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Category: Housing

  • UCD’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) for Campus Growth Falls Short

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    Photo credit: Davis Wiki

    By Greg Rowe

     UC Davis recently released its draft 2018 Long Range Development Plan for guiding campus growth through 2030-31. Unfortunately, it lacks important detail and substance. Most important, the plan falls short of housing 50% of the anticipated 39,000 student enrollment called for in resolutions adopted by City Council, Yolo County Board of Supervisors, ASUCD Senate and the local Sierra Club.

    The LRDP says 18,318 students will ultimately live on campus, or 47% of 2030 enrollment. This is 1,182 short of the 19,500 that would represent 50% residing on campus. This is not insignificant; each 1% shortfall means another 390 students seeking off campus housing in Davis and other cities after freshman year.

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  • The real costs of Nishi for taxpayers; misleading overstatements on ballot arguments in favor of Nishi

    Matt-Williams-PBEBy Matt Williams

    In the 2015-16 deliberations about the Nishi 2016 proposal, the City’s economic consultant EPS presented to the Finance and Budget Commission (FBC) its initial model of costs and revenues, which showed a $78,000 deficit fiscal impact for the City in the first year of full buildout, which later grew to $106,000 after correction of a math error in the model.  The FBC rightly noted that $106,000 annual deficit would come out of the pockets of Davis taxpayers.

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    In the robust discussion that ensued, some of the FBC members argued that the discussion should include a “cash accounting” approach in addition to the “full life-cycle accounting” approach EPS was using in their model.  The explanation was that many of the expenses included in the EPS model had already been “pre-spent” by the City and would not have to be immediately re-spent. FBC member Dan Carson calculated an estimated amount of $734,000 per year (out of an estimated total expense budget of $1,532,000), which was a 48% reduction.

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  • Money to sell Nishi 2.0 to voters, but no money for air quality testing for Nishi residents

    Pileofmoney-croppedBy Gilbert Coville and Roberta Millstein

    Davis residents have now received a second glossy multi-page mailer in support of the Nishi 2.0 project. Most likely, there will be more to come. How do proponents of Nishi spend their money? What are their priorities?

    In local elections in California, campaign finance reports are filed with the local municipality. Here in Davis, these forms are viewable on the eCampaign Public Access system accessed from the City of Davis website’s Financial Disclosures page.

    When trying to influence an election, corporations are required to report any related expenses as independent expenditures.

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  • Environmental Injustice is Health Injustice

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    by Nancy Price

    Let’s Implement the Human Right to Health in Davis!

    Recently, Roberta Millstein’s “Nishi 2.0 is an environmental injustice” article in the Davis Enterprise emphasized once again the problems of air quality at the Nishi site, and reminded us of the EPA definition of environmental justice – “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin or income, with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.”   

    It’s worth noting that the EPA began operation in late December 1970, right after the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970. Clearly, their definition embraces the Human Right to Health set forth in the United Nation foundational 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights that states: “The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.”  In this country, the National Economic & Social Rights Initiative (nesri.org) and the US Human Rights Network (ushrnetwork.org) also work to implement the Human Right to Health.

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  • Lukewarm and half-hearted support for Nishi from the Davis City Council

    CityCounci-on-NishiExpensive and glossy mailers from the Nishi developer (paid for by "Davis Gateway Student Housing LLC & Affiliated Entities") have begun arriving at Davis addresses. The back of the mailer touts support from "local leaders we trust." These leaders are said to include the five current members of the Davis City Council.

    But how strong is the support of those Councilmembers? Let's review some excerpts from their comments from the meeting where the Council voted to put Nishi on the ballot on 2/6/2018. The video is located here. Numbers in parentheses refer to the approximate time that the Councilmembers' words appear in the video.

    Edit 4/30/2018 to add an edited version of the full video, containing just the clips where City Council members disparage Nishi 2.0.

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  • What does the proposed Nishi project have to do with traffic downtown?

