Measure P: History & Issues

Wildhorse Ranch: City Process and Areas of Contention Presented

The Wildhorse Ranch project application was submitted to the  City of Davis on March 9, 2006. Here is the history according to City staff after the submittal:

November 14, 2006 (pdf)  – The City Council took the following actions: 1) directed staff to proceed with the Wildhorse Ranch project application review, processing, and communitywide  public outreach; 2) authorized the City Manager to enter into a contract with Raney Planning & Management, Inc. for the Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
preparation; and 3) approved the Budget Adjustment for the EIR.

January 16,
2007 (pdf) – The  City Council took the following actions: 1) directed staff to proceed with the EIR and project applications processing with Site Plan Option #3 (pdf)  as a starting point; 2) confirmed the six city project objectives for the EIR  with some modifications; 3) confirmed the four project alternatives to be evaluated in the EIR; and 4) did not authorize staff to enter into Development Agreement negotiations at this time.

July 5, 2007 – A Notice of Preparation (NOP) for this Draft EIR was released for a 30-day review, while the public scoping meeting was held on July 18, 2007.

January 26, 2008 – The Social Services Commission recommended  that the City Council support the concept of a Project Individualized Plan that incorporates use of the applicant’s partnership with a local housing non-profit  organization in the construction of the affordable housing units, based on specified conditions.

January 29, 2008 (pdf) – The City Council directed the applicant to revise the site plan in order to address neighborhood and staff concerns.

(Ed. Note) – There are no records of noticed public hearings from January 29, 2008 to March 18, 2009.  The current land plan was released on June 3, 2009.  Below, compare the change in the land plan from January 2008 (TOP) to June 2009 (BOTTOM).

After the jump, maps and more info.

Wildhorse Ranch Land Plan as of January 2008 (below)

June 3, 2009 – The Planning Commission held a public meeting on  the DEIR, commented on the DEIR, and received public comments. The DEIR was released on April 24, 2009 for comments, and the comments period ended on June 8, 2009.

June 15, 2009 – The Social Services Commission was presented with the affordable housing plan concept for input. The Commission endorsed the Project Individualized Program concept based on specified conditions.

July 28, 2009 – The City Council held a public hearing on the proposed project applications, and took the following actions: 1) Certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed project; 2) Approved the General Plan Amendment that changes the land use designation of the subject site from Agriculture to Residential High Density, Residential Medium Density, Neighborhood Greenbelt, Natural Habitat Area, and Urban Agricultural Transition  Area; 3) Approved a resolution calling for a special election on November 3, 2009 for voter consideration of the Wildhorse Ranch General Plan amendment and baseline project features.

September 15, 2009 (pdf) -  The City Council took the following actions, contingent of the passage of Measure P: 1) Approved an ordinance rezoning the property from Horse Ranch to Residential Planned Development; 2) Approved the affordable  housing plan for the proposed project and determined that the affordable housing shall be constructed by the developer and not given to the City as a
land dedication site. Construction of the affordable housing units shall begin by the 75th market rate unit building permit and shall be completed by the 100th market rate unit; 3) Approved an ordinance adopting a Development Agreement between the City and the developer, Parlin Development, LLC.

AREAS OF CONTENTION

There have been three main areas of contention on this project: the fiscal analysis, the affordable housing plan and the greenhouse gas emissions reduction. The only difference of the text of the three documents  presented below is that on the night of the Council meeting of September 15, 2009 the language of how and when the affordable housing would get built was changed to what was presented in the above paragraph.

The following documents have been pulled from dense public documents available on the City of Davis Website.  These documents are copied directly from primary source material and should be read as such.  They are presented in .doc format for ease of reading.

Fiscal Analysis in .doc format: Download Wildhorse Ranch Fiscal Analysis

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Reduction Plan in .doc format: Download Wildhorse Ranch GHG Reduction Plan

Affordable Housing in .doc format: Download Wildhorse Ranch Affordable Housing Plan