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  • Part 4 Candidate Responses to the Sierra Club Yolano Group Questionnaire for the 2022 Davis City Council Election

    Sierra-club-yolano

    Transportation Management

    Introduction – As has been our custom for over 20 years, the Sierra Club Yolano Group prepares a wide-ranging questionnaire and presents it to candidates in races of interest to our local membership. The questionnaire for the 2022 Davis City Council race received answers from all 5 candidates in the 2 of the 5 City Council Districts for which an election is held in November, 2022.

    The candidates, listed in alphabetical order by their first name, are:

    District 1 (West Davis): – Bapu Vaitla, Dan Carson, and Kelsey Fortune

    District 4 (East Davis ) – Adam Morrill, Gloria Partida

    Questions were asked in the following general categories :

    Part 1 – Land Use and Housing Development – Peripheral Development

    Part 2— Land Use and Housing Development – Downtown Core and Student Housing

    Part 3 – Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    Part 4 – Transportation Management

    Part 5 – Toxics in the Environment and Other Environmental Issues

    Part 6 – Waste Management and Financial Contibutors

    Parts 1 through 3 in this series can be viewed by clicking on that article's title above which is linked to the earlier publication.

    This is the 4th in the series of articles and focuses on Transportation Management and provides candidate responses to the following questions:

    Question #1 – Bicycle Use

    Davis prides itself on being a bicycle-oriented city with miles of bike lanes and paths throughout the community to facilitate bike use as an alternative form of transportation. Yet, the bicycle mode-share in Davis has dropped in recent years.

    What would you propose to make the bicycle a more viable and safe transportation mode in Davis?

    Question #2 – Downtown Parking Structure

    Do you support the construction of a new automobile parking structure near or in the downtown core and why or why not?

     

    If yes, where would you like to see it located, how large should it be, and how should it be paid for?

    Question #3 – Downtown Parking Meters

    Do you support the addition of parking meters on downtown streets or in downtown city-owned public parking lots or parking structures and why or why not?

    Subsequent articles in the series in the coming days will focus on the two remaining general categories in Parts 5-6.

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  • Part 3 Candidate Responses to the Sierra Club Yolano Group Questionnaire for the 2022 Davis City Council Election

    Sierra-club-yolano

    Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

    Introduction – As has been our custom for over 20 years, the Sierra Club Yolano Group prepares a wide-ranging questionnaire and presents it to candidates in races of interest to our local membership. The questionnaire for the 2022 Davis City Council race received answers from all 5 candidates in the 2 of the 5 City Council Districts for which an election is held in November, 2022.

    The candidates, listed in alphabetical order by their first name, are:

    District 1 (West Davis): – Bapu Vaitla, Dan Carson, and Kelsey Fortune

    District 4 (East Davis ) – Adam Morrill, Gloria Partida

    Questions were asked in the following general categories :

    Part 1 – Land Use and Housing Development – Peripheral Development

    Part 2— Land Use and Housing Development – Downtown Core and Student Housing

    Part 3 – Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    Part 4 – Transportation Management

    Part 5 – Toxics in the Environment and Other Environmental Issues

    Part 6 – Waste Management and Financial Contributors

    Parts 1 and 2 in this series can be viewed by clicking on that article's title above which is linked to the earlier publication.

    This is the 3rd in the series of articles and focuses on Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions and provides candidate responses to the following questions:

    Question #1 – Greenhouse Gas Mitigation for New Development

    Davis has declared a Climate Emergency and mandated carbon neutrality by 2040. Often 70% or more of a new project's GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions are due to transportation-related impacts which are not addressed in increasingly stringent building standards. Some have proposed that developers pay for mitigation of these GHGs because they cause public harm just as sellers of tobacco pay a tax for their associated public harm.

    Do you support in principal a GHG mitigation fee on new developments in Davis and why or why not?  If yes, do you have any ideas how such a fee might be assessed or used by the City?

    Question #2 – Commercial / Multi-Family Solar PV Ordinance

    There currently is a mandatory solar PV requirement for new single-family home and low-rise apartment construction in Davis. However, there are currently no similar requirements for new multi-family housing projects greater than 3 stories or for commercial construction.

     

    Do you support a proposed ordinance mandating solar photovoltaic systems on new multi-family housing, or commercial construction in Davis if not otherwise planned for a net-zero energy use?

    Question #3 – Other Energy Conservation Measures

    What additional steps could be taken by the City, its businesses, and residents that you believe would be most effective in reducing overall energy use and GHG emissions in Davis to meet our climate action and adaptation goals?

    Subsequent articles in the series in the coming days will focus on each of the general categories in Parts 4-6.

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  • An evening with Leah Rothstein

    Document copy

    By Ellen Kolarik 

    It was November 18, 2019 and Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law was nearing the end of his presentation to a full house at Davis Community Church.  More than 200 people remained for the Q&A. 

