OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Planning Commission Meeting - August 28, 2024: Downtown Form Based Code Amendments

City Council & Planning Commission — Wednesday, August 28, 2024
BodyDavis, California
SessionCity Council & Planning Commission
DateWednesday, August 28, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:36:41

Transcript — Verbatim
0:05

I'd like to call this meeting to order right promptly at seven because I like being at time.

0:10

Um I'm Michelle Weiss, I'm the vice chair taking over as chair this evening.

0:15

Yes, it is.

0:17

Is it not on?

0:18

Yeah, there we go.

0:19

It's okay.

0:20

Um taking over this evening because our chair is probably on some mountain or somewhere.

0:27

Yeah.

0:29

It's always amazing what he does.

0:31

Um I do see that we have a quorum here.

0:35

So does anybody want to change anything on the agenda?

0:39

Could I get a motion to approve?

0:43

All those in favor.

0:45

Aye.

0:46

Okay, let's move on.

0:47

The next item is brief announcements from staff commissioners and council liaison.

0:52

Staff, do you have anything?

0:54

Thank you, Madam Vice Chair, Dara Dunworth, Principal Planner.

0:58

Um, really the only thing I have for you in terms of announcements are some project updates, which I can give you now, and I'll keep them brief, or we could do them later with forthcoming scheduling, so it's at your pleasure.

1:13

Um if they're mostly like with the schedule of what we'll be seeing, then maybe we should keep it to the end.

1:19

These are actually projects that either won't be coming to you quite yet or won't come to you at all because they're in the downtown specific plan.

1:26

Ah, then why don't you do that part and then at the end we'll do the schedule?

1:29

Yeah.

1:29

Okay, very good.

1:30

That was what I had thought.

1:31

So we'll kick it off with uh Palomino Place.

1:35

The um subsequent EIR is out, and um the comment period closes on September 23rd.

1:43

This actually segues into our calendaring for later, but we are anticipating that uh it will come to planning commission on September 11th meeting for your review and the public hearing.

1:58

For shriners, uh last night we had an alternatives discussion with council, and um they voted um to recommend moving forward with some slight amendments to um some of the alternatives to try and hone in on the VMT calculations, vehicle miles traveled calculations.

2:17

So that was a a bit of a conversation, which was good.

2:21

Um, and so the EIR preparation has commenced officially and and formally, so that's coming along.

2:29

Village Farms similarly has had quite a bit of progress on the draft EIR in the last several weeks in particular.

2:37

Um so as a point of calendaring, um it we are looking on our tentative schedule to have the draft EIR for village farms coming on December 11th to Planning Commission.

2:53

That would be in the middle of their 45-day draft EIR comment period.

3:00

So we have a little bit of a pipeline coming for you, but we'll get to into that later.

3:04

Child's ranch.

3:06

Uh the chair roe asked if we had an update on Child's Ranch for you all.

3:10

So the DA assignment went to City Council on July 30th and moved forward from there.

3:18

The new owner Century is working with social services staff and planning staff to complete their due diligence and move forward with processing.

3:28

They have not submitted anything formal yet in terms of a final PD or a design review modification, but we're looking at those things.

3:36

Um the final PD would come back to this body, so that could be teeing up in the next few months, depending on what their timing is.

3:46

So that's a little too crystal ball y for us at this point, but they are moving ahead and the purchase went through, so Childs Ranches is moving.

3:56

Umdates on actually the last four are all on the downtown specific plan and form-based code.

4:03

So these would be projects that you have not seen or would not see.

4:07

305 E Street is a new application.

4:11

It's between, it's on Third Street between DE.

4:14

It's a 63 unit 3,000 square foot non-residential mixed use proposal that we're processing.

4:21

Again, it's form-based code, so it would not come before you.

4:25

Uh good news on the lifestyle hotel, which we've mentioned over the last several um months.

4:31

Um, staff Thomas has approved that project.

