The Davis City Council will meet Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Chambers at 23 Russell Blvd.
The following are descriptions of selected agenda items the council will discuss at the meeting. To view the entire agenda and associated staff reports, visit cityofdavis.org.
General Plan update
What will the city of Davis look like in 2035?
It’s impossible to know for sure, but the Davis City Council is about to embark on a long and arduous journey to determine what an update to the city’s General Plan will include.
The council will begin discussing the General Plan update at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. The General Plan outlines the basic development rules that guide new construction and development within the city. It defines which parts of the city are for housing, which are for industrial business, and where retail business should go.
The council will be asked to decide how to go about working on the General Plan, a task that will be expensive no matter how it is done. The three options presented by Community Development Director Katherine Hess in a report to the council range from $1 million to $3 million in cost. The least expensive option would take two years, and the most expensive approach would take four years.
Though funding for the General Plan update has not been allocated yet, it could come from a variety of different sources, such as the General Fund, construction tax revenues, development impact fees and redevelopment funds.
Opting for the cheaper approach will mean minimizing issue analysis, citizen engagement and study of alternatives, according to the report.
Councilmembers will be asked to weigh in on three overarching questions, including what the updated plan should contain and achieve, as well as what aspects are important in the process of developing the plan. Councilmembers will also be solicited for their input on what else should be considered in the plan.
Sports Park Environmental Impact Report
With hundreds of Davis children participating in softball, youth soccer and little league baseball, there is a high demand in the city for playing fields and baseball diamonds.
The Davis City Council will take a step toward providing more space for those activities at Tuesday’s meeting, when it is expected to commission environmental documents for a new park.
The Environmental Impact Report will cost either $199,981 or $308,255, depending on which properties the council decides to analyze, according to a report prepared by Parks and General Services Director Donna Silva. Funding for the EIR and conceptual plans will come from proceeds from past development agreements and a contribution from a property owner.
The new sports park will be 100 acres in size. The location has not been determined yet, but several sites east and northeast of the city limits would be analyzed.
If a new sports park is built, two current athletic sites will be razed and rezoned for housing. One is the Civic Center Ball Field at 23 Russell Blvd., and the other is the Davis Little League Fields at 1865 H St., near the railroad tracks.
JEREMY OGUL can be reached at city@theaggie.org.
