Sierra Club Yolano Group statement

 

 

The Sierra Club Yolano Group Opposes the Currently Proposed Paso Fino Development

 

The City is currently considering proposals for development of the old Haussler Property on east Covell Boulevard.  The proposed development would be located at 2627 E. Covell Blvd. (Haussler property) and on 2675 Moore Blvd. (neighborhood greenbelt and publicly-owned).  There have been several residential development proposals brought forward for the parcel, including one by a previous developer in 2009 and at least three currently by Taormino and Associates. 

 

The three current proposals submitted by Taormino and Associates would:

• Eliminate significant urban habitat and neighborhood greenbelt.

• Remove all or most of 9 mature Canary Island Pines on the private property.

• Remove all or most of the neighborhood greenbelts and all or most of the mature trees on those greenbelts for development.

• Entail a potentially precedent setting sale of publicly-owned greenbelts in order to accommodate the size of the project.

•  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These proposals would place from 8 to 12 residential units on roughly 1.5 acres of both private and public land and would be inconsistent in density with surrounding neighborhoods.  To accommodate the size of the project, all or most of the greenbelts would be lost through a swap or sale to the developer. 

 

The Sierra Club supports in-fill densification but also believes it must be done intelligently and in scale with existing neighborhoods and that consideration must to given to preservation of urban habitat.

 

The Sierra Club Yolano Group supports the previous 2009 plan for the property.  This plan:

• Preserves and enlarges the eastern greenbelt abutting the private property and preserves all the existing mature trees on the that greenbelt;

• Preserves the trees on the western greenbelt property line;

• Saves the Canary Island Pines on the private property.  

 

The Canary Island Pines are considered urban wildlife habitat, and one of them contains a large stick nest that has been used for several years by breeding Swainson’s Hawks.

 

This project was for 4 units and was almost entirely on the private parcel.  It entailed a land swap of most of the western greenbelt and part of the northern belt in exchange for strips of the private parcel to the south and to the east. This increased the width of the eastern greenbelt, put the Canary Island Pines onto public land, and provided a strip of green street along Covell Blvd.

 

This project went through an extensive outreach process, including working with the neighbors and going before several City Commissions for approval prior to going to the City Council at the time.  It was approved by a 3-1 vote by the Council.  Neighbors of the project and other concerned citizens supported the proposal.  The Sierra Club did not object to the then proposed project because considerable effort was made to retain as much of the urban canopy as possible. 

 

The Sierra Club Yolano Group opposes the sale of publicly-owned greenbelts.  Davis does not currently have a policy addressing the sale of greenbelts and has never sold such parcels for development in the past.  The Yolano Group is very concerned that this one-off transaction to sell greenbelts to a private developer to accommodate his project could set a dangerous precedent. 

 

Due to the numerous problems associated with theTaormino and Associates proposals, the Yolano Group recommends that:

• None of the current plans for the parcels be adopted;

• That the 2009 approved plan for the site should be reconsidered for adoption; and

• The City Council should set in motion an open public process to develop strict policy regarding any future possible sale of our greenbelts.