4:35

Um the notice is out, and the deadline for comments is September 4th.

4:42

Uh similarly, 413 E Street has been approved, and the appeal deadline is September 6th.

4:48

So we've got a few more projects under our belt with the form-based code.

4:53

And then a newer project that has come in is um a small town home project on Sweetbriar.

5:00

And again, form-based code.

5:01

So the um yes, it's north east of G Street, north of the co-op shopping center, little strip center.

5:12

That little loop south of fifth.

5:17

Do you want me to explain it?

5:18

And and people will know exactly what I'm talking about.

5:21

Yes.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Regulation██████████████████████████████30%
Downtown Specific Plan████████████████████20%
Land Use██████████████14%
Procedural███████████11%
Historic Preservation█████████9%
Public Comment████████8%
Public Engagement████4%
Fire Station Planning███3%
Insurance█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Planning Commission Meeting - August 28, 2024

The Davis Planning Commission met on August 28, 2024, at 7:00 PM in Community Chambers. The main action was a public hearing on proposed amendments to the Downtown Davis Form Based Code (FBC), focusing on legal non-conforming structures. After hearing staff presentation and public comment, the commission voted to recommend approval of the ordinance with several key modifications. The commission also discussed draft templates for resolutions of approval for conditional use permits and design review.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes from February 14, 2024 – Approved (Commissioner Deos recused).
  • Minutes from March 27, 2024 – Approved.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Luis Miguel, co-owner of 523 G Street and three downtown businesses, spoke against the proposed FBC amendments. He argued the amendments would create a "straitjacket" for property owners, citing fire code conflicts and the lack of a clear path for their project. He urged the commission to reject the amendments and allow modifications to existing structures as long as they comply with regulations. He noted that neighboring properties in other zones can build ADUs without similar restrictions.

Discussion Items

  • Downtown Davis Form Based Code Amendments (Public Hearing) – Staff presented proposed amendments to Sections 40.01, 40.13, and 40.14 of the Municipal Code to address legal non-conforming structures. The amendments would:

    • Trigger new building type requirements if a structure is damaged >60% of appraised value, enlarged >15% of gross square footage (since FBC adoption), or has >25% of perimeter demolished.
    • Prohibit establishing a second building site on a parcel with an existing legal non-conforming structure.
    • Include minor clarifications and formatting updates.
    • Staff (Thomas McNair) explained that research on other jurisdictions showed varied approaches; Davis’s proposed thresholds are within typical ranges. The project at 523 G Street was used as an illustration of current code conflicts.
    • Commissioners raised concerns:
      • Commissioner Bennett argued the thresholds (15%, 60%) are arbitrary and punitive, favoring incremental development.
      • Commissioner Valencia questioned whether the density gains justify the restrictions, noting that unit counts may not increase.
      • Commissioner McLaughlin highlighted insurance and financing risks for property owners.
      • Commissioner Troost asked about notification and owner-occupancy data; staff acknowledged only newspaper notice was used, not direct mail to all 30 affected detached house properties.
    • A public speaker (Luis Miguel) urged rejection of amendments.
    • After deliberation, the commission voted on a motion to recommend approval with modifications:
      1. In Table One (minor amendments), include a link to the current list of designated historic properties under Section 40.14.080.
      2. Remove the prohibition on establishing a second building site on a parcel with an existing legal non-conforming structure (Section 4).
      3. Delete Sections B1, B2, and B3 (thresholds for damage, enlargement, and demolition) from Section 5.
      4. Add an appeal process to the Community Development Director for economic unfeasibility.
      • Motion passed unanimously.
    • Additional recommendations (not part of the motion) were made for the city to notify all property owners in the FBC jurisdiction of the changes and to include disclosure in the city’s resale inspection application process.

