Davis City Council Meeting - April 1, 2025
Davis City Council Meeting - April 1, 2025
The Davis City Council met on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at 6:30 PM in Community Chambers. The meeting included ceremonial proclamations, consent calendar approvals, a presentation from the Davis Joint Unified School District on declining enrollment and its connection to housing, a mid-year budget update, and approval of a preliminary mobility concept contract. The meeting was adjourned after approximately four hours.
Ceremonial Presentations
- Proclamation recognizing April 12, 2025 as the Oddest Day of the Year, honoring the Davis Oddfellows Lodge for 155 years of service.
- Proclamation recognizing April as Arab American Heritage Month, presented by Dr. Suad Joseph and Dima Tamimi, highlighting contributions of Arab Americans.
- Proclamation recognizing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, presented by David Marshall and Geneva Lahigh of the Yolo County Children's Alliance. They noted that in 2024, Yolo County Child Welfare Services investigated allegations involving 1,033 children, and 124 entered foster care.
- Proclamation recognizing April as National Donate Life Month, presented by Kyla Aquino Irving and Angelica Williams of Sierra Donor Services, and Steve Streeter, father of donor Nathan Streeter. Over 100,000 Americans are on the national transplant waiting list.
Consent Calendar
- Approved items A (Emergency Sewer Infrastructure Repair), B (Community Park Skatepark Replacement Design-Build with Grindline Skateparks, exempt from CEQA), C (Playfields Park Inclusive Playground Design Task Order), D (School Crossing Guard Services agreement with Safesite Guard Services, LLC and reimbursement with DJUSD), F (Extend Final Map 5216 for 715 Pole Line Road), G (Appointment of Interim City Manager and contract amendment for Kelly Stachowicz), H (Weed Abatement 2025 – set public hearing for May 13, 2025), I (Development Impact Fee Annual AB1600 Report for FY2023/24), and J (Commission Minutes).
- Item E (Expand Pilot Effort of Increased Frequency of Tree Assessments) was pulled from the Consent Calendar for separate discussion.
- The Interim City Manager's salary was announced as $280,051.20 per year, with benefits unchanged, retroactive to March 31, 2025.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 5 (DJUSD Presentation): Multiple speakers expressed support for new housing developments (Village Farms and Willow Grove) as essential for maintaining school enrollment and community vitality. Speakers included representatives from the Yolo County Association of Realtors, school board trustees, and residents. Some speakers opposed Village Farms, citing environmental concerns (toxic soil, floodplain) and questioning student yield projections. One speaker argued that most homes would be too expensive for young families.
- Item 4E (Tree Assessments): A speaker referenced the death of Jennifer Colby from a falling tree, criticizing past underfunding of tree programs and a lack of community listening. Another speaker noted a dead sycamore tree at Russell and Anderson that had not been addressed.
- Item 6 (Budget): One speaker challenged the staff's rosy reserve projection, warning of economic headwinds and calling for fiscal caution.
- General Public Comments (not on agenda): Speakers commented on SB 226 (community college district transfer), issues with noisy vehicles and lack of enforcement, the My Davis app, and the need to reframe the Hate Free Davis initiative.
Discussion Items
- Item 4E: Expanded Tree Assessments – Staff proposed increasing the frequency of tree assessments in high-occupancy zones from a seven-year cycle to a three-year cycle. The item requested $500,000 annually moving forward, but only a current appropriation to start. Council debated sustainability and requested a broader discussion during the upcoming budget process. Councilmember Deos noted positive feedback from Tree Davis. The resolution passed 5-0.
- Item 5: DJUSD Presentation – Boundaries and Planning: Housing-Schools Connection – Superintendent Matt Best and Chief Strategy Officer Maria Clayton presented enrollment data showing a decline from 8,557 students in 2005 to about 8,250 today, with a projected loss of 1,000 students over the next decade due to low birth rates and housing affordability. Two proposed developments (Village Farms – 1,800 units, 700 students; Willow Grove – 1,215 units, 300+ students) could mitigate the decline. Without both, the district may need to close 2-3 schools. The board will decide in October 2026 on boundary rebalancing or consolidation. This item was informational; no council action was taken.
- Item 6: FY 2024/25 Mid-Year Budget Update – Finance Director Elena Adair presented the general fund status. Revenues are tracking above budget due to property tax (up ~$1M) and the new 1% local sales tax (Measure Q, effective April 1). General fund reserves are projected to reach 9.9% (from previously budgeted 7.5%), driven by the first quarter of Measure Q revenues. Expenditures are within budget except for water/irrigation charges ($1.4M increase). Salary savings are projected at $1.7M, less than the budgeted $2M. Staff recommended adding two limited-term accountant positions in Finance. Council approved the resolution 5-0.
