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

Author: davisite

  • City Seeks Public Comment on Davis Climate Action and Adaptaion Plan (CAAP)

    Davis CAAPCommunity Review Period Now Open for City's 2020-2040 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan

    From City of Davis Press Release:

    Post Date:August 08, 2022 4:06 pm

    The City of Davis announced today that the community review period for the City’s draft 2020-2040 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP) is now open to the public for an extended 60-day period that will close on October 10, 2022. 

    The CAAP establishes a roadmap for carbon reduction policies that will allow the City of Davis to achieve its carbon neutrality goal by 2040, five years ahead of the State’s 2045 timeline. This accelerated goal stems from a 2019 City Council resolution declaring a climate emergency in response to current and expected future climate impacts, including increases in extreme heat, drought, tree mortality, wildfire and flooding. In addition, the CAAP complies with California legislation to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, address climate adaptation and incorporate environmental justice enacted since 2010, including Senate Bills 379 (2015) and 1000 (2018); Executive Order B-55-18; California Air Resources Board 2017 Scoping Plan; and Office of Planning and Research General Plan Guidelines.

    “We all have a responsibility to take care of our environment as stewards for future generations,” said Mayor Lucas Frerichs. “Toward this goal, the CAAP will further develop and elevate the City’s commitment, advocacy and leadership to climate action and sustainability.”

    Started in January 2021, the process for the CAAP is nearing the final stages of completion with this draft document community review period, to be followed by a finalized adopted CAAP and environmental review targeted for December 2022. Community engagement continues to be an integral component of developing and implementing the CAAP actions and have included multiple community workshops, presentations to community partners, ‘pop-up’ meetings downtown, online surveys, an online community forum, a dedicated City website and monthly progress reports to City Commissions. Additionally, an external Technical Advisory Committee met eight times over the last year to provide input and expertise on the process and content of the CAAP. Through these efforts, the CAAP’s project management team was able to be responsive to local experts, community suggestions, information requests and adjust products and schedules in response to public input, all indicative of the importance of the community-based approach in developing the CAAP update. 

    The CAAP describes achievable, measurable GHG emissions reduction and climate change adaptation actions that align with the City’s goals and priorities. When implemented, these actions will reduce GHG emissions by 42% below 2016 levels by 2030 and set the community on a trajectory toward its 2040 carbon neutrality goal. The CAAP actions will also prepare the community for climate change impacts, improve public safety, address environmental justice and enhance the quality of life for residents.

    To submit a comment for the community review period, visit: https://cityofdavis.org/davis-CAAP-survey. To read the CAAP, visit:  https://www.cityofdavis.org/sustainability/2020-climate-action-and-adaptation-plan-caap. Contact the Sustainability Coordinator Kerry Loux at: caap@cityofdavis.org.

  • CONCERT ON THE LAWN

    Greg Erba_wide
    FRIDAY JULY 29 at 6:45pm
    at Lutheran Church of the Incarnation:
    1701 Russell Blvd. Davis, 95616

    Join us for a Concert on the West Lawn of Lutheran Church of the Incarnation on Friday, July 29 at 6:45pm! The concert will feature Greg Erba, a native of Woodland, and alum of the Davis High Jazz Band, who is now a professional country rock musician in L.A. Greg will play some of his own music, and be joined by a cadre of musicians from LCI and Davis Lutheran, who will play some old favorites and bring a bit of summer joy into our community. Blankets, lawn chairs and/or picnic food is welcome – as are friends and neighbors. See you Friday!

  • Kelsey Fortune Announces Her Candidacy for Davis City Council in District 1

    Fortune_smaler

    >>from press release<<

    I am honored to announce my candidacy for Davis City Council in District 1.

    I was raised in small town Wisconsin to believe everyone should play an active role in shaping their community. I moved to Davis nine years ago to pursue my PhD in economics, determined to live in accordance with my values for respect, inclusion, and sustainability. I use my bicycle as my main form of transportation and have woven close relationships with a wide variety of people through my involvement in our community. I volunteer my time as the Associate Director of Purple Tree Cafe and on the Boards of Bike Davis and Cool Davis.

    Faced with a climate emergency that threatens to exacerbate already unacceptable levels of inequality and is currently degrading our environment, I believe our diverse and compassionate community is our greatest strength. I see untapped potential for progress and action in the City of Davis. The people and elected leaders who came before us laid the groundwork for a vibrant, sustainable community, and our city government and citizenry can again become an example of an equitable and effective response.

