Measure K’s vision has finally materialized. As of yesterday, Davis’ new Target store finally opened its doors.

Davis’ first big-box store at 4485 Second St. in Mace Ranch will have its grand opening on Sunday. A launch party for special guests was held on Tuesday night and yesterday marked its “soft” opening.

The 137,000-square-foot store, which will employ 208 people, will offer an expanded but not full-scale grocery section, including fresh produce, meat and baked goods.

The measure allowing the project passed with a 674-vote margin victory in November 2006 and construction began in 2008.

This grand opening weekend is one full of celebration. The grand opening coincides with the Downtown Davis Jazz Festival and Second Friday ArtAbout. Davis Neighbors’ Night Out falls on Sunday as well.

The Target building is LEED certified, or built to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards. LEED accreditation addresses its sustainability goals through building performance and site development, including water savings, energy efficiency, materials and indoor environmental quality.

The area includes a 110-foot buffer zone with a greenbelt, pedestrian walkways, covered bike parking and electric car chargers. Hundreds of trees planted on a three-acre greenbelt will separate surrounding residents from the commercial development.

Time will tell how downtown businesses will fare against the new store. The Downtown Davis Business Association approach is one of non-competition between downtown businesses and Target.

“We couldn’t have a better expression of what makes downtown a unique place to shop, dine and spend time,” said DDBA Administrator Joy Cohan. “Target has its thing to do that weekend, but Target can have its match for that. [Downtown] is a completely different and unique experience.”

The Downtown Davis Business Association made projections of Target’s future performance based on other downtown settings where Target stores have been built. Based on a study in San Luis Obispo – which is also a university town like Davis with a downtown of similar size and a Target with about the same square footage – the DDBA estimated how much local retail sales may be taken away from other business and captured by Target.

Twenty million dollars or more annually in local retail sales could be transferred away from downtown to Target, and more stores that would eventually be placed in that center, Cohan said.

“We are trying to highlight things that are unique of downtown, things that never can be neglected by a shopping center built on the periphery of town,” Cohan said. “Continuing to talk about, enhance and spread the story about what makes downtown Davis special is the best strategy in keeping downtown in the forefront in people’s minds.”

Target paid the City of Davis $100,000 in community enhancement funds. While the DDBA initially requested the entire amount, they were granted $50,000. The other half is currently in reserve, still dedicated to downtown area. The DDBA will put this money towards a branding and media campaign, which includes seeking advice from a professional marketing firm. They will focus on the Second Friday ArtAbouts and a gift card program for downtown Davis.

The City of Davis projected that the store will generate $1 million a year in local sales tax revenue, said City Principal Planner Michael Webb.

In an analysis from an environmental and socioeconomic impact report by the city, it was concluded that the Target store would not cause significant adverse impacts on other businesses. The report sought to consider whether the Target would result in physical deterioration of properties, the economic impact on existing businesses and whether or not property owners would be able to lease vacant buildings.

According to the report, the new business will not cause adverse impacts because it will capture the sales tax revenue that is lost when Davis residents spend outside the city.

In a Davis Enterprise article, Target spokesperson Anna Anderson said Target customers can expect a convenient place for a “mid-week fill-in grocery trip.”

POOJA KUMAR can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Davis police responded to an emergency request about an eviction enforcement gone wrong on Sept. 29. The incident turned out to be the most recent shooting in series of several in Davis since May.

A Yolo County Sheriff’s deputy visited a resident on Hanover Drive to enforce the eviction, when during the discussion the resident confronted the deputy with a knife. The deputy responded with her firearm and shot the resident once in the torso, according to the press release.

When Davis police officers arrived, the resident was injured but still holding on to the knife. The resident, Eleni Bekele, 46, refused to drop the knife, proceeding to throw it at one officer from the second story balcony; the knife struck the officer in the head.

Bekele was taken to UC Davis Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries and arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. The Davis police officer was not injured.

Several other incidents involving shootings occurred this summer.

On Sept. 26, a shooting at University Village Apartments at 625 Cantrill Dr. resulted in four arrests. At about 1 a.m. two partygoers, one female and the other male, became involved in an argument. The woman was kicked out of the party and returned an hour later with her brother and two other male friends, according to the city police’s press release.

The female and two of the male suspects tried to enter through the third-floor apartment’s front door using baseball bats. One partygoer was assaulted with a bat. A third male suspect then fired four shots at the apartment. One of those shots hit an adjacent apartment.

The four suspects attempted to flee in a vehicle but were stopped and arrested by Davis patrol officers responding to several calls from residents at the complex. None of the arrested were Davis residents.