    A member of the audience asked “How can we maintain that small town feel and still deal with our housing issues?”

    The reply? “That small town feel is a euphemism for a segregated community.”

    Those of us that were involved in putting on that event were excited and proud that our community was open to hearing tough information about who we are as a country and as a community.  But, how to move forward?

    Interfaith Housing Justice Davis (IHJD) formed as a response to Rothstein’s call to action.  IHJD is a loose coalition of faith organizations in Davis who advocate for changes in city policy to encourage more affordable housing, the first step in desegregating a community.

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  • Part 2 Candidate Responses to the Sierra Club Yolano Group Questionnaire for the 2022 Davis City Council Election

    Sierra Club logo

    Land Use and Housing Development – Downtown Core and Student Housing

    Introduction – As has been our custom for over 20 years, the Sierra Club Yolano Group prepares a wide-ranging questionnaire and presents it to candidates in races of interest to our local membership. The questionnaire for the 2022 Davis City Council race received answers from all 5 candidates in the 2 of the 5 City Council Districts for which an election is held in Novemeber, 2022.

    The candidates, listed in alphabetical order by their first name, are:

    District 1 (West Davis): – Bapu Vaitla, Dan Carson, and Kelsey Fortune

    District 4 (East Davis ) – Adam Morrill, Gloria Partida

    Questions asked were in the following general categories:

    Part 1 – Land Use and Housing Development – Peripheral Development

    Part 2— Land Use and Housing Development – Downtown Core and Student Housing

    Part 3 – Energy Use and Greenhouse Gases

    Part 4 – Transportation Management

    Part 5 – Waste Management

    Part 6 – Toxics in the Environment and Other Environmental Issues

    Part 1 in this series can be viewed by clicking on that article's title above which is linked to the earlier publication.

    This is the 2nd in the series of articles and focuses on Land Use and Housing Development – Downtown Core and Student Housing and provides candidate responses to the following questions:

    (more…)

  • Adam Morrill meet and greets

    IMG_5116((From press release) On the morning of September 1, 2022, Huei Young (http://www.hueis-garden.com/) hosted a private meet and greet in her famous garden for Adam Morrill, Candidate for Davis City Council, District 4.

    Huei is well known for her hosted nonprofit garden tour fundraisers. She has hosted tours for the Pence Gallery, MVT's eye testing and glasses program for children in need, Youth in Focus, STEAC (a short-term assistance program), Yolo Hospice, and Shriners Hospital for Children's Cerebral Palsy Program.

    Huei is an avid supporter of Adam. She endorses Adam, “I know that Adam is sincere in his desire to work on solving many of the city’s problems using practical and cost-effective means, and demanding accountability for the results… As someone interested in action to solve problems, he has no patience for kicking a problem down the road, leaving it for some future council to solve.”

    Adam Morrill will be tabling at the Nugget on Covell this Labor Day from 4-6pm. Please come by and meet him and ask questions.

  • Part 1 Candidate Responses to the Sierra Club Yolano Group Questionnaire for the 2022 Davis City Council Election

    Sierra-club-yolano
         Land Use and Housing Development – Peripheral Development

    ______________________________________________

    Introduction – As has been our custom for over 20 years, the local Sierra Club Yolano Group has prepared candidate questionnaires for some local elections in Yolo County.  The questionnaire for the 2022 Davis City Council race asked for candidates' views and opinions on a wide-range of environmental issues of interest to our local membership.

    The questionnaire received answers from all 5 candidates in the 2 City Council Districts for which an election is held this November. Listed in alphabetical order by their first name, the candidates are:

    District 1 (West Davis): – Bapu Vaitla, Dan Carson, and Kelsey Fortune

    District 4 (East Davis) – Adam Morrill, Gloria Partida

    Questions were asked in the following general categories:

    Part 1 – Land Use and Housing Development – Peripheral Development

    Part 2— Land Use and Housing Development – Downtown Core and Student Housing

    Part 3 – Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    Part 4 – Transportation Management

    Part 5 – Waste Management

    Part 6 – Toxics in the Environment and Other Environmental Issues

    The article below reports the candidates' responses to the questions posed to them in the first category, Part 1 – Land Use and Housing Development – Peripheral Development. The following 3 questions were asked of each of the candidates in this category:

    Question #1 – Measure H – Davis Innovation and Sustainability Campus

    Did you support or oppose the development of the Davis Innovation and Sustainability Campus mixed use business park in Davis on the June ballot as Measure H and why?

    Question #2 – New Proposed Peripheral Housing – Projects on Covell and Mace

    There are 3 new proposed large housing projects on prime farmland in east Davis for which pre-applications have been submitted to the City – Palomino Place, Shriners, and On-the-Curve. All will require General Plan amendments and Measure J/R/D votes by the citizens. Do you support these projects and, if so, would you require any changes from their pre-application? If you do not support these projects, why not?

