Measure P Summary
By Erin Reddy and Kristy Deiner

What is Measure P?
  • Wildhorse Ranch is a 25.8-acre project located within the City.
  • In 1994, the Wildhorse Ranch property retained its agricultural designation and continued in use as a horse ranch.
  • Measure P would change the Wildhorse Ranch property from agricultural to urban residential uses (191 units).
  • It would include up to 73 single family units, 78 townhomes, and 40 apartments of which 38 must be affordable to "very low" and "low" income households.
  • It must conform to Baseline Project Features:
    • Specified public and private open space, greenbelt and habitat requirements
    • Greenhouse gas emission reductions on site of 90% below baseline
    • 2.26 acres to urban-agricultural transition area
    • 1.61 acres of greenbelt
    • 15.5 acres to Swainson's Hawk foraging habitat through purchase of conservation easements or payment of mitigation fee
    • fee title or easements on at least 50 acres for agricultural preservation
    • a Community Facilities District to provide additional funding for police/fire services
  • It is supported by the Sierra Club for these stated reasons:
    • Wildhorse Ranch is a small-footprint housing project
    • Wildhorse Ranch meets the majority of the Sierra Club's guidelines for smart growth.
    • Wildhorse Ranch housing units will produce just 10 percent of the GHG emissions of a typical Davis home - 0.5 metric tons per year instead of 5.5. This will be accomplished through a combination of passive solar design to reduce energy demand and extensive use of photovoltaics on every home, on parking covers, and on similar structures, to reach an average of 2.4 kWs per household for a total of 458 kWs of clean solar power.
    • Latest technology in green construction and design including:
      • insulation, wall and roofing materials, and recycled construction products
      • utilize high-efficiency heating and air conditioning
      • highly reflective roof and wall colors to reduce solar gain
      • high efficiency lighting, solar or high efficiency water heaters, and Energy Star appliances.
      • Residents of Wildhorse Ranch will be able to monitor and adjust their energy usage 24/7 through smart metering.
    • Water consumption:
      • water-efficient irrigation, water-saving fixtures
      • use of California native and drought-tolerant species throughout the landscaping including the planting of native trees
      • An existing agricultural well that does not draw from the city drinking water aquifer will be used for watering the public greenbelts and open spaces.

What are the issues?

Environmental Sustainability
Yes:
  • Environmentally responsible design, green building practices.
  • Solar panels on every unit will provide nearly all of the project's power, and the project will exceed state goals for reduced energy use by over 50%.
  • 90% of greenhouse gas emissions are eliminated.
  • Dedicates over 37% of the neighborhood to open space.

No:
  • This project is located on the periphery, far from jobs, shopping and transportation hubs.
  • The project will sit on top of current agricultural land that is frequented by horses, jack rabbits, ground squirrels, coyotes, and hawks, and would be directly adjacent to a burrowing owl preserve.
  • Most greenhouse gases in California come from auto emissions, which the developer's analysis ignored. Due to the location of this development, car travel will increase.

Smart Growth

Yes:
  • Wildhorse Ranch is surrounded on three sides by urban uses and connects the newly constructed Covell bicycle underpass to two major sections of the Wildhorse Greenbelt and Bikeway.
  • It will provide Wildhorse school children a safe route to school.
  • It can potentially provide homes for hundreds of Davis workers who currently commute to their jobs from outside Davis.
  • This is a relatively small project (only 10% the size of Covell Village!).
  • Of the 2,000 unbuilt units in Davis, 1,025 are on-campus student housing. UCD is planning 475 on-campus homes, but only for University employees. Of the alleged 500 units approved in Davis, there is only one project currently moving forward consisting of 108 units.

No:
  • The city of Davis has exceeded its current state-issued growth targets. Counting West Village and City-approved housing, Davis will have grown almost 70% since 1988 - hardly slow growth! The more housing we approve now, the more pressure we will have to grow faster in the future since future targets are based on past growth.
  • 2,000 units other than Wildhorse Ranch are entitled and unbuilt.
  • The City of Davis has exceeded its affordable housing targets and is under no pressure to build more.
  • Wildhorse Ranch reneges on the 1995 development agreement and adds housing on the periphery of Davis, far away from downtown retail and UC Davis. Of the current development projects being considered The City's fifteen member Housing Element Steering Committee ranked the Wildhorse Ranch site 27th of 36, concluding that it "would promote car travel and would not be conducive to bicycle mobility . . . [since it is] far from downtown and UC Davis."
  • The design is substantially different from existing adjacent neighborhoods and there are no connecting roads. In addition, the Environmental Impact Report listed "Impacts related to altering the existing character of the project site and obstructing views from existing homes" as significant and unavoidable.

Affordability

Yes:
  • The townhomes are estimated at $350,000-$450,000.

No:
  • The least expensive units are estimated at $451,000. This is not affordable for students nor the average university faculty.

Fiscal Responsibility

Yes:
  • The project results in net fiscal benefits of approximately $4 million over 15 years.

No:
  • While the project may break even given a 15-year forecast, after the first 15 years it will run an annual deficit, with the deficit increasing over time. According to City staff, Wildhorse Ranch will cost more to service than it will generate in tax revenue each year because the City's share of property taxes for this project is 11.8%, significantly below the citywide average of 17.5%.
  • According to staff, this project will bring no additional net revenue to the City except for the standard, modest, onetime construction tax. The Impact and Quimby fees only pay for the development's share of infrastructure costs. Wildhorse Ranch compares unfavorably to the recently-approved Verona and Chiles Ranch projects. Verona contributed $12,000 per market-rate unit, plus standard fees; Wildhorse Ranch requires no such contributions
  • The claim of $4 million in benefits is based on a nonexistent $3.2 million savings attributed to the project's independence from the city's affordable housing trust fund.

Planning

Yes:
  • This is a result of a 5-year collaboration between the City Council, residents who live near the site, and Davis leaders and activists.

No:
  • The project lacks a completed development agreement, adequate Council discussion, and review by key citizen-based Commissions. The Wildhorse East Neighborhood Association (WENA), which constitutes the immediate neighbors, have felt that the developer has not done enough to soften the impact of the project, and hence have publicly opposed the project. Other neighbors in Wildhorse, Slide Hill and Mace Ranch were generally left out of the process.
  • No actual certifications from green building associations (L.E.E.D. or Build it Green) have been achieved.
Sources:
 
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  Revised October 29, 2009