One University Village resident said she left the gathering before the argument occurred. She woke up to the sound of gunshots from the apartment on the floor below her.

“That was my alarm clock – the shots,” said Melissa Hayes, sophomore clinical nutrition major.

Hayes recalls seeing the female suspect before she went to her own apartment.

“It’s really scary because you never expect something like that to happen,” she said. “It makes you think of other school shootings, people getting hurt for really stupid reasons. It could happen anywhere. Words can really affect people. You don’t know how someone can take words.“

On Aug. 8, a person shot into an occupied apartment on the 1100 block of J Street. There were no arrests or injuries.

Furthermore, on May 7, there was another attempted burglary with shots fired on Drew Circle in South Davis.

On Sept. 13, at 21 and Seventh in downtown Davis, one individual shot another after a large fight was broken up in the early morning. Although there was security camera footage, officers could not locate the suspect and no injuries were reported.

“I think you have to look at each of these shootings individually,“ said Press Information Officer Lt. Thomas Waltz. “They are unrelated. I supposed you could say a couple of them had alcohol in common and had taken place in or around groups of partying.“

Waltz maintains that Davis is just like any other city, with its own share of crime, parolees and sex offenders.

“It’s not uncommon that we have a shooting; we have a few a year,” he said. “It happens that they were so close together.“

The police department is working with the city and other organizations on a safe party initiative program that it is in the process of being unveiled.

The police are making efforts to educate party hosts on safe planning. Especially when alcohol is involved, as two of the shooting incidents did, it is important to have a plan to monitor attendees.

In the age of text messaging, it is not uncommon for a small gathering to become a 300 to 500-person venue. Being prepared can prevent fights, injuries, sexual assaults and robberies.

Whether these are isolated incidents or not, Davis residents are shocked at their frequency within such a short period of time.

These incidents mark the need to reinforce the safe-party initiative, said Gary Sandy, director of local government relations at UC Davis.

“We really need to get student awareness up about the very real risks to health and safety to having large and out-of-control parties,” Sandy said. “We are not saying don’t party, but party safe and responsibly; have rules.”

Associate Executive Vice Chancellor of Campus Community Relations Rahim Reed, suggested that although the campus and city police chiefs are probably already working together, they should issue a joint statement reassuring the community of their collaboration. Given that the shootings are unusual for the city, a statement would assure students and residents that the police forces are working together to ensure safety in the community, he said.

POOJA KUMAR can be reached at city@theaggie.org.

Solano Land Trust, a Bay Area-based conservation group, purchased their third farmland easement in the Davis-Dixon area, bringing their total controlled area to nearly 1,000 acres of farmland.

The most recent purchase is part of the Dixon Ridge, an area of high quality farmland along the I-80 corridor. The Miles/Kidwell easement is nearly 488 acres in size.

In the case of the Miles/Kidwell land purchase, the Solano Land Trust performed a conservation land easement, which bought developmental rights, but not ownership rights.

“This means that the land can never be developed – ever,“ said Nicole Byrd, executive director of the Solano Land Trust.

In an easement purchase, the SLT pays the owners of the property a portion of the equity they have in the land. The farmer can still use the land for farming purposes and also receives a tax break in property and estate taxes.

Local farmer and SLT Board President Ian Anderson said in a press release that this easement is part of a larger vision.

“Protecting this property helps maintain agricultural viability in this region,“ Anderson said. “We all love the rural character of Solano County and the way we preserve that is by helping to keep agriculture viable.“

Not only does the easement purchase process benefit the area by preventing the transformation of agricultural land into commercial, but it also helps stimulate local economic development.

“The owners of the land involved in the most recent easement were able to reinvest, to buy more land,“ Byrd said. “Some of the land they retained for themselves, and some they were able to incorporate into the project. It is a very profitable venture for the landowners.“

SLT obtained funding for the purchases from Dixon and Davis.

“The City of Davis is proud to have worked with a local farmer, the City of Dixon, the Solano Land Trust and our state and federal partners to protect this important farmland forever,“ said Mayor of Davis Ruth Asmundson in a press release. “The result is a positive outcome for all parties involved and is a tangible legacy for future generations.“

In contrast to the Miles/Kidwell easement, the SLT also has full developmental rights to some pieces of land. Full ownership is part of the vision of maintaining Solano County‘s agricultural regions.

“We are looking at some purchases in other areas of Solano County as well,“ Byrd said. “We are looking at nearly 1,500 acres of unincorporated land near Fairfield, which we think could be put to good use.“

BLAKE PETERS can be reach at city@theaggie.org.