINGS event for Oct. 18 in Davis.

    Countywide event will be held alongside 5 million people and 2500 protests nationwide

    (From press release) Drawing on momentum from the first Yolo NO KINGS march and rally in June that gathered more than 4,000 participants, Indivisible Yolo and Davis Phoenix Coalition will host a second Yolo NO KINGS event Saturday, Oct. 18 from 1:30-3:30pm at Civic Center Park at 6th and B streets in Davis. The event, themed “We the People,” is part of a national mobilization expected to exceed 5 million nationwide as people gather to protest Trump administration policies and remind the president that America is a democracy.

    The event will begin with a march from Civic Center Park through downtown Davis, looping back to the park for the rally at approximately 2:30pm where Yolo County speakers will address the crowd. Learn more and RSVP: https://www.mobilize.us/indivisibleyolo/event/840116/.

    At least 4500 attendees are expected. Here is a list of speakers, with additional speakers are still being confirmed:

    • Gloria Partida, Davis Phoenix Coalition
    • U.S. Representative Mike Thompson (CA-4)
    • Dr. Dawnté Early, West Sacramento city council member
    • Deger Carda, UC Davis post-doc UAW 4811
    • Thomas Alvarez, UC Davis, Davis College Democrats
    • Steve Murphy, Indivisible Yolo

    Renowned activist and former U.S. secretary of labor, Robert Reich, sent a video message for Yolo County participants in the upcoming NO KINGS march on Oct. 18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZFOb7fpIHY

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  • TODAY: Showing of new movie by Abby Martin – Earth’s Greatest Enemy

    (From press release) The just-released documentary Earth’s Greatest Enemy dramatically details the damage inflicted on the global environment by the U.S. military. The film director and producer, Abby Martin, is an American journalist, television presenter, and activist (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abby_Martin). Short introductory comments on the links between militarism and climate change will be presented by Veterans For Peace volunteers who are participating in the Wake Up to Climate Crisis and NO MAS (NO Military Air Shows) Tour – https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/climatecrisis/wake-climate-crisis-tour   

    Free and open to the public!

    Where: Guild Theatre @ 2828 35th St. Sacramento, CA

    Time: 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm

    Date: Wed, Oct. 15, 2025

    Organizers are Veterans For Peace – Climate Crisis & Militarism Project Climate Crisis & Militarism Project | Veterans For Peace

  • Antisemitism and Trump Defunding UC

    By Alan Hirsch, Chair Social Justice Committee

    As the Social Justice Committee of Davis’s Congregation Bet Haverim, we cannot be silent as we witness the cultural appropriation of antisemitism by voices in our country that pander to and promote bigotry, racism, and intolerance. We challenge Trump’s claim he is protecting Jews by slashing University scientific research, both at UC Davis and academic institutions throughout the country. $8 Billion in cuts in university grant funding from the National Institute of Health for cancer and other bio-medical research is not even plausibly related to fighting antisemitism.

    We object to stripping students and faculty of the right to free speech and court hearings in the name of antisemitism, particularly as part of deportation and visa issuance/renewal processes. Students have been arrested at home and on the street with no transparency as to why they are being held or deported, and in certain cases with the implication that they are being punished for their constitutionally protected freedom of speech.

    We affirm that as Jews we support diversity and the right to freedom of inquiry and dissent, as we ourselves so long dissented in Christian and Muslim religious-majority-societies where we have lived.

    We affirm a core Jewish value is  to welcome the stranger. Therefore, we challenge the mistreatment and extrajudicial deportations and family separation of refugees and those seeking asylum on our shores from repressive regimes in Asian, and Central and South America.

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  • On Education, Accountability, and the Price of Pretending: Part One

    By David Taormino

    It has often been said, sometimes in reverence and other times in jest, that the Davis Joint Unified School District is “doing the Lord’s work on Earth.” And perhaps, in part, that is true. There is no higher calling than the education of our children—no greater trust than that which we place in those who shape young minds.

    But let us not, in our admiration, lose sight of the facts.

    The School District, noble though its mission may be, is also a business. It employs administrators, staff, and teachers, all of whom depend upon the continued operation of schools—regardless of whether the children who fill those classrooms live in Davis or are brought in from elsewhere. This is not criticism. It is recognition of reality. But reality, too, must be subject to the rule of law.

    That is why I have filed suit—on behalf of myself and future homeowners of Palomino Place—to challenge the District’s newly-adopted fee on new development. The total for a 2,000 square-foot home now exceeds $10,000. This fee, and the rationale for it, strain both legal boundaries and public trust.

    The Law Is Clear—and It Is Not Being Followed

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  • County Board of Supervisors Prepares to Protect Local Groundwater

    Groundwaterissue

    By Scott Steward

    It will take a 4/5ths vote by the County Board of Supervisors this Tuesday, August 26th, to implement a much-needed well moratorium for the north and west Yolo regions, where ground water replacement rates are declining, are not well understood, and where previously unirrigated land is being converted to year-round water demand: grape vines, olive, and nut trees

    The County Staff report, supporting the 45-day moratorium, provides the following excerpt: 

    " To summarize, groundwater is a vital resource essential to the health, safety and welfare of the many communities and agricultural areas in the County. Therefore, it is necessary to better understand the impacts of land use changes on groundwater supplies and gather additional information to better inform better YSGA and County evaluation of proposed new agricultural wells with an eye towards protecting the sustainability of groundwater resources.  Further study of the impacts of the planting of perennial crops on previously non-irrigated lands is critical to determine if further regulations should be implemented with respect to such land use changes to protect against unsustainable groundwater impacts."

