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Record of Proceedings

City of Davis Planning Commission Meeting - June 26, 2024: Economic Development, Objective Design Standards

City Council & Planning Commission — Wednesday, June 26, 2024

BodyDavis, California

SessionCity Council & Planning Commission

DateWednesday, June 26, 2024

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 3:00:44

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:13

Difficulties at the dais have been addressed.

0:19

So we will call to order this meeting, June 26th, 2024 meeting of the City of Davis Planning Commission.

0:29

In terms of roll call, let the record reflect that with the exception of Jan Troust, everybody is here.

0:38

And I want to take this opportunity to introduce our new alternate planning commissioner who will be voting tonight.

0:57

That I think we've missed since we uh several years ago lost the only member of our planning commission that had an actual academic background in planning.

1:08

And so with that, I will ask her to introduce herself for a few minutes.

1:15

Oh, turn your mic on.

1:17

The green button down there.

1:18

Yay.

1:19

I'm very excited to be here.

1:20

I'll I'll make my intro brief.

1:22

We academics can go on and on and on.

1:24

I'll just say I'm I'm a mother.

1:26

I've got two elementary um and middle school age children, and they're my primary motivation for being here late into the evening, which sounds counterintuitive, but my thought is that what we do here and this body will reflect um in the next 10, 20, 30 years and directly impact them.

1:46

I served on the the downtown uh commission.

1:50

I'm really proud of the work that we collectively did there.

1:53

Um and I I teach two classes on campus, one that are that are focused on planning in Davis, one of which revisits the general plan for the city of Davis.

2:03

So I've done that every year, reading the entire thing cover to cover for nine years now.

2:09

So I'm excited to be here at this moment as we're thinking about general plans.

2:15

And then another little piece that I'll share with you is that um as part of my research, we built a database of California's general plans.

2:23

So now you can look up all 482 city general plans and 58 counties, and any idea that we're thinking about that we think may be cutting edge or interesting, we can cross-check with how other jurisdictions are doing.

2:35

So I'm hoping to bring some of that both compassion and value and also the the expertise because this is the first state-level plan database for any state, first in the nation, first country to first um no countries have it yet either.

2:55

So anyway, I'm delighted to be here tonight and to join you all.

2:58

Thank you.

2:59

Thank you very much.

3:00

And again, I'm just thrilled that you're here.

3:03

Um with that, may we have a motion to approve the agenda.

3:10

Any objections?

3:12

It's approved.

3:13

With that, we will go to item number three, brief announcements from staff commissioners and council liaisons, and I will first uh call upon our council liaison, council member Neville.

3:24

Do you have anything you'd like to add to the meeting?

3:27

Thank you as always for asking, but I don't actually have anything tonight.

3:31

So thank you.

3:32

Thank you for being here.

3:33

We really appreciate it.

3:35

Do uh any commissioners have any uh announcements I unfortunately have uh a sad announcement.

3:44

Um a number of years ago, there was a really good um well, still a very good planning commissioner, um, a real estate attorney named David David Robertson, and then he left and then in 2017 he came back to the commission for another tour of duty.

4:02

And uh I was informed unfortunately that on Monday his wife of 56 years uh passed away.

4:10

And uh I've uh been in contact with him to express my my personal condolences.

4:14

I think there's several of us on the dais here have had an opportunity to to work with Dave in the past, and we didn't always agree, but he brought a real level of uh exactitude and and expertise to the commission.

4:27

And so on behalf of the whole commission, I'd like to extend condolences to Dave Robertson and his family.

4:34

With that, um Dara, do any other staff have announcements or just you?

4:41

I think it's just me, Chair Brew.

4:43

I'm thank you.

4:44

Preface that by saying that um Dara's going to be giving some updates on a number of uh projects that are winding their way through the system.

4:54

And my caution to all of us is that none of those items are on the agenda tonight.

5:00

This is purely an informational item, so we don't really have the prerogative to discuss the information she's imparting.

5:05

So please go ahead.

5:07

Thank you for that.

5:08

Thank you.

5:08

And good evening, Commissioners.

