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

Category: Environment

  • Davis needs to do better at protecting its sensitive and endangered species

    There is still a chance to preserve and restore habitats to help native species recover, including at Village Farms

    By Kathryn Calderala

    Environmentalism – Still a dirty word for some. A category Davis has a long history of claiming to embrace when the results show otherwise. As one example (and there are many); Davis used to be the proud stewards of a healthy population of Western Burrowing Owls – those pint-sized, ground dwelling owls perched on fence posts and signs. Almost everyone I have met since I moved here told me how they used to see owls everywhere. Yet now the species is almost gone from the county (no, they are not at Wildhorse anymore). They are considered extirpated – no longer nesting here and we are lucky to see a handful of individuals trying to overwinter in the area before moving on. Mostly they have been done in by the strange apathy that pervades the area.

    If a pint-sized owl – that lives underground and has more charisma than most species – can’t be a priority, what hope do all the other dwindling native species have? The California Tiger Salamander – an icon of the state. The Vernal Pool Tadpole Shrimp – a straightup throwback to prehistoric design, trundling around like mini horseshoe crabs. The Western Spadefoot Toad – a cat-eyed chunk of toad that smells like peanuts when they are mad. If we, as a community, cannot rouse ourselves enough to fight for the underdogs, what hope do we have for the future?

    (more…)

  • I Did Not Endorse Measure V

    By Rena Nayyar

    I have recently learned that, without my knowledge or permission, I have been put on an endorsement list for Yes on Measure V (Village Farms).  How did this happen?  I have actively opposed Measure V (Village Farms) from the beginning because of its many problems even though I am a teacher in Davis concerned about school closures. 

    I have spoken in opposition to the Village Farms project due to its many impacts at multiple city and school board meetings, the local Sierra Club group, and to the Davis Teacher’s Association.  I have even helped table at the NO booth at the Farmer’s Market, and donated to the No campaign.  So, how could my name have possibly been put on an endorsement list?  How many other “endorsers” are also unknowingly on this Yes on Measure V list as well?  

    (more…)

  • Village Farms – Much To Do About (Developer Double-)Crossings

    Original visual used by Yes on V of Village Farms to North Star bridge, now deleted.

    by Tuvia ben Olam DBA Todd Edelman

    l lived in the Czech Republic for about seven years – where I did similar mobility curmudgeon work as I do here, BUT everyone from local district mayors to engineering company bosses liked me because my father is Slovak and I’m Jewish… but mostly because I was an activist with constructive ideas. Imagine that!

    In the Czech Language the term for “communication” generally encompasses systems and technology for things like the Internet and physical transportation infrastructure, for example…. bridges!

    In that framework or lens I offer now a hopefully somewhat fresh look at bridges and the communication about bridges connected with projects of the Seven Generational Families of Davis (Henceforth: The Seven).

    Still, the obvious place to start is Promenade (Formerly Known as Nishi)…

    I’m binging GoT right now. That’s all.

    The Bridge of Friendship between The Seven and Union Pacific

    In a May 16th Op-Ed for the Davis Vanguard – its title is the basis for mine for this article – The Seven’s Sandy Whitcombe refers to the claim of Measure V opponents that “… Union Pacific Railroad (henceforth: UP) is holding up a grade-separated crossing”. She then says she wishes that the opponents “…asked us first…” about it.

    Well, back in December 2017 during my first meeting on the Bicycling, Transportation and Street Safety Commission (BTSSC – the predecessor to the Transportation Commission), the then Assistant City Manager Ashley Feeney told us that City had a good relationship with UP and it would likely be possible to have a level crossing between Arboretum Drive and Nishi. Later on, as the proposal moved through Council’s approval step in County annexation and then towards the popular vote, the documents for the project referred to a “grade-separated crossing” but the main imagery I recall – and could find in a search – was an undercrossing. 

    Visual by Promenade (Nishi) proponents from 2017 or so.

    (more…)

  • Village Farms Flood Analysis Is Behind the Times

    Ponding at the Wildhorse Agricultural Buffer during winter storm.

    By Marjorie Longo

    Water doesn’t care about property lines—it flows wherever the land takes it. That’s why flood studies shouldn’t stop at property lines. However, the Village Farms flood analysis mostly focuses on the project itself and a few broader downstream areas (https://www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/community-development/development-projects/village-farms-davis). It does not show detailed results for existing neighborhoods—the places where people actually live, drive, and may need emergency access. Where are the post-Village Farms flood maps for Wildhorse, North Davis, or the streets south of Covell?  A few extra inches of water during a storm can mean the difference between a dry home and a flooded one, or between a passable road and a blocked evacuation route.

    While the Village Farms flood analysis provides numbers for farmland and shows water pooling on the Wildhorse Golf Course and Wildhorse Agricultural Buffer, it doesn’t answer the key question residents have: what happens on my street?  When the next atmospheric river is dumping on Davis, runoff spreads broadly over our flat topography. And inches of extra flood water add thousands of dollars of damage to flooded homes and can mean the difference between muddy flood water in your home or not.

    (more…)

  • Village Farms Davis: Why I Differ With Councilmember Deos

    By Greg Rowe

    This article responds to the endorsement of the Village Farms project by Councilmember Linda Deos, published by The Davisite and the Davis Vanguard on May 9. Deos was appointed to the planning commission during my tenure as chair.  While dealing with many complex planning issues and projects, Linda impressed me as thoughtful, articulate and deeply caring about her community. It was therefore with pleasure that I subsequently endorsed her city council candidacy. 