    The city is also faced with an unsustainable budget, a public safety and justice system that does not best serve the people, an extreme dearth of both affordable and dedicated low-income housing, and lack of transparency, effective communication, and action from our City Council. Our children’s future depends on our ability to act now to address these problems.

    That’s why I’m running for Davis City Council in District 1.

    ______________________________________________________

    For more information, contact FortuneForDavis@gmail.com,  530-220-2001

  • City Hid Data to Justify New Locations for Arroyo Park Sky Track

     Quote 2by: Janet and Joe Krovoza

    Regarding Arroyo Park’s Sky Track, here’s the latest reveal: data omitted from a March 1, 2022 noise report shows that for the three years of the Sky Track’s use, the apparatus has been in constant violation of the city’s noise standard of 55/50 dBA (day/night). This same data shows that alternative locations in Arroyo Park will violate the noise ordinance – day and night.

    Last December, the city’s Acoustic Group, Inc. (AGI) consultants collected, but then buried, the relevant maximum (Lmax) noise data from the new March 1 report. With the Lmax data conveniently missing from its 40 pages, the AGI report continued the city’s bizarre use of average noise (measured in Leq) and the equally necessary policy assertion that “Maximum Noise Level (dBA)” explicitly stated in the ordinance really meant “average.” This theoretically allowed for a potential new Sky Track location in Arroyo Park to squeak by within .5 dBA of compliance.

    Confronted again on its use of Leq and their it-says-maximum-but-means-average trick, staff refuses to own their mistaken decision and they are now asking the Rec and Park Commission to clean up their mess by endorsing a reinterpretation of the noise ordinance that will increase every noise maximum in the city by 20 dBA – huge increases on a logarithmic scale, with citywide implications. This 20 dBA increase would apply to residential, commercial/industrial, and high traffic corridor noise – all in the name of placing an amusement park caliber apparatus close to homes. We lay this out further below.  

    (more…)

  • Tired of False Promises

    Untitled drawing(1)If you’ve been paying attention, you might be wondering just exactly what to believe these days – are we dealing with fact or fiction? Disinformation? Marketing or just good-old-fashioned propaganda?

    There is no better season to witness this phenomena than an election season. By the time you have read this letter (submitted, but not printed in the Enterprise), you will have already casted your vote but the feeling is likely still present.

    Case in point: Measure H

    Will it be a traffic-easer or clustermess of epic proportions? Planet-savior or climate nightmare? The future of Green Development(™) or the latest corporate ‘Greenwash’? Will I get a free pony?

    The Yes campaign says that it will ‘advance environmental sustainability’, ‘combat climate change’, and be a ‘carbon-free development’. The only concrete information on their website about this is a 100% renewable energy commitment (for the shell buildings).

    The No campaign cites an estimated 12,000 extra cars on the road, a net 5% INCREASE in carbon emissions in Davis, and that ‘carbon neutrality’ can only happen via purchasing of offsets, instead of…you know, actually figuring out how to do sustainable development.

    Dan Carson, a member of the City Council in Davis, took it upon himself (with legal fees from Measure H campaign funders) to sue members of the No on H team and lost badly in court. To me, this is a totally inappropriate, unethical, and undemocratic behavior by an official elected to serve the people.

    Yolo County and the City of Davis have both passed Climate Emergency Resolutions, boldly setting goals to be fossil-free and climate-positive by 2030 and 2040, respectively. In reality, we’ve seen close to 2 years go by without significant progress towards climate drawdown or ecological restoration. Even with everything going on in the present moment, it still makes me wonder me how an emergency response can be put on the back-burner like that.

    The recent 4-1 approval by the Yolo County Board of Supervisors of a new 30 year extractive gravel-mining project in the Cache Creek Watershed, the lifeblood of Yolo County, makes me wonder if we are being handed more false promises and rose colored sunglasses.

    Thank G-d for Juliette Beck running for Yolo County Supervisor, who does not just put in lip service, but is present in addressing the urgency of this moment and helping to steer us into meaningful ACTION. She was the only candidate in her race to vocally oppose the mining project. I have the upmost confidence in her leadership ability, experience, and drive as a mother to include us in a viable way forward.

    The time for action is now and it requires our participation and critical thinking.

    Thank you -David Abramson

  • Misrepresentations of the Yes on H/Yes on DiSC campaign

    Yes-on-H-mailer-cropped-annotatedBy Colin Walsh

    The Vanguard published a guest commentary by Jackson Mills, “Debunking Deceptive Descriptions of DiSC in No on H Campaign Messaging,” on Tuesday morning. But it’s the commentary itself that is deceptive.