5:10

Jared Denworth, principal planner.

5:12

Uh I'll just go down this this list and be brief.

5:16

Um Village Farms is uh working on revising their project description and looking at some alternatives now that we're through the technical reports, most of the technical reports.

5:28

So we're we're winding into the final uh drafting of the draft EIR, so we should be looking at that soon.

5:36

So it's slow, but it's progress.

5:39

Um Shriners, um, we are on the eve of having the notice of preparation released that goes to council on July 9th.

5:49

Um, so that is that is moving along as well.

5:54

Uh the comment period, the public comment period will open on uh Friday, July 12th.

6:01

I think I've got that date correct, and then it will close on Monday, August 12th.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Zoning Regulation█████████████████████████████████████████████52%

Economic Development████████████████████23%

Housing██████7%

Public Comment███4%

General Plan Update███3%

Procedural██2%

Land Use█1%

Vacant Property Management█1%

Public Engagement█1%

Summary of Proceedings

City of Davis Planning Commission Meeting - June 26, 2024

The Planning Commission met on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at 7:00 PM to receive an informational presentation on economic development opportunities and to consider adopting objective design standards for qualifying residential projects. The meeting included public comments, a unanimous consent calendar approval, and several amendments to the proposed design standards before recommending the ordinance and resolution to the City Council.

Consent Calendar

Approved unanimously (motion by Commissioner Bennett, seconded by Commissioner McLaughlin) the lot line adjustments for 2525 and 2555 Research Park Drive, and 500, 506, and 512 G Street (informational item).

Public Comments & Testimony

David Sandino (South Davis resident) urged the Commission to add a standing agenda item discussing new land use legislation, cases, and litigation. He referenced the AIDS Healthcare Foundation v. Rob Bonta case and the need for strategic thinking on SB 35 implementation. He also recommended that the Commission take more time on the objective design standards, suggesting a subcommittee to improve design review for the entire city.
Ningwan (owner of Ningwan Soap, Historical Resources Management Commission member) spoke about her family's history in Davis and raised concerns about property issues and communist inspectors. She expressed interest in being more involved with city planning.

Discussion Items

A. Economic Development Opportunities and Objectives (Katie Yancey, Economic Development Director)

Katie Yancey presented her first-year work plan, including building an economic development toolbox (CoStar, ESRI Business Analyst), developing relationships with local and regional stakeholders, addressing building vacancies (with a pilot focusing on retail), and creating an economic development strategy. She discussed the need for a vacant/underutilized land inventory, an assessment of shopping centers, and identifying regulatory barriers to retail attraction. She also highlighted working with projects stalled by parking requirements and plans to integrate economic development principles citywide. Commissioners expressed strong support and interest in regular updates, with Commissioner Valencia asking about defining "community benefit" and engaging with UC Davis. Yancey noted a partnership grant application with the university.

B. Objective Design Standards for Qualified Projects (Sherri Metzker, Community Development Director; Inder Khalsa, City Attorney)

Sherri Metzker explained that the state requires a streamlined ministerial approval process for qualifying residential projects, subject only to objective design standards. She presented a 61-item checklist covering site planning, architecture, materials, and roof features. The goal is to set clear, measurable standards that ensure minimum design quality while eliminating subjective discretion. Commissioners discussed several elements:
- Stepbacks (Item 37): Initially required 8-foot stepbacks every 40 feet. After debate, a motion to reduce to a range of 5 to 8 feet (deleting the total of 16 feet) passed unanimously.
- Roof Colors (Item 53): Amended to allow white or off-white roofs if non-glare, and vegetative (green) roofs, in addition to gray, brown, and terracotta. Passed unanimously.
- Colors (Items 48 and 49): Item 48 amended to require a minimum of three colors with contrast; unpainted concrete not counted as a color. Item 49 (mandatory earth tone) was deleted. Passed unanimously.
- Downspouts (Item 59): A motion to delete the requirement for internal downspouts on buildings over 40 feet failed 2-4.
- Mechanical Equipment (Item 51): Amended to exclude solar panels from screening requirements. Passed unanimously.
Commissioners also discussed the need to revisit the standards periodically and requested staff return with an update after implementation. The city attorney noted that density bonus law allows waiver requests for even objective standards.