    Communications with the two Supervisors in District 2 and District 4 (Lucas Frerichs and Sheila Allen), who represent large numbers of Davis residents, indicate strong support for the 45-day moratorium.

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  • Tree Budget Cuts have made Parks, Bikeways Streets and Front yards less safe

    Failed Roots City Council Chamber Pear (1)By Alan ‘Lorax” Hirsch

    Tuesday item 7 before council is the first public discussion about the up-to-now hidden part of city structural deficit; the underfunding of tree pruning/sustainability program. This underfunding has not only made our parks, bikeways and streets less safe, but also added to our structural deficit by ballooning city’s insurance premiums. This is on top of our city’s financial deficit issues that Elaine Roberts Musser and Dan Carlson have written about so elegantly on this blog and elsewhere.

    +++

    What if your long time HMO revealed they had- without your knowledge – reduced the dose of your heart medication by 50% to cut costs- and done this secretly for over 12 years.

    That is what the city’s memo on Trees for Tuesday 8/19 council packet revealed; they state instead of a 7-year safety pruning cycle for front yard street and park tree they had in fact a longer a 12–14-year cycle.

    This is consistent with fact a woman died in Slide Hill Park in 2021 by a tree the city had neglected to inspect and prune. The city staff knew this funding shortfall for years (the previous Arbor would tell anyone) but this fact only seems to have been admitted to the public by staff and council now the previous city manager has moved on.

    But this mis where we are now: think of the embarrassment if HMO disclose an increased cost of malpractice insurance now exceed the saving from those medicine dosage cuts?  In city’s case, its liability insurance increase– due to the $24 million dollar Slide Hill Park tree death settlement.

    But this is part of a larger picture about the strategic mismanagement of the city tree program, as I will describe below.

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  • Op Ed on City Street Tree Relinquishment

    Savedavistrees

    Arbor Day tree planting event in 2022. Davis became a Tree City USA in 1977 and was one of the first in the state to receive this distinction.

    Don’t prune the tree care budget, let the voters decide!

    By Greg McPherson

    Davis’ urban forest is a “living umbrella.” The benefits of a healthy and growing tree canopy include providing clean air, shading streets, pedestrians, and buildings, reducing stormwater runoff, increasing property values, calming traffic, reducing noise, and contributing to reduced crime rates.

    Davis has a robust urban forest thanks to an enthusiastic community, dedicated non-profits like Tree Davis and Cool Davis, expertise from UC Davis, and the amount of attention and value the city has put towards their urban forestry program. However, the city has faced challenges associated with inadequate funding for the program. For example, the lack of scheduled park tree maintenance was associated with a jury finding the city fully liable for $24.2 million in damages due to a 2021 death from a falling limb in Slide Hill Park. To address tree liability issues the city has added about 50% of the funding requested ($500,000) to inspect and prune trees on a 3-year cycle in high occupancy zones like downtown and parks.

    Many of our larger trees are failing due to old age, drought stress from loss of turf irrigation, and new pests and diseases. The city removes about 200 trees per year. Many trees are removed illegally or “hat-racked” because the city is short on funds to enforce our own ordinance to protect trees. See the ironically named Oak Tree Plaza on Covell for a recent example.

    The City’s 2023 Urban Forest Management Plan recommends a baseline of no net tree canopy loss, but resources to track this information are lacking. Also, the Plan notes that about 6,000 of the 30,000 inventoried trees are within the street tree easement but not maintained by the city. This lack of clarity is costly to the city because frequent “ownership checks” require staff to review index cards dating back to the 1970s or developer agreements to determine who owns a tree, and sometimes the results are inconclusive. This situation is unfair and confusing for the city and residents.

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  • Clarifying the Realities of Downpayment Assistance in Davis

    By Barbara Clutter

    In their August 11 piece in The Davisite, Dan Carson and Elaine Roberts Musser rely on a preliminary report from the City’s Fiscal Commission subcommittee on Downpayment Assistance to argue that Davis should align with existing state programs, such as CalHFA (CA Housing Finance Agency), which assisted 30,000 California homebuyers in 2025. Carson/Musser point out that only two of those recipients were from Davis, implying a missed opportunity for our city. However, what they do not acknowledge is the underlying reason so few Davis residents qualify for CalHFA is the high cost of housing. Families working under CalHFA's income limits generally find that qualifying housing is virtually nonexistent in Davis, making the program largely inaccessible in Davis.

    Musser and Carson also highlight SB 417, a proposed $10 billion statewide housing bond measure which would primarily fund rehabilitation of infrastructure and existing housing. While it earmarks $1 billion for downpayment assistance, no community is guaranteed any of these prospective funds, even if the bond measure is passed in 2026.

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