    Ironically Mr. Mills himself chooses to mislead people in his selection of an outdated illustration to lead the article. It is notable that the illustration used with this article is from the previous DISC proposal and is certainly not an accurate picture of the current DiSC proposal. The water feature in this picture is an idealized version of the drainage ditch that ran through the middle of the previous project (it also shows far more water than there ever would have been). The drainage ditch does not run through the project in the current iteration. And the drainage ditch certainly doesn’t support paddle boarding as depicted on the Yes on H mailers.

    The Vanguard has done nothing to address the Misrepresentations of the Yes on H campaign. Those claims have included such outrageous exaggerations and misinformation such as:

    Measure H “helps our community fight the housing crisis” – DiSC will have over 2,400 employees, and by the City’s own documents only 187 will live in the onsite housing. That adds over 2,200 additional people looking for housing in Davis, adding pressure to our already incredibly tight Davis housing market.

    (more…)

  • Sunday Jams

    IMG_5703_smlr"Sunday Jams” at Lutheran Church of the Incarnation (LCI)

    On Sunday, May 1 at 11:30 am, nine people came together to make some folk music at Lutheran Church of the Incarnation (LCI) shortly after its 9:30am worship service and 10:30 education and coffee hour.  Many brought instruments: guitars and ukuleles could be seen, there was a piano and many voices.  Each brought their own favorite folk songs to share with the others, and the group quickly caught on, singing Irish folk tunes, classics like “Shenandoah”, “This Land is your Land”, “Blowin’ in the Wind”, “If I had a Hammer” and many others.  
     
    It was a moment to share something deeply needed among this fellowship of friends, and perhaps in our world today: unity through the healing power of the arts.  “Sunday Jams” is a tradition that will continue at LCI: the next jam session will be Sunday May 22 at 12:00 noon, playing the music of the Beatles.  All are welcome!  LCI is at 1701 Russell Blvd. Davis, 95616 (corner of Russell & Arthur, just west of 113).  
     

    (more…)

  • Earth Fashion

    IMG_3923

    Earth Day at The Wardrobe

    By Colin Walsh

    A large crowd gathered on D street as the lilting flutes of Paddy on the Binge and the melodic voice of Skyler Blakeslee floated over Downtown Davis. Earth Day in downtown Davis drew a respectable crowd of earth stewards, well-wishers and fashionistas.  A blend that makes absolute sense when you come to know the values and practices of The Wardrobe and its proprietor Heather Caswell.

    “Slow Fashion” that ranges from elegant to beautiful and is sensibly sourced with much of the to die for clothing coming from local artisans and companies with sustainable practices.

    The gathering was punctuated with thoughtful speakers from the local community including, Larry Gunther, Nancy Price, Delaine Eastin, Juliette Beck, Jonathan Greenberg and Eliot Larson. All speakers were excellent, but keynote speaker Elliot Larson stole the show.

    (more…)

  • Carson goes after citizens in court — again

    AppleFor Immediate Release  – April 19, 2022

    From No on Davis Innovation and Sustainability Campus – No on Measure H

    Re: Carson lawyers file motion seeking to deny legal fees to opponents of the Davis Innovation and Sustainability Campus (DiSC) after his lawsuit failed to substantively change the No on Measure H ballot statement

    _____________

    Councilmember Dan Carson revealed this week that he intends to go after Davis residents in court again.

    In court documents filed late Monday, Carson said he wants the six residents who signed the ballot statement against Measure H to pay his attorney's fees even though his lawsuit seeking to water down their No on H ballot argument was largely unsuccessful.  Carson is demanding fees despite the fact that Dan Ramos, the developer behind the Measure H DiSC project, has already admitted publicly that he footed the bill for Carson's lawsuit.

    The Attorney for the No on Measure H campaign Beverly Grossman Palmer stated, “As I previously indicated, it is very unusual for a sitting councilmember to sue over a ballot argument.  To seek fees against his own constituents for defending their right to present their views to the voters would be even more shocking, should Councilmember Carson file this threatened motion for attorney's fees.”

     Roberta Millstein, one of the authors of the ballot statement challenged in Carson’s lawsuit stated, “Carson’s developer backed lawsuit will have the effect of stifling Davis’s long tradition of engaged citizen participation. Who will want to sign a ballot statement in the future if a developer can fund a punitive lawsuit against them? Carson's lawsuit sets a terrible precedent.”