Key Outcomes

Recommendation to City Council: The Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council:
1. Introduce an ordinance amending Chapter 40 of the Municipal Code to add Section 40.31.035 (citywide objective design standards for qualifying mixed-use and multifamily housing developments) and make a CEQA exemption determination.
2. Approve a resolution establishing the objective design standards, as amended (Items 37, 48, 49, 51, 53).
Staff was authorized to wordsmith the language to reflect the adopted amendments.
The Commission agreed to continue discussion on the long-range calendar, including upcoming items: downtown form-based code amendments (July 10 and August 14), Chipotle design review (July 24), and Oakshade Town Center planned development amendment (July 10).
Commissioner Brinkley will share a link to her nationwide general plan database with the Commission.
Staff will follow up on SB 10 (upzoning to 10 units per parcel) with the City Council's infill subcommittee.

Meeting Transcript

Difficulties at the dais have been addressed. So we will call to order this meeting, June 26th, 2024 meeting of the City of Davis Planning Commission. In terms of roll call, let the record reflect that with the exception of Jan Troust, everybody is here. And I want to take this opportunity to introduce our new alternate planning commissioner who will be voting tonight. That I think we've missed since we uh several years ago lost the only member of our planning commission that had an actual academic background in planning. And so with that, I will ask her to introduce herself for a few minutes. Oh, turn your mic on. The green button down there. Yay. I'm very excited to be here. I'll I'll make my intro brief. We academics can go on and on and on. I'll just say I'm I'm a mother. I've got two elementary um and middle school age children, and they're my primary motivation for being here late into the evening, which sounds counterintuitive, but my thought is that what we do here and this body will reflect um in the next 10, 20, 30 years and directly impact them. I served on the the downtown uh commission. I'm really proud of the work that we collectively did there. Um and I I teach two classes on campus, one that are that are focused on planning in Davis, one of which revisits the general plan for the city of Davis. So I've done that every year, reading the entire thing cover to cover for nine years now. So I'm excited to be here at this moment as we're thinking about general plans. And then another little piece that I'll share with you is that um as part of my research, we built a database of California's general plans. So now you can look up all 482 city general plans and 58 counties, and any idea that we're thinking about that we think may be cutting edge or interesting, we can cross-check with how other jurisdictions are doing. So I'm hoping to bring some of that both compassion and value and also the the expertise because this is the first state-level plan database for any state, first in the nation, first country to first um no countries have it yet either. So anyway, I'm delighted to be here tonight and to join you all. Thank you. Thank you very much. And again, I'm just thrilled that you're here. Um with that, may we have a motion to approve the agenda. Any objections? It's approved. With that, we will go to item number three, brief announcements from staff commissioners and council liaisons, and I will first uh call upon our council liaison, council member Neville. Do you have anything you'd like to add to the meeting? Thank you as always for asking, but I don't actually have anything tonight. So thank you. Thank you for being here. We really appreciate it. Do uh any commissioners have any uh announcements I unfortunately have uh a sad announcement. Um a number of years ago, there was a really good um well, still a very good planning commissioner, um, a real estate attorney named David David Robertson, and then he left and then in 2017 he came back to the commission for another tour of duty. And uh I was informed unfortunately that on Monday his wife of 56 years uh passed away. And uh I've uh been in contact with him to express my my personal condolences. I think there's several of us on the dais here have had an opportunity to to work with Dave in the past, and we didn't always agree, but he brought a real level of uh exactitude and and expertise to the commission. And so on behalf of the whole commission, I'd like to extend condolences to Dave Robertson and his family. With that, um Dara, do any other staff have announcements or just you? I think it's just me, Chair Brew. I'm thank you. Preface that by saying that um Dara's going to be giving some updates on a number of uh projects that are winding their way through the system. And my caution to all of us is that none of those items are on the agenda tonight. This is purely an informational item, so we don't really have the prerogative to discuss the information she's imparting. So please go ahead. Thank you for that. Thank you.

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