The city of Davis is trying to decide where it should grow.
A report detailing potential housing development sites inDavis was presented to the Davis City Council and Planning Commission in a joint meeting Tuesday.The report lists 36 sites inDavis that could be developed as housing before2 013.
“This is a tool for the City Council,but it‘s also the means by which the City Councild etermines what growth policy they‘re going to pursue,“ said planning commission chair Greg Clumpner.
The study and report were completed by the Housing Element Steering Committee,a15-member body appointed by members of the City Council.
The sites were ranked by how well they met a set of principles selected by the steering committee, including whether they promoted a compact urban form,were close to existing facilities and were close to campus.The committee also evaluated sites based on whether they could provide compact,high-density housing and promote walking and bicycle use.
The top site selected by the committee was the Davis Joint UnifiedSchool District headquarters,located onFifth Street between Band C streets.The committee notedthe site is close to downtown,the university and promotes pedestrian and bicycle-friendly uses.
The committee also recommended thePacific Gas & Electric Companyservice center site at Fifthand L streets,the transit corridor ofAnderson Road north ofRussell Boulevardandredeveloping parts of downtown.
“It‘s kind of intriguing to think that alongAnderson Roadmaybe some redevelopment will happen to densify housing near campus,“ saidCouncilmemberDon Saylor in an interview before the meeting.“While it‘s a desirable place,it may not be feasible.“
Saylor said now that each site is ranked,it will be up to City Council to determine which of the sites are feasible for development and how to assess that feasibility.
For each potential site,the committee made recommendations for development.At the DJUSD headquarters site,the committee recommended senior housing with adequate parking,among other things.
“We would hope that [developers] look at our recommendations and incorporate them into their proposals,“ said steering committee chair Kevin Wolf.
The committee‘s report will be discussed by the planning commission atitsMay28meeting,and the recommendations from that meeting will be forwarded to the City Council,Clumpnersaid.From there,the council willchoose to adopt the report as is or a modified version.
“Growth is a really complicated issue,“ said planning commissioner Mike Levy.“The steering committee‘s work is an important step in helping us start to answer the‘where should we grow‘ question.“
The questions of how and when to grow are tough questions the city will have to answer for years to come,he said.
The steering committee‘s report is available on the city‘s website at cityofdavis.org.
JEREMY OGUL can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com.
