By Matt Williams
What follows are the public comments that I submitted to the Finance and Budget Commission (FBC) this morning regarding the Economic & Planning Systems, Inc. (EPS) Fiscal Analysis of DiSC 2022. The Technical Memorandum prepared by EPS can be found here. The 27 items included are not exhaustive.
I would like to alert you to the rapidly growing opposition to a 30-year deep pit gravel mining project proposed by Teichert, Inc. alongside lower Cache Creek in Yolo County, just three miles west of the City of Woodland.
The Yolo County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on this project as Item #12: consider a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors regarding certification of the Environmental Impact Report and approval of the Teichert Shifler Mining and Reclamation Project on a site west of Woodland, CA, including certification of the General Plan Amendment, Rezone, and other associated approvals. The public hearing, via zoom or telephone, will take place on December 9, beginning at 8:30 AM.
Nearby homeowners of the WildWings community, defenders of a unique Patwin-Wintun Tending and Gathering Garden, toxicologists, climate advocates and an Episcopal minister are among a diverse group urging the Yolo County Planning Commission to reject the Final EIR and oppose the rezoning of prime farmland to allow the gravel to be mined.
Attached is a Comment Letter submitted on December 8, 2021 to the Planning Commission and signed by over 100 opponents of this ecologically destructive mining project.
Please contact the following individuals for further information and interviews:
Charles Salocks, Toxicologist, Retired, California Environmental Protection Agency, cbsalocks@gmail.com
Ann Liu, Retired CTA, UCCE Master Gardener, skip2mylew@gmail.com
Alessa Johns, Professor Emerita, University of California, Davis, alessajohns@gmail.com
Thank you,
Nancy Price
Download Memo to Commissioners and Supervisors on Teichert Shifler Issues Final
(From press release) The Davis Farmers Market will be closed on Christmas and New Year’s days, but open for special morning hours on the Fridays before each holiday.
On Fridays, Dec. 24 and 31, the market will be open from 8 a.m. to noon. It will have regular hours on (3 to 6 p.m.) on Wednesday, Dec. 29. America’s favorite farmers market operates rain or shine in Central Park, 301 C St., Davis.
Year-round, the Davis Farmers Market is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Wednesday hours are 3 to 6 p.m. November through March, and 3 to 7 p.m. April through October.
Along with abundant farm-fresh produce, the Saturday market is a great place to do holiday gift shopping. Enjoy coffee and hot food, and peruse artisan crafts, market-logo merchandise, and surprising local ingredients for gift baskets.
For more information, visit https//davisfarmersmarket.org or visit it on Facebook or Instagram.
(From press release) Unitrans and the Davis Food Co-op are calling on the community to contribute to “Stuff the Bus,” a holiday food drive that is also asking for a few other of life’s necessities this year. Donations will go to the student-run Pantry at the University of California, Davis. The Pantry, a unit of the Associated Students of UC Davis, aims to ensure students in need don’t miss a meal or go without other basic necessities while trying to stay in school.
Look for the vintage Unitrans London double-decker bus on display in the parking lot of the Davis Food Co-op, 620 G St., from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 11 where volunteers will be receiving food donations. For donors’ convenience, the Davis Food Co-op will offer prepacked bags of groceries and other items — bags you can buy at the checkout stands, and staff will deliver the bags to the bus.
Children and adults alike are welcome to enjoy the view from the top deck of the bus as they drop off their donations. The first 50 donors will receive Unitrans passes good for 10 free rides.
The Pantry provided this list of suggested donations: new shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bars of soap, and other personal hygiene items; canned or boxed meals; gluten-free grains like quinoa; canned fruit and vegetables; canned or dry beans; canned soup; baby formula; rice; whole grain pasta — and please don’t forget the peanut butter and similar items.
Yolo SPCA will be featuring pet-themed face masks for adults and kids to fundraise at this Saturday’s November 20th Davis Senior Center Holiday Craft Fair at 646 A St. from 9am until 2pm. The masks have many new designs (see photos) and are 100% cotton with a soft tea-dyed muslin cotton liner. The kid’s masks come in two sizes, small for 3-5 year-olds, and medium for 5-12 year-olds, both of which are adjustable via 2 beads included on the elastic band.