    Nishi-OldDavisRdYesterday, Dan Cornford wrote about how the Nishi project would contribute to traffic and the deterioration of air quality downtown.  People who don't travel these roads frequently might have trouble seeing why that would be the case.  Well, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. 

    If the Nishi project goes through, an underpass would be built under the railroad from the Nishi property to Old Davis Road.  As the graphic shows, there is already significant traffic from Old Davis Rd to First Street and downtown, and onto Richards Blvd.  Cars from the Nishi development – with its 700 parking spaces – would contribute to that traffic as residents drive to and through downtown.

    This is just one of a number of concerns about Nishi.  As I said in an earlier post, the unhealthy air quality experienced by residents because of its location is my primary concern.  But the concerns about traffic and air quality downtown are serious ones and should not be overlooked. 

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  • What Residents of Nishi Won’t Know (Yet It Will Still Hurt Them)

    Screen Shot 2018-04-07 at 9.07.20 PMIf you read the ballot Argument in Favor of Measure J 2018 (that is, the argument in favor of Nishi 2.0, not the Measure J from 2000 that gave Davis citizens the right to vote on projects like Nishi), you will see that it is mostly focused on the issue of student housing. The Rebuttal to the Argument Against Measure J is likewise almost entirely focused on student housing.

    Of course, you should also read the Argument Against Measure J (full disclosure: I am a signer) and the Rebuttal to the Argument in Favor of Measure J. In other words, if you read the arguments in favor of Nishi 2.0, you should also read the arguments against Nishi 2.0.

    But my point here is a different one. When I read the ballot arguments in favor of Nishi 2.0, I am taken back to the day that the City Council voted to put Nishi 2.0 on the ballot. I am reminded of the passion of the students who spoke that evening. That passion caused me to change my planned comments and to instead speak from the heart, not about the students who were there that night, who were well-informed about the project, but the students who were not there. Here are my comments in full. They are not as well-organized or as well-articulated as I would like, but they are sincere. And they still reflect the core of my objections to Nishi 2.0.

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  • On Nishi 2.0: A simple question about fair housing in Davis

    Housing-clipart-_9667858236By Michael Harrington

    Dear City Leaders:
    May I ask a simple question?

    If I want to advertise a rental unit on Craig’s List, and I list if for $1,000 to anyone, but $850 to a full time, card carrying student, everyone knows that as a private owner and lessor, I cannot do this. I cannot do this even if the City thinks it’s fine and gives a City Council 5-0 vote blessing and passing an ordinance.

    This question is not anti-student or anti-student affordable housing. It’s a basic fair housing question.

    So, how is Nishi 2.0 any different than my renting a house to students and non-students, with a 15% discount for being a fulltime student?

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  • Seven FAQs about Nishi Air Quality

    Nishi-pic1. What is the Nishi project?

    Measure J/R gives Davis citizens the right to vote on whether residences (aimed at students, but not exclusively for students) should be built on the Nishi property.  Two years ago, Davis citizens voted down a project at Nishi.  That project had a commercial component and a residential component.  The new project proposal, often called Nishi 2.0, just has a residential component, plus allowances for daycare, nursery, outdoor exercise areas, etc.

    2. Nishi is near a freeway. So what? A number of places in Davis are near freeways.  Do they have bad air quality too?

    Studies show that all sites near freeways suffer from poor air quality.  Quoting a recent LA Times article:

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  • On the Cannery, Housing, and Davis’s Small-Town Feel

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    Source: Davis LocalWiki

    At its February 20 meeting, the City Council was supposed to review a proposal to bring a large, corporate gym to the Cannery, a change to the original proposal that the developer is asking for. The Council decided at the request of the developer to delay the item until March 13, but a number of people gave public comment anyway.

    I found many of these comments to be heartfelt, insightful, and persuasive, but one resonated with me in particular because it was so similar to my own experience, and also because I think it has very far-reaching implications:

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