    I continue to applaud Linda’s council performance, and share her concern that Davis must become a viable, vibrant home for new residents without losing its soul and core values. Along with Mayor Donna Neville, Deos had the demanding task of negotiating the development agreement (DA), ballot baseline project features, and other legal documents for the Village Farms Davis (VFD) project.

    Among Linda’s reasons for endorsing VFD are the grade-separated bicycle and pedestrian crossings of F Street and Pole Line Road, and preservation of the 47-acre alkali playa wetland habitat.  As explained below, these project components are not due to any benevolence or authentic community commitment on the part of the developer (North Davis Land Company, LLC).  These requirements were, in fact, imposed on the developer as a condition of placing the project on the June ballot. In the case of the alkali playa wetland habitat, specimens collected in the 1950s by UC Davis faculty and historical aerial photography clearly demonstrate that the existence of this rare habitat should have been known to the developer.

    (more…)

  • Would Village Farms affect water quality in the rest of Davis?

    By Matt Williams

    Regarding Measure V, one of the issues the Village Farms development brings to the forefront is the availability of water.  

    The water right of the Woodland Davis Clean Water Agency (WDCWA), which serves Davis, is a “junior” permit not a “senior” permit.  In “perfect” years (years without drought or low snowpack impacts) the permit authorizes WDCWA to utilize UP TO 45,000 acre feet of water per year. 

    The words “up to” are wiggle words, just like the wiggle words “may” and “if” in the Baseline Features of Measure V.

    However, 45,000 almost never happens because very few years are absent any drought impacts. As a result, WDCWA’s surface water diversions have been consistently and significantly limited during summer months and other dry periods. 

    During these times, to backfill what it isn’t allowed to divert, WDCWA utilizes up to 10,000 acre feet of water under a “senior” water right purchased from the Conaway Preservation Group. 

    However the 10,000 acre feet are significantly less than the number of acre feet that are not allowed to be diverted under the terms of WDCWA’s “junior water right.”

    How does that affect Davis water users … humans and plants alike?

    (more…)

  • Pro and con arguments concerning Village Farms in the Wary One

    By Roberta Millstein

    This isn’t an article so much as it is a pointer to two other articles in The Wary One. As most Davisites know, Bob Dunning left the Davis Enterprise (and his Wary Eye column) for Substack and his reborn newsletter The Wary Eye in 2024 — Bob tells the story here.

    As a special feature, Bob solicited two new essays on Village Farms, free and open to everyone, no subscription needed. I was the person he asked to write a “no” essay, even though (as I made clear in my essay) I am not working on the “no” campaign. I focused on the question of affordable housing and whether the project is well-designed for our climate crisis. The “yes” essay was written by Sandy Whitcombe, one of the developers of Village Farms.

    I very much appreciate the opportunity to guest write for The Wary One and also appreciate his willingness to try to engage the community in discussion. (In honor of Bob, the previous sentence does not end with an exclamation point).

    You can find the two essays here: https://www.thewaryone.com/p/today-we-present-two-essays-on-measure/comment/258381824

  • The Future of Davis is Rooted in Community: Why I Support Village Farms

    By Linda Deos

    As a member of the Davis City Council, my primary responsibility is to look toward the horizon. I am constantly asking: How do we preserve the soul of the city we love while ensuring it remains a viable, vibrant home for the next generation? Since the initial planning application for Village Farms was submitted in April 2023, I have engaged deeply with the details, the data, and—most importantly—the residents.

    Over the last three years, this project has undergone rigorous public scrutiny, environmental review, and repeated refinement. After witnessing this collaborative process and reviewing the robust commitments secured in the project’s Baseline Features, I am proud to support Measure V. Village Farms Davis is not just another housing development; it is a meticulously planned extension of our community values.

    (more…)

  • Measure V is a Very Bad Idea

    By Glen Holstein

    The Environmental Impact Report provided by the Village Farms consortium includes the following: “groundwater beneath the project site…appears to have been impacted by the former landfill…Eight contaminants were found to exceed the Maximum Contaminant Level…detected …PFAS…compounds and manganese appear to originate from the Old Davis Landfill.  Three PFAS compounds exceeded their…USEPA water quality standards…Anomalously high…groundwater elevations were reported…for…dry seasons…the depth to water…was reported as 9.93 feet on September…elevations…not typical of dry-season conditions.”

    Despite their own EIR’s abundant evidence Village Farms consortium plans to invite home buyers to live just a few feet above toxic groundwater, which it has consistently either ignored or minimized.  The resulting potential outcome is no mystery.  A New York state school district  first built schools in such a place. and then arranged for homes to be built there as well so families would fill the schools.  The only problem was that when the toxic groundwater rose in elevation, as it often does, kids and their parents living there ended up in hospitals instead of classrooms.

    This Love Canal disaster of the 1970’s was so notorious it led to Superfund legislation, but those who made it happen could at least honestly claim nothing like it had ever happened before.  Those who fast tracked Village Farms in Davis, however, have no such excuse.

    (more…)

  • What does “No on Measure V” really stand for?

    By Matt Williams

    For Davisite readers, the following is a response to an Alan Pryor post that made the following accusation, “Grass Roots” is not an accurate description of the opposition to Village Farms. How do you spell “NIMBY”? It is not spelled “Grass-roots”! (see https://nextdoor.com/p/9nSwSrmBTckW/c/1585068648?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=1776984857876&share_action_id=a32ff6cd-07c2-4764-a989-a686060c125a)
     
    Alan, is there a reason you are deploying the “If you can’t address the message, attack the messenger” tactic?  There are very few NIMBYs in No on Measure V.   That is very clear in the unifying principles of No on Measure V, which were just yesterday presented to DTA, the DJUSD teachers union, and are anything but NIMBY, specifically:

    (more…)