Davis City Council Regular Meeting Summary: General Plan Consultant, Inclusionary Housing, Mayor Selection (January 8, 2025)

The Davis City Council meeting covered announcements, public comment, the consent calendar, the 2025 General Plan update consultant contract, rental housing inclusionary guidelines, and the 2025 mayor/vice mayor selection. The supplied meeting timestamp is 2025-01-08 14:45:00+00:00; the raw transcript opens with Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at 6:33 p.m., a discrepancy noted here.

Consent Calendar

• The council approved the meeting agenda and then the consent calendar, 5-0, with no items pulled.

City Manager Brief Announcements

• The draft Environmental Impact Report for Village Farms Davis was released for public review on January 7, with a 45-day comment period ending February 21, 2025. Comments will receive responses in the final EIR.
• A Make Davis Sparkle downtown cleanup is scheduled for Friday, January 10, at 8 a.m., meeting at G Street Plaza. Partners include the Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Davis Business Association, Davis Picks It Up, Recology, PG&E, and Smith Funeral Home.
• A remembrance ceremony for Officer Natalie Corona will be held Friday, January 10, at noon at the Davis Police Department, 2600 Fifth Street.
• The Senior Center patio grand opening open house will be January 16, 3-5 p.m., featuring a new concrete patio, steel pavilion, seating, native landscaping, lighting, heaters, and catering counters.
• A downtown trash pickup event will be held Saturday, January 18, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., meeting at E Street Plaza; volunteer sign-up is at cityofdavis.org/volunteers.
• The 31st annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration will be Monday, January 20, at the Veterans Memorial Theater, with the theme “Economic Justice in the Dream: Building a Fair and Inclusive Economy.” The art exhibit opens at 10 a.m., the program begins at 10:30 a.m., and a march to Central Park follows at about 11:45 a.m.

Public Comments & Testimony

• General public comment: Alan Miller complained about cars in bike lanes, litter along the railroad tracks, and a lack of enforcement related to daylighting and DoorDash parking. A prerecorded comment argued that housing people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness would reduce harmful behavior by removing the circumstances that cause or worsen trauma and mental health struggles.
• General Plan item public comment: Alan Miller expressed skepticism about the value of updating the General Plan based on past plans not being followed. Mary Jo Brian asked staff to share the League of Women Voters community engagement plan with the consultants. Judy, speaking for the Davis Community Action Network (DCAN), said DCAN completed a year-long Community Voices series and wants to share its report. A prerecorded comment supported the consultant approach for this major plan update, praised outreach through commissions and the broader community, and recommended a separate liaison body with non-commissioner members.
• Inclusionary housing public comment: Several speakers supported the staff recommendation, including Martha Teeter, Judy Yennis of DCAN, Gaina Lambang, Ellen Callark of Interfaith Housing Justice Davis speaking personally, Barbara Clutcher, and prerecorded speakers Ben and another resident. They generally favored a higher in-lieu fee so developers would build affordable units on site, supported land dedication as an alternative, and wanted funds to go into the housing trust fund.
• Inclusionary housing public comment opposing or questioning the $608,000 fee included: Robbie Chapel, a commercial real estate broker, who argued development is difficult and cited Berkeley building 5,000 units with claimed rent declines of 40-50%; a speaker transcribed as Wesley, who said the fee level would guarantee the in-lieu option is never used and suggested a modest fee across all projects like Sacramento; Doug Busby, a local market-rate and affordable housing developer, who said his own projects would not be affected but called the $608,000 fee destructive, estimated it at about $100,000 per market-rate unit and a 20-25% cost increase, and noted neighboring cities charge roughly $5,000-$10,000 per unit; Corey Calfe, a land-use attorney speaking as a constituent, who worried the fee would turn off the spigot of new housing and urged keeping the current fee or using an inflationary or gap-financing increase; and Port Tellis, an aspiring developer, who said his project could not be built under the proposed fee and asked the council to do its own research.
• Mayor selection public comment: One in-person commenter jokingly suggested Rob Roy. A prerecorded comment supported rotation, recommending Vice Mayor Bapu as mayor and Councilmember Donna Neville as vice mayor, and suggested considering more frequent rotation of facilitation and ceremonial duties.
• Long-range calendar public comment: Alan Miller suggested the city use chair/vice chair titles and shared a story about restorative justice after a driver hit his cactus.

Discussion Items

• 2025 General Plan Update Consultant Contract: Staff recommended approving a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute a contract with Raimi & Associates for the General Plan update. Staff described the General Plan as a vision and policy document, noted the eight required elements, and explained that the environmental justice element is voluntary but included. The process is expected to take two to three years, with the final year including the EIR. Council discussed the timeline, risks of scope creep, community engagement methods, and the relationship between land use and economic development. Vice Mayor Vitele requested that staff develop a General Plan steering committee process, that the Planning Commission start a subcommittee on land use/mobility concepts, and that the Open Space and Habitat Commission start a subcommittee on high-priority conservation, open space, habitat, and agricultural easement areas. Councilmember Neville asked about the greenway concept, and staff described regional connectivity planning. The contract motion carried 5-0.
• Rental Housing Inclusionary Guidelines: Staff presented options for an in-lieu fee for projects not meeting the 15% inclusionary requirement. Figures discussed included the recommended $608,000 per unit based on total development cost, $369,000 per unit for construction costs only, about $250,000 per unit for average recent market-rate rental projects, and a former/2016 fee of $84,110 per unit. Staff recommended a 10-year maximum installment payment using the LAFE rate and net present value, with an option for one-time payment, and discussed a lower fractional-unit fee when a developer builds all required whole units on site. Council debated the right fee level, possible sliding scales by project size and density, land dedication, conversion of existing units, revenue sharing, and the need for better parcel-specific cost data. Councilmember Neville challenged the claim that Berkeley rents fell sharply, saying Berkeley Rent Board data showed rents flat. A motion to set the fee at $369,000 failed 2-3. A subsequent motion to set the fee at $250,000, with fractional units for on-site compliance projects set at half that amount, carried 4-1.
• Designation of Mayor and Vice Mayor for 2025: The council discussed district rotation, at-large mayoral options, and whether the titles should be mayor/vice mayor or chair/vice chair. A motion nominated Vice Mayor Bapu as Mayor and Councilmember Donna Neville as Vice Mayor for calendar year 2025. The motion carried 4-0-1, with Vice Mayor Bapu abstaining. Staff was asked to return with options for future mayor-selection processes.
• AB 1234 Reports and Long-Range Calendar: No AB 1234 meeting reports were offered. Staff noted the next regular meeting is January 21, 2025, and that future reports will include mayor-selection options and inclusionary housing follow-up. The February 4 discussion of an economic development strategic plan was also noted.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the agenda and consent calendar 5-0.
• Approved the City Manager’s contract with Raimi & Associates for the General Plan update, 5-0, with directives for a steering committee process and planning/open space commission subcommittees.
• Set the rental housing in-lieu fee at $250,000 per unit, with fractional units for projects that otherwise provide their on-site 15% requirement set at $125,000 per fractional unit. The vote was 4-1.
• Rejected a motion to set the in-lieu fee at $369,000 by a 2-3 vote.
• Directed staff to return with further options on sliding-scale or project-size-based in-lieu fee structures and related refinements.
• Elected Vice Mayor Bapu as Mayor and Councilmember Donna Neville as Vice Mayor for 2025, 4-0-1 with the Vice Mayor abstaining.
• Referred future work on mayor/vice mayor selection options and inclusionary housing follow-up to upcoming staff reports.