Davis City Council Meeting Summary - March 19, 2025

The Davis City Council met in Community Chambers, 23 Russell Boulevard. The agenda is dated March 18, 2025, but the meeting date metadata provided with the transcript states March 19, 2025; this summary uses the provided date. The council voted 5-0 to approve the agenda, honored outgoing City Manager Mike Webb, approved the consent calendar except for one pulled item, and held extended discussions on homelessness services and the potential redevelopment of the city Corporation Yard at 1717 Fifth Street.

Ceremonial Presentation

• The council presented a proclamation honoring City Manager Mike Webb on his final meeting before moving to Yolo County. The proclamation noted his UC Davis roots, service since 1998, city manager role since 2017, leadership through COVID-19 and Healthy Davis Together, and more than $55 million in grant revenue secured since 2018.
• Councilmembers and public speaker Norman thanked Webb for his responsiveness, dedication, and mentorship. Webb said the hardest part of leaving was departing the city staff team.

Announcements

• Golden Heart Awards nominations are open until April 15, 2025.
• Recruitment for 10 city commissions is open with a May 2, 2025 deadline.
• The city noted that UC Davis and DJUSD spring breaks are aligned for March 24-28, 2025.

Consent Calendar

• Councilmember Chapman pulled item 4D, the Fifth Street Transportation Improvements Final Report, for separate discussion.
• The remaining consent calendar was approved 5-0 in one motion.
• Notable consent actions included: increasing an emergency sewer repair contract with McGuire and Hester by up to $850,000; allocating $475,000 for SCADA Phase 2 implementation; approving wastewater utility rate adjustments; approving Caltrans maintenance agreements for the Richards Boulevard/I-80 interchange project; accepting a $250,000 CalOES cybersecurity grant; designating Picnic Day 2025 safety enhancement zones; adopting the 2025 legislative platform and authorizing a support letter for Senate Bill 239; adopting the Downtown Davis Form Based Code ordinance on second reading; receiving the Pacifico update and directing transmission to Yolo County of the city's funding commitment for rehabilitation of two Pacifico buildings for CalWorks; affirming Economic Development Strategic Plan subcommittee assignments; receiving Housing Element and residential development status reports; receiving the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan implementation update; receiving the Certified Local Government annual report; and extending the PEG access funding agreement for fiscal year 2026.

Public Comments & Testimony

General Public Comment

• Several speakers urged the council to advance a ballot measure for housing funding and to amend Measure JRD to exempt affordable housing from public vote requirements. Ellen Callark, speaking personally, supported a special tax for a housing trust fund and a JRD revision. Alex A., speaking for the Davis Citizen Planning Commission, urged immediate action on a JRD amendment, warning that state preemption could follow continued project denials. Georgina Valencia called the current 100% affordability exemption under Measure JRD impractical and cautioned that the city could be at odds with HCD.
• Yolo County Supervisor Lucas Frerichs, also speaking on behalf of Supervisor Sheila Allen, urged support for consent item 4J on Pacifico and asked the council to consider supporting SB 226 on consolidating Yolo County community college districts.
• Alan Miller performed a song criticizing the Downtown Business Association and calling for a downtown bike police officer.
• Beth Bourne made anti-transgender remarks and criticized the mayor. Mayor Vaitla responded that the First Amendment protects hate speech and that the Davis City Council supports LGBTQ+ rights, including transgender people.
• Representatives of the band Patty on the Binge thanked the council for arts grant funding that supported a St. Patrick's Day event.
• Recorded comments included support for SB 239 and single-payer health care from Connor Grimm, a request for tree maintenance at Sidehill Park from Nicole Kwan, and housing-related comments on Measure JRD exemptions.

Fifth Street Transportation Improvements

• A public commenter who identified as a transportation planner supported the corridor plan and the removal of free right turns at Fifth and Pole Line, calling the intersection unpleasant for bicyclists.
• Another speaker made off-topic anti-transgender remarks.

Homeless Services Follow-Up

• Heart of Davis board member Andy Waterhouse and president Shoshana Zatz supported the proposed safe parking pilot with Davis United Methodist Church, noting liability insurance, a code of conduct, and a request to keep the location unpublicized. Marge Matoba and voicemail callers from Lutheran Church of the Incarnation and Davis United Methodist Church also supported safe parking and asked the city to help fund portable restrooms and sustainability.
• Davis Community Meals and Housing (DCMH) board vice president Diane Perrow, staff Becky Marigo, Harmony Scopazi, Tracy Fauver, and clients Brené Spears, Anthony Weird, and Sean Kingston urged the council to strengthen existing providers and expand the eight-bed winter shelter at Paul's Place to year-round. Harmony Scopazi cautioned that expanding respite center hours could reduce client urgency and noted that referral agencies are closed on weekends.
• Downtown residents and business representatives, including Brett Lee of the Davis Downtown Business Association, Heather Caswell of the Davis Community Vision Alliance, and several voicemail callers, strongly supported a dedicated downtown beat officer for safety and business security.
• Respite center neighbors and Dan Frederson said the center was originally presented as a temporary or rotating pilot, described neighborhood impacts, and urged relocation, fencing, cleanup, or other mitigations before any expansion.
• Downtown Streets Team director Heather Mundy provided the $559,000 seven-day expansion budget but suggested volunteer-supported weekend sites might be more financially prudent and warned that sanctioned parking could attract guests from outside the county.
• Judy Ennis, speaking as a private citizen and social services commissioner, urged prioritizing shelter and a coordinated city-run navigator program.
• Elaine Roberts Musser cautioned against new spending given national economic uncertainty, federal funding cuts, the city's road funding needs, low general fund reserves, and upcoming employee contract negotiations.