The masks are $15 and are to help fundraise for the Yolo SPCA Community Cat Kindness Fund CCKF). For more information on the Community Cat Kindness Fund and how to donate, please see the Yolo SPCA website at http://yolospca.org/community-cat-kindness-fund/ and to view the masks in the many patterns we have see http://yolospca.org/winter-fundraiser-kitty-themed-masks/
These face masks make great gifts for the holidays, birthdays or other events and are easy (and inexpensive) to mail for long-distance gifts. For more information or to purchase masks before or after this Saturday’s sale, please contact Eileen at (530) 756-5165 or email her at emsamitz@dcn.org.
By The Artery
G St businesses await clean up and reopening but the part of the City Council wants G St closed permanently it seems so their 5 year old can turn cartwheels in the street. How quaint. How ageist. In the meanwhile seniors with mobility issues find it too difficult to come into the area, as communicated to us by our customers.
At the 11/2/21 City Council meeting the council remained split 2:2 for partial reopening vs complete closure. The Downtown Business Association’s recommendation is for two-way traffic to resume with updated outdoor seating which is fair.
But the Council’s arguments to keep G St closed permanently revolved around an absence of logic and fair reason. Arnold’s consideration to keep G St closed as a concession because 100% of the streets downtown are open to traffic shows he’s more interested in that detail than if 100% of businesses in Davis recover from the stress of the pandemic or not. Where is the city’s fairness to support all businesses to recover? Roseville, Palo Alto, Walnut Creek and many other cities around the country are in the news saying they’re reopening streets to help retail before the busiest shopping time of year.
The Mayor of Davis also wants to keep G St permanently closed. She’s said she thinks we’re only concerned about aesthetics and parking spots. This isn’t all of it – she’s not listening. We’re looking at digital mapping systems which show G St as closed; not good. Look at what happened to K St in Sacramento in the 1960’s and again recently. Additionally, we see people urinating on the tree out front our business, vomit, graffiti and other signs of the worse side of humanity when they’re given access to areas not intended for recreation. This is “misbehavior”. Pledging to clean this up has proven a vapid promise – for four months. We see little follow through.
The day before Thanksgiving, the Davis Farmers Market extends its hours. This year’s annual Pre-Thanksgiving Market will be from noon to 6 p.m. in Central Park, 301 C St., Davis.
On Wednesday, Nov. 24, the market will have a bounty of seasonal produce, table décor, flowers, olive oil, honey and wine. Several bakeries will have fresh-baked items like pumpkin, apple, pecan and berry pies and pumpkin cheesecake; breads, stuffing mix and cookies.
Year-round, rain or shine, the Davis Farmers Market is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Normal Wednesday hours are 3 to 6 p.m. November through March, and 3 to 7 p.m. April through October.
Other special holiday hours at the Davis Farmers Market are Fridays, Dec. 24 and 31, from 8 a.m. to noon. The market will be closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, but open from 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 29. For more information, visit https//davisfarmersmarket.org or visit it on Facebook or Instagram.
By Nancy Price
On Wednesday, November 10, the Yolo County Planning Commission holds a public hearing on the Teichert Shifler Mining and Reclamation Project to make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on the proposed 30-year Off-Channel Surface Mining Permit for industrial mining on the agricultural Shifler property. On December 14, the Board of Supervisors meets to consider final approval of the Permit.
At the time the Draft EIR was being prepared, on September 29, 2020, the Yolo County Supervisors passed Resolution 20-114 – A Resolution Declaring a Climate Crisis Requiring an Urgent and Inclusive Mobilization in Yolo County (“2030 Climate Emergency Mobilization Resolution”). This goal is stated in Yolo County’s 2011 Climate Action Plan and elements of the County’s General Plan.