    Question  #3 – Measure D (Measure J/R) Modification

    Do you support any modifications to the recently renewed (2020) Measure D (formerly Measure J/R)?  Why or why not?

    Subsequent articles with candidate responses to questions asked in the 5 other general categories will be reported in the coming days.

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  • Valley Clean Energy (VCE) Appoints Executive Officer

    Mitch Sears

    Mitch Sears

    (From press release) The Valley Clean Energy Board of Directors is very pleased to announce the appointment of Mitch Sears as VCE’s full-time Executive Officer. Sears has served as the agency’s Interim General Manager since its launch in 2018.

    Sears has contributed his depth of experience to VCE gained through nearly 28 years with the City of Davis serving in various staff and management roles. Most recently he served as the City’s Sustainability Manager for over a decade, leading comprehensive efforts to address climate change, including implementation of community energy projects. Prior to that, he oversaw Davis’ Agricultural Land Conservation Program, helping permanently preserve over a thousand acres of Yolo County farmland.

    “We couldn’t be happier to have Mitch accept this permanent appointment,” said Jesse Loren, VCE Board Chair and Winters City Council member. “His leadership and vision during VCE’s formation and launch have carried the agency through many complexities and have positioned VCE well as we step into the future.”

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  • Join the Davisphere this Thursday, September 1

    WeekOne-Event-Overall-Poster-V2(From press release) Join the Davisphere this Thursday, September 1st at Central Park from 4-10pm for live music, beer and wine gardens and so much more!

    Many in our community miss Picnic in the Park, so the Davis Downtown Business Association is bringing something new! This inaugural event series will feature live music, family entertainment, traditional and exotic food and beverage, a beer and wine garden, local retail and service providers, arts and crafts, and nonprofit organizations. Each event will begin with acts from local performing arts groups and end with regional or touring bands on stage with professional staging, lighting and audio.

    Enjoy our lineup of vendors:

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  • Seeds of Justice Speaker Series

    Flyer Seeds of Justice 2022(From press release) The Episcopal Church of St. Martin is pleased to announce the second season of its Seeds of Justice speaker series, which explores the racialized history of the land on which Yolo County residents live and work. It asks: What is our responsibility as community members to the original inhabitants of this land, the ancestral homeland of the Patwin-Wintun people, and to those who have worked the land and stewarded it? What is the legacy of environmental racism, exploitation, and ecological degradation? How can we heal and repair the harm?  

    BethRose Middleton (1)

    Professor Beth Rose Middleton Manning

    Professor Beth Rose Middleton Manning from the Department of Native American Studies, UC Davis, is our first presenter. Prof. Middleton Manning’s talk is titled:

    “In Relation to Water: Indigenous Leadership in Restoring and Re-Envisioning Watershed Stewardship,”

    and will be held on 18 September, 4:00pm, in person and online at the Episcopal Church of St Martin, 640 Hawthorn Lane, Davis CA 95616. To attend, please register at the following website:

    https://churchofstmartin.org/2022/08/03/save-the-date-seeds-of-justice-continues/

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  • Arriving Soon: Davis’ Bigger, Better, Costlier, Extravagant Toad Tunnels

    Stamped Concrete 1

    An example of stamped concrete

    By David Taormino

    After 6 years of wrangling with Davis City Staff, Bretton Woods is under construction. The actual election process was easy compared to finalizing the details with Davis staff. We still have half-a-dozen important and extremely costly imposed conditions that impact costs to homebuyers.

    The craziest staff imposition requires customizing the new drainage tunnels to make the “World’s Fanciest Frog and Toad Tunnels”, reminiscent of the 1995 famous toad tunnel fiasco that brought national embarrassment to Davis. As bizarre of a request as it sounds, that tunnel only cost $14,000, these four cost approximately $200,000. Two Davis staffers, the Open Space Manager, and a Public Works engineer, are demanding the two bigger, better, fancier, customized 110-foot-long tunnels paralleling Covell Blvd near Risling Drive, and two more in our Bretton Woods Channel to accommodate critters. Without the details, it doesn’t sound unreasonable on its face.  

    To “critter customize” these tunnels will cost each senior home buyer in Bretton Woods somewhere around $600 per home. While not a “princely sum”, it is only one of a dozen unnecessary costs heaped on Bretton Woods by city staff. What does each homebuyer get in return? Absolutely nothing, nada! What do the critters get for the extra cost? Only the staff knows, and they aren’t sharing, just demanding.

    Where the critters are coming from or going; no one knows. I requested the staffers produce scientific evidence, or really any evidence, that this costly customization provides any more worthwhile conditions than normal tunnels. Does the staff have evidence that critters will need the customization compared to a standard tunnel? Just like 1995, NO!

    Sadly, the unintended consequence of this forced customizing may be more 2019-like flooding of Sutter-Davis Hospital. Has the staff learned anything from the 1995 Toad Tunnel debacle or the flooding of 2019? Judge for yourself.

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