Davis in 250 Words (Part 3)

Each Friday we have a chance to see, in 250 words, how all nine candidates line up. Here's my week one answer.

Do you support or oppose the Davis Innovation and Sustainability Campus, why or why not?

I do not support DISC. What is sustainable about 5000 new commuters? Jobs without housing will only exacerbate Davis’ housing crisis and increase emissions. Perhaps a business park seemed like a move forward in 2008, but it is not the future I see. Picture a business park. Do you see boring buildings, endless seas of parking, and no people? Me too.
 
This project is not all bad. There is a need to create space in Davis for jobs that build on the human capital created at the university, and the inclusion of some housing is a clear improvement on a typical business park. There is also a commitment to fund some much-needed bicycle infrastructure. Currently, the costs outweigh these benefits.
 
Instead of adding up the costs, here are the changes that would be necessary for DISC to earn my support.
 

1. Exclude the Mace 25.
2. Fund Unitrans’ Z line.
3. Have an actual plan to make Mace work.
4. Increase housing to one unit for every planned employee.
5. Underground parking, no surface lots, and decrease parking.
6. Grade separation for bicycles at Mace and I-80 interchange.
7. Less roads, more bike paths.
8. Make concrete promises.

 
In Exhibit B of the 20-110 - DISC Project General Plan Amendment, we see the land use map we will be approving, and it tells us nothing. After developers have repeatedly taken advantage of Davis by proffering vague promises of grandeur, Measure B hands the same opportunity to the developers of DISC.

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