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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: Roberta Millstein

  • Will the City press UCD for more, and more affordable, on-campus housing?

    By Roberta Millstein

    Middle earth. 2

    Middle Earth Tower, UC Irvine: Opened Fall 2019, one 7-story building, houses 490 students

    As Colin Walsh documented in his article on last week’s “town hall” meeting between UC Davis, the City of Davis, and Yolo Country, the meeting was unfortunate in a number of respects and failed to fully engage housing issues on UCD’s campus.  The event was followed by a pat-ourselves-on-the-back-for-a-job-well-done op-ed from Chancellor May, Mayor Lee, and Supervisor Saylor.

    Last night’s Council meeting gave Councilmembers “another bite at the apple” – another chance to ask about on-campus housing – with a UCD Financial Overview agenda item.

    What happened?

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  • Heads up on more City housing discussions

    By Roberta Millstein

    This is just a brief post to let Davisites know about some upcoming housing-related discussions.  At 6 PM on Tuesday (Oct 22) just prior to the regular Council meeting in the Community Chambers, there will be a City Council and Planning Commission Joint Discussion.  The two planned topics of discussion are:

    • Should there be policy preference for work force housing over student-oriented housing?
    • What is the future direction for affordable housing in Davis, including at risk housing, and with the nature of the interim housing policy, what should be enforced?

    Other housing-related items will be covered during the regular Council meeting.

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  • City Council makes promises about proposal for business park outside of Mace Curve

    ARC-location-overviewGood outcomes in spite of bad process at Council meeting

    By Roberta Millstein

    As I and others had requested, at Tuesday’s meeting the Council pulled the items concerning the Mace Ranch Innovation Center (MRIC)/Aggie Research Center (ARC) from the Consent Calendar, meaning that there could be a brief presentation, public comment, and discussion and vote from the Council.  Unfortunately, it got personal and unpleasant at times (more on that below).  But there were a number of good outcomes from the meeting.

    My main reasons for wanting the items pulled was to let more Davisites know that the City was moving forward with the ARC, to inform people that there was a project description available on the City’s website, and to get more information about what was going to happen moving forward.  Those goals were achieved on Tuesday.

    In particular:

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  • City moving forward on 200 acre business park outside of Mace Curve

    Aggie Research Center (formerly, Mace Ranch Innovation Center) on Tuesday’s Council Consent Calendar

    ARC-location

    Location of proposed ARC, with sunflowers and corn. Picture taken by R. Millstein 9/2019

    By Roberta Millstein

    Back in June, I noted that developers had asked the City to resume processing their application for a massive ~200 acre business park on prime farmland outside of (i.e., to the east of) the Mace Curve.  Things were mostly quiet over the summer.  Now, with a pair of items on the Tuesday City Council Consent Calendar, the City is moving forward on this application before the project has even been presented publicly. 

    The Council agenda notes, “All matters listed under the Consent Calendar are considered routine and non-controversial, require no discussion and are expected to have unanimous Council support and may be enacted by the Council in one motion in the form listed below” (emphasis added).

    Item A on the Calendar concerning the so-called “Aggie Research Center” (or ARC; formerly Mace Ranch Innovation Center, or MRIC) authorizes “the City Manager to enter into a contract with Economic and Planning Services (EPS) to prepare an updated study of the market demand assumptions, the economic impact analysis, the fiscal impact analysis, and the financial feasibility analysis and public financing evaluation for the Aggie Research Campus.”  Item E on the Calendar appoints a City Council subcommittee for the project (Partida/Carson).

    Yet ARC proposal has not been presented to City (at least not publicly), its Commissions, or its citizens.  The ARC proposal has been modified from the previous one – which was also not fully vetted (see link at the beginning of this article).  Why is the City planning on moving forward with the proposal without discussion and public input?

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  • Fine food and fun at the StrEatery

    Can this be a quarterly event?

    By Roberta Millstein

    On Thursday evening, the Davis Food Co-op and Land & Ladle, in partnership with COOL Cuisine Davis, put on an event dubbed the StrEatery, held adjacent to the Co-op on 6th St. About a dozen food trucks were there, offering cuisines ranging from Mexican to Filipino to Hawaiian and more. Beer and wine were also available.