A 6/31/2021 Press Release elaborates, the Supervisors “passed a resolution declaring a climate crisis requiring an urgent and inclusive mobilization of countrywide resources to initiate a just transition to an inclusive, equitable, sustainable and resilient local economy while also supporting and advocating for regional, national and international efforts necessary to reverse the climate, social justice, and economic crises. As an immediate goal, the Board voted to create a new Climate Action Plan for the County with the intent of reaching a carbon negative status by 2030.”
Given the magnitude of Teichert’s 277 acre industrial mining and reclamation project, the Supervisor’s must direct the new Yolo County Climate Action Commission to report on Teichert’s application and EIR documents, and that the ecological assessment called for in the “Climate Emergency Mobilization Resolution” be adopted and implemented.
Teichert must prioritize and commit to how they will achieve the county’s 2030 reduction goals such as solar-power generation at the Woodland Plant, conversion of vehicle fleets and other measures. The proposed carbon absorption capacity of reclaimed agricultural land on the Shifler property needs further study before this mitigation measure is considered viable. The proposed purchase of carbon credits to mitigate or offset Teichert’s GHG emissions is fraught with challenges in monitoring, reporting, and guaranteeing actual, quantifiable carbon reduction.
To conclude, the magnitude and scale of industrial mining for 30 years to 2052 runs counter to the County’s publicly stated climate actions goals and the process they have established to attain those goals by 2030.
By Aaron Wedra, Marketing Coordinator for the Hattie Weber Museum
In 1864 it was determined that the California Pacific Rail Road would extend eastward from Sacramento over the Donner Summit route to become part of the transcontinental rail line.
The “Cal-P”, as it was familiarly known to early-day railroad builders, was incorporated in January 1865, and was principally financed with British capital. Construction began at Vallejo in December, 1866, and the first rails were laid at the same place on April 10, 1868.
Planners for the California Pacific Rail Road Company decided to build a line from South Vallejo to Sacramento which would also connect Marysville and Woodland at a junction in Davisville. Construction and grading of the rail bed began in Vallejo in December 1866 and the first rails were laid in April 1868.
The construction of the first Davis depot began in July 1868 and the first passenger and freight service between Vallejo and Davis Junction began on August 24th, 1868. The fare was $3.00.
Myths and Facts about Impacts of Freeway Lane Expansions on Traffic Congestion and Adoption Rates of Electric Vehicles
Executive Summary
Proponents of the proposed DISC project claim that the projected traffic congestion associated with the project will be solved soon in the future by the hoped-for I-80 freeway HOV lane expansion easing roadway congestion. The proposed freeway expansion project envisions the addition of one HOV lane on each side of the I-80 freeway freeway from from Hwy 113 on the west to the I-5/I-50 interchange in Scaramento and the I-80/Reed Ave interchange to the east.
Proponents also claim that the associated vehicular greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from the increased traffic to and from the DISC site will be substantially eliminated by the mass adoption of electric vehicles reducing tailpipe GHG emissions
Unfortunately, science shows us that the proposed addition of the two HOV lanes on the 20.8 mile stretch of the I-80 freeway expansion (one HOV lane on each side of the freeway) will actually induce further traffic and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) on this stretch of the freeway. Methodology developed by the UC Davis National Institute of Sustainable Transportation (NIST) shows this phenomena is due to both short and long-term driver behavioral changes including taking longer and more frequent automobile trips, route shifts, and transportation mode shifts away from public transportation. The cumulative impacts will result in no relief from the current plague of I-80 freeway congestion.
Further, mass adoption of electric vehicles will take decades to substantially replace existing aging fossil fuel-powered vehicles resulting in no near term decreases of the additional GHG emissions resulting from new traffic associated with the DISC project. These emissions directly threaten the Davis goal of carbon neutrality by 2040 and Yolo County's goal of net negative carbon emissions by 2030.
Myth #1 – The Proposed I-80 Expansion will Greatly Reduce Freeway Congestion for DISC Commuters Leading to Decreased Congestion for Local Drivers on Mace and Covell Blvd.
Davisite 