    Alan Pryor, Principal Officer of the No on H campaign and one of the authors of the ballot statement stated, “Fortunately, Carson’s opposition brief is unlikely to be successful because it is clearly in the public interest for Davis voters to be able to write truthful ballot statements advocating against developments.” A judge is scheduled to hear the arguments from both sides on April 29th at Yolo County Superior Court.

    The DiSC project is an outdated freeway offramp project that will put 12,000 additional cars on Mace Blvd. every day and increase greenhouse gas emissions by the City of Davis by 5%. The citizens of Davis already voted down the first iteration of this project less than 2 years ago.

    Carson sought to have more than 80 words of the 300-word ballot statement against Measure H stricken. On March 30, 2022 Yolo County Superior Court Judge McGuire overwhelmingly ruled against Carson, making only 2 small changes suggested by the No on H campaign itself. One change simply modified the type of unit used to express the amount of greenhouse gases that would be produced by the project – similar to expressing a value in dollars rather than cents. The other change involved the following paragraph, which Carson had asked to be deleted:

    “The Developer has made almost no binding commitments and has no viable ways to improve this traffic mess. Their only promise is to develop a Traffic Demand Management Plan if the project is approved. But figuring this traffic mess out later is not a plan!”

     The judge let the first and third sentences of that paragraph stand as they were; the second sentence changed the word only and it now reads, "They promise to develop a Traffic Demand Management Plan if the project is approved" – at best a slight change in meaning from the original.

     In dismissing Carson’s claims the judge also found the following arguments against DiSC were neither false or misleading:

    “Rejected only 19 months ago by voters, DiSC is back. But it is still an autocentric, freeway-oriented, downtown–threatening project. It still has overwhelming traffic and environmental problems, and it is still non-compliant with the City of Davis General Plan.”

     Indeed, during the hearing, Carson's lawyer admitted that DiSC 2022 would not be compliant with the City of Davis's General Plan as it exists today.

    The judge also let the heading, "Unmitigated Greenhouse Gas Emissions" stand, as well as the statements, “Locally we are reeling from the debilitating impacts of drought and terrifying wildfires caused by dramatically increasing carbon emissions” and “DiSC alone will increase the City’s carbon footprint by almost 5%, completely derailing the City’s ability to meet its carbon-neutral goal by 2040.”

    The No on H Campaign believes Councilmember Dan Carson has grossly overstepped his role and blurred the lines between his elected office and his personal advocacy for a development project.

  • A Treeless DiSC?

    Trees2Developer Proposes Baseline of Zero Trees Planted in New DiSC Development

    The below letter was sent to the Davis City Council regarding a lack of commitment to planting trees in the massive new development. The Davis City Council takes up DiSC 2022 at the Feb. 1 meeting. You can find the agenda here. The agenda contains information for how to view the meeting and offer public comment. The DiSC proposal can be found here.

    ________________

    Dear Davis City Council,

    The below letter is informed by my work on the Tree Commission and on the Tree Commission subcommittee on DiSC 2022, but represents my own point of view, though others on the Tree Commission may share it.

    Initially I was encouraged to hear the DiSC project was adopting a goal of planting 1,500 trees as the Tree Commission recommended. Then I read the actual language of the proposed baseline feature,
    "The Project will add no less than 1,500 new trees to the City’s urban forest to sequester carbon, improve mental health, deter the heat island effect, and provide shading. If less than 1,500 trees are planted onsite, Developer will ensure that the remainder will be planted elsewhere in Davis."
     
    This baseline feature actually commits to planting zero trees in the project itself. The Baseline has no baseline. The language is carefully crafted to commit to only adding trees to "the City's urban forest." The language allows for every single tree to be "planted elsewhere in Davis." The baseline features make no commitment to any number of trees in the project itself. That is totally and completely unacceptable. The vast majority of these 1,500 trees, if not all of these trees, need to be planted in the DiSC project itself.
     
    The ground for planting a tree is the hardest part to come by for planting a new tree, if the developer doesn't commit to planting these trees in the project itself, there is little prospect of planting 1,500 trees elsewhere in the City of Davis anytime soon. The DiSC Baseline Features and Development Agreement provide no mechanism for planting trees "elsewhere in Davis" and no enforcement for assuring trees are planted and maintained elsewhere. That is a further reason why committing to zero trees actually planted in the project is entirely unacceptable.

    (more…)