    What follows are some photos and my idiosyncratic impressions from the event. I'm sure others had different experiences, and I encourage them to share those in the comments.

    But my main question is, when do we do this again?  There were too many good choices and only so much room in my stomach!  Maybe this should be a quarterly event?

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  • City releases election district draft maps

    Maps available here. Public input needed!

    By Roberta Millstein

    Today, the City of Davis released five draft maps for proposed districts for future City Council elections: three 5-district maps and two 7-district maps.  Recall from my previous post that it may be difficult to change the number of districts once the City decides, so that decision itself is as important, if not more important, than the maps themselves.

    The maps are below, with their relevant data.  You can click on any image to enlarge it.

    Important deadlines are coming soon for the City’s District Election process:

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  • Irony abounds at Davis City Council meeting: Armored Rescue Vehicle and Communication

    ARVIs the City really committed to better communication?

    By Roberta Millstein

    At its Tuesday meeting, the Davis City Council received a detailed presentation about how the City can improve its communication.  Then the Council immediately threw that information out the window and approved an Armored Rescue Vehicle (ARV).

    The presentation on communications was detailed and professional.  Among its recommendations was to make use of City Commissions whose members “are very engaged and are uniquely qualified to help serve as City messengers in the community and disseminate updated information.” The report also outlined many venues through which the City can communicate better with its residents, including communicating with residents that are otherwise difficult to reach.

    The Council seemed to receive this presentation positively, asking only a few questions of clarification.

    Then late in the meeting – around 10:30 PM – the City began the agenda item to discuss whether the City should acquire an ARV. After a presentation from Chief Pytel, the City took public comment. It was scathing.

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  • Davis rejected the MRAP – should it buy an ARV instead?

    ARVThe following letter was submitted to the Davis City Council by email on September 23, 2019.

    Dear Davis City Councilmembers,

    I am writing to express my views on Item 09 of September 24th's agenda, concerning the obtainment of an Armored Rescue Vehicle.

    After the huge outcry and discussion over the MRAP, I am extremely surprised to see that this is being proposed as a recommended purchase by staff. I would have thought that staff would recognize Davisites' great interest in such issues, and would have scheduled time for discussion and getting citizen input before making a recommendation. I urge you not to make a decision at the Sept 24 meeting but to instead use it to get input and discuss, allowing for further input after the meeting.

    In the absence of that discussion, my own view is that the ARV is a MRAP-lite.

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  • Davisites, it’s time to draw your district maps

    Productive Saturday meeting has some surprises

    By Roberta Millstein

    Yesterday I attended the first half of the Sept 21 Community Workshop on City Council District Elections. There were about 12 Davisites in attendance. 

    Paul Mitchell gave a similar presentation to the ones that had he had given at two previous City Council meetings, but with two very positive and welcome changes: not only was there a bit more detail, but also we had the chance to ask him questions and follow-up questions. 

    After the presentation, attendees were encouraged to try to draw their own district maps of 5 or 7 districts, using the principles outlined (see here), emphasizing especially the need to have contiguous districts of roughly equal size.  According to the procedure outlined, the demographer will take these maps into consideration when proposing draft maps for citizens and the City Council to look at. 

    What follows is an assortment of things that were “news to me” and hopefully will be of interest to other Davisites, concerning: 1) combining North Davis with Wildhorse, 2) precinct-level data vs. census-block level data, 3), the importance of getting the number of districts right, and 4) possible consequences of 2022 re-districting.

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  • Great turnout for Davis’s climate strike

    Davis's students lead the way

    By Roberta Millstein

    Joining climate strikes around the world, yesterday Davis's students led a march of their own, starting at the Veteran's Memorial Center and heading down B Street to collect in Central Park for speeches and activities.  Our students did us proud, with many Davisite adults showing up to support them as well.  Although the concerns and fears expressed are serious and real, it was a positive event in that we were all out there to connect with each other and work for a common cause. 

    This is not the first climate-related event in Davis and hopefully it will not be the last. In particular, we need to press the City to follow through on its Climate Emergency Resolution of March 2019. 

    Here are some pictures from the beginning, middle, and end of the event.

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