- Item 7: General Plan Update: Preliminary Mobility Element Network Concept – Community Development Director Sherri Metzker proposed a $45,000 contract amendment with Raimi+Associates to produce a conceptual mobility plan for the Northeast quadrant, building on existing traffic studies for planned developments (Village Farms, Willow Grove, downtown infill). The analysis will look at road expansions, new freeway connections, transit, bike/ped improvements, and cost estimates. Council emphasized the need to prioritize transit and active transportation. The resolution passed 5-0.
- City Manager Announcements: Included updates on $7.5 million in grants received since June 2024, waste sorting monitoring (81% correctly sorted), appointment of new Deputy Police Chief Matt Peterson, Arbor Day celebration (April 5), Congressman Thompson's office hours (April 9), Picnic Day (April 12), and Make Davis Sparkle clean-up (April 13).
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar (minus Item E) approved 5-0.
- Item 4E – Resolution authorizing expanded tree assessments approved 5-0.
- Item 6 – Mid-year budget amendments and resolution approved 5-0.
- Item 7 – Resolution authorizing contract amendment for mobility concept approved 5-0.
- Item 5 (DJUSD) – Received as informational; no action taken.
- Item G (Interim City Manager) – Approved on consent; salary of $280,051.20 announced.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to the city council meeting. Tuesday, April 1st. I see that all my colleagues are here, back from their respective journeys. Welcome back. Is there a motion to approve the agenda? Discussion. All in favor say aye. Aye. I motion passes 5-0. We have an agenda. We'll start with ceremonial presentations. So we have four presentations, and then we'll take a brief break for photos and then return to the regular agenda. Let's start with Councilmember Dales. All right. Before we begin, could we have our noble grand come up here, please? Marcus? Mark it, there you are. Now my glasses. So thank you for doing this. The Davis Oddfellows Lodge was chartered and instituted in April 1870 and is the oldest continuously operating organization in the Davis City limits, and is the largest lodge in North America, with nearly 400 active members and growing. The Davis Odd Fellows hosts many events to benefit the community and have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours to support local organizations and to help foster children. Many distinguished local citizens have served as odd fellows, including city council members, mayors, county supervisors, and judges. Two of the members of the Davis Lodge have gone on to become grandmasters of odd fellowship, the highest position in the order in California. Odd Fellowship strives to elevate human character through friendship, love, and truth, which are represented in the three interlocking links of the Oddfellows logo and serve as the foundational beliefs of the independent order of Oddfellows. Now, therefore, we, the Davis City Council, on behalf of the citizens of Davis, hereby commend the Davis Oddfellows Lodge for their 155 years of service to the community, and hereby proclaims April 12th, 2025 as the oddest day of the year. First, I'd like to ask everyone who's an odd fellow here to raise their hand. As you can see, we're well represented. My name is Marcus Marino, and I am representing the Davis Oddfellows. We thank you for this wonderful honor of declaring April 12th, 2025 the oddest day of the year. On that day, 155 years ago, five members of the community banded together to form the Davis Oddfellows. Since there was no Davis at the time, the organization was named the YOLO Odd Fellows. Since then, UC Davis campus and the City of Davis came into existence. In addition, obviously, the world, our nation, and society has undergone many changes. Since the odd fellows arrived on America's shore, our goal was to visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead, and educate the often. As society changed, so is our responses to our communities' needs. In the past 155 years, we have raised countless amounts of money for worthy causes here in Davis and elsewhere to do just that and more. As one of our members is known for stating, we do good things and have fun doing them. We hold the zombie bike ride and the ball, the breakfast with Santa, Breakfast with the Bunny, and give away thousands of dollars in college scholarships and scholarships of children to be able to attend summer camps and other programs. We sponsor a scouts troop and help Team Davis with numerous activities. For adults, we have monthly bingo and the Thursday live music concert series to help keep music part of the Davis community. Our motto is friendship, love and truth, with the goal of elevating the character of humankind. And we ask everyone everywhere to help spread that philosophy. Thank you very much for this honor. I'll go ahead and do the second one. That's uh Arab American Heritage Month, and I'd like to invite up Dr. Suad Joseph and Dima Tamimi. Welcome to Arab American Heritage Month has been established at the national, state, and county levels to celebrate the significant contributions of Arab Americans to the history, culture, and society of the United States, California, and Yolo County. The Arab American community is a diverse population composed of persons from more than 22 distinct countries from the Middle East and North Africa, with numerous ethnicities and religions, and speaking a number of different Arabic dialects. Arab Americans are the target of bias and discrimination and fear for themselves and their loved ones in the wake of anti-Arab hate and threats against Arabs in Arab communities in the United States, California, and Yolo County. Davis is the home of the Davis Arab Community D1.
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