Corporation Yard

• Nancy Price asked that the RFP for the Pole Line Road relocation site include mapping and characterizing PFAS contamination.
• Alan Miller raised concerns about shading of Duke Drive from tall infill development at the 1717 Fifth Street site.
• Ben Witzing supported redevelopment and suggested considering adjacent parcels, while noting the existing paintball and go-kart uses provide few recreation outlets for youth.
• Recorded comments included support for public or deeply affordable housing on the site and opposition to relocating the corporation yard to the former landfill due to PFAS, methane, remediation costs, and legal liability concerns.

Discussion Items

Fifth Street Transportation Improvements (Consent Item 4D)

• Staff presented the Fifth Street Corridor Study and conceptual plans from L Street to Cantrill Drive.
• Councilmember Chapman raised concerns about the proposed protected intersection at Fifth and Pole Line, including queue lengths, lane reduction, removal of all free right turns, and the need for more community outreach and council review before that major change moves forward.
• Staff said Synchro modeling showed queues would clear each signal cycle, that the project has no current funding, and that design-phase analysis could lengthen queues if needed. Staff suggested approving the resolution while returning the specific intersection item to council later.
• The council approved the resolution 5-0, with the Fifth and Pole Line protected intersection item to come back for further discussion.

Homeless Services Discussion Follow-Up

• Staff presented a menu of options with cost estimates:
  • Contracted encampment cleanup and property storage: $80,000-$175,000. The Davis Police Department currently spends more than $200,000 in personnel costs on encampment cleanup and abandoned property.
  • Dedicated downtown beat officer: a non-911 neighborhood policing position focused on downtown. Staff indicated it likely could not be filled until July due to current vacancies and training.
  • Expanding the daytime respite center from five to seven days per week: approximately $559,000.
  • Community navigator program: a city-run model was estimated at about $200,000 for 10 navigators plus a full-time coordinator and training. An existing $41,000 HPAC grant supports peer navigation through Downtown Streets Team; the DJUSD Un Cafecito program and faith-based "Safe Harbor Safe Stay" concept were also discussed.
  • Safe parking/camping: the Heart of Davis pilot at Davis United Methodist Church was proposed with about $10,000 in city funding for volunteer training. A special permit would be required, and staff researched programs in Modesto and San Rafael.
  • Downtown Streets Team flagship work experience program: about $397,000 per year, currently set to sunset June 30, 2025.
  • DCMH/Paul's Place eight-bed cold-weather shelter: about $73,000 for the winter season and $150,000 for year-round operation. The city currently provides roughly $80,000 in general fund support for the winter shelter plus CDBG funding.
• Council priorities expressed during discussion included: contracted encampment cleanup, a downtown beat officer, year-round Paul's Place beds, and advancing the Heart of Davis safe parking pilot with a report back before a permit is issued. Several councilmembers wanted more detail on a city-run navigator program. Several deferred decisions on respite center hours to the Homelessness Subcommittee following a March 2 community meeting. Several wanted to evaluate alternatives or issue an RFP before reauthorizing the Downtown Streets Team cleanup program.
• The council formally voted 5-0 to ask the Social Services Commission to map current outreach efforts, identify gaps, and develop a rough sketch of a city-coordinated community navigator program in consultation with existing providers.
• Staff also received direction to prepare an RFP for contracted encampment cleanup and return with a budget adjustment, and to include the downtown beat officer in upcoming budget and position allocation discussions.

Corporation Yard at 1717 Fifth Street

• Staff recommended taking next steps to study the city-owned Corporation Yard as a potential housing redevelopment site: issuing an RFP for a feasibility study of relocating the yard to the former wastewater treatment plant and landfill site north of Pole Line Road, and conducting preliminary environmental sampling and background investigation at the 1717 site.
• Staff said the site is about eight acres, zoned commercial service, and was identified as an infill opportunity as early as 2008. A 2019 consultant estimated property value in a wide range from $740,000 to nearly $13 million. Housing yield could range from about 240 units at 30 units per acre to roughly 560 units at higher densities.
• Staff estimated the preliminary environmental investigation at roughly $50,000-$75,000 and said the RFP would return to council before contract approval.
• The council approved the staff recommendations 5-0.

Key Outcomes

• Agenda approved 5-0.
• Consent calendar approved 5-0 after item 4D was pulled.
• Fifth Street Corridor Study resolution approved 5-0, with the Fifth and Pole Line protected intersection returned for future council consideration.
• Social Services Commission directed to prepare a community navigator program landscape and sketch, approved 5-0.
• Staff directed to proceed with contracted encampment cleanup RFP, incorporate the downtown beat officer into budget/position planning, and continue safe parking coordination with a council check-in before issuing a special permit.
• Corporation Yard study, relocation feasibility RFP, and preliminary environmental sampling direction approved 5-0.
• AB 1234 reporting and the long-range calendar were reviewed without substantive action.

Date Note

• The agenda lists Tuesday, March 18, 2025; the meeting metadata provided for this summary states March 19, 2025. All references in this summary follow the provided date of March 19, 2025.