  • Discussion of Use of Resolutions of Approval – Staff presented draft templates for Conditional Use Permit and Design Review resolutions. Commissioners provided feedback:

    • Commissioner Troost suggested adding space for tangential comments not directly related to the project.
    • Commissioner McLaughlin asked about the protocol for using the templates; staff confirmed they would be attached to future staff reports and motions would reference the resolution title.
    • Council Liaison Donna Neville emphasized the legal importance of resolutions containing findings for defensibility.
    • No formal vote was taken; staff will incorporate feedback and use templates starting with the Chipotle project on October 9, 2024.

Key Outcomes

  • FBC Amendments: The commission voted to recommend the City Council approve the ordinance with four modifications: (1) add link to historic resource list; (2) remove second-building-site prohibition; (3) delete damage/enlargement/demolition thresholds; (4) add appeal to Community Development Director for economic unfeasibility. Additionally, the commission recommended direct notification to affected property owners and disclosure at resale inspection.
  • Resolutions of Approval: Staff will refine templates based on commissioner feedback; first use planned for October 9, 2024.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to call this meeting to order right promptly at seven because I like being at time. Um I'm Michelle Weiss, I'm the vice chair taking over as chair this evening. Yes, it is. Is it not on? Yeah, there we go. It's okay. Um taking over this evening because our chair is probably on some mountain or somewhere. Yeah. It's always amazing what he does. Um I do see that we have a quorum here. So does anybody want to change anything on the agenda? Could I get a motion to approve? All those in favor. Aye. Okay, let's move on. The next item is brief announcements from staff commissioners and council liaison. Staff, do you have anything? Thank you, Madam Vice Chair, Dara Dunworth, Principal Planner. Um, really the only thing I have for you in terms of announcements are some project updates, which I can give you now, and I'll keep them brief, or we could do them later with forthcoming scheduling, so it's at your pleasure. Um if they're mostly like with the schedule of what we'll be seeing, then maybe we should keep it to the end. These are actually projects that either won't be coming to you quite yet or won't come to you at all because they're in the downtown specific plan. Ah, then why don't you do that part and then at the end we'll do the schedule? Yeah. Okay, very good. That was what I had thought. So we'll kick it off with uh Palomino Place. The um subsequent EIR is out, and um the comment period closes on September 23rd. This actually segues into our calendaring for later, but we are anticipating that uh it will come to planning commission on September 11th meeting for your review and the public hearing. For shriners, uh last night we had an alternatives discussion with council, and um they voted um to recommend moving forward with some slight amendments to um some of the alternatives to try and hone in on the VMT calculations, vehicle miles traveled calculations. So that was a a bit of a conversation, which was good. Um, and so the EIR preparation has commenced officially and and formally, so that's coming along. Village Farms similarly has had quite a bit of progress on the draft EIR in the last several weeks in particular. Um so as a point of calendaring, um it we are looking on our tentative schedule to have the draft EIR for village farms coming on December 11th to Planning Commission. That would be in the middle of their 45-day draft EIR comment period. So we have a little bit of a pipeline coming for you, but we'll get to into that later. Child's ranch. Uh the chair roe asked if we had an update on Child's Ranch for you all. So the DA assignment went to City Council on July 30th and moved forward from there. The new owner Century is working with social services staff and planning staff to complete their due diligence and move forward with processing. They have not submitted anything formal yet in terms of a final PD or a design review modification, but we're looking at those things. Um the final PD would come back to this body, so that could be teeing up in the next few months, depending on what their timing is. So that's a little too crystal ball y for us at this point, but they are moving ahead and the purchase went through, so Childs Ranches is moving. Umdates on actually the last four are all on the downtown specific plan and form-based code. So these would be projects that you have not seen or would not see. 305 E Street is a new application. It's between, it's on Third Street between DE. It's a 63 unit 3,000 square foot non-residential mixed use proposal that we're processing. Again, it's form-based code, so it would not come before you. Uh good news on the lifestyle hotel, which we've mentioned over the last several um months. Um, staff Thomas has approved that project.

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