I would only annex West Village if it was financially in the best interests of the city. The infrastructure of the project is provided by UC Davis. Single family dwellings don’t generally generate enough property taxes to cover the city services needed to pay their impacts.

The question about whether we should annex the property is somewhat esoteric. It’s not clear that we could annex the property. Annexation would require UC Davis consent. UC Davis is not likely to cede its land use decisions to the city of Davis .

What must be remembered is that UC Davis is not in the city of Davis ’ jurisdiction. We have no authority to compel any action by the university, and vise versa. Therefore, it is essential that we maintain a positive working relationship with the university, so we can collaborate to ensure all impacts on Davis are addressed to Davis ’ satisfaction.

Both the City and the University understand that the effects of campus growth are going to be felt within the City. Whatever level of growth the city may find desirable, the University must ensure it has housing to accommodate its faculty, staff, and students. This “town-gown” issue is felt by college and university cities all over the state: who should pay for off-campus costs, including those associated with expansion, such as infrastructure and public services in neighboring jurisdictions? A pending State Supreme Court case – City of Marina v. the Board of Trustees of the California State University – may eventually provide a ruling on at least part of this issue – i.e., whether a university can provide funds to a local agency to mitigate the effects of expansion and other “externalities.” (The West Village neighborhood group and the City of Davis have both filed “friend of the court” briefs in this case, so the Davis community has many reasons to watch for this ruling.)

It is my understanding that the University has indicated that it intends to pay for needed mitigation of the effects of the West Village project within the City, but it has concerns regarding the implications of the pending Marina case. To ensure that the effects of campus growth and development are mitigated, we need to have trust and cooperation among people in leadership roles at both the City and the University. I have served in several professional and community capacities that would foster such a relationship, including serving on the Board of Directors of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association, and as a Superior Court appointed mediator. As a member of the Davis City Council, I would strive to negotiate a fair agreement between our two governments to ensure payment by the University of its fair share of the costs for the necessary infrastructure and services to meet the needs of these new residents. I also believe that we should not focus only on mitigating the impacts of the development, but continue looking at ways to improve the project for the overall benefit of the community. For instance, perhaps the university might include an indoor recreation facility, or a media center, that could be available to the community as a whole. The University has a very real incentive to ensure that Davis remains a functional and desirable city—otherwise students, faculty, and staff will not want to come to UCD. In other words, while we may often have different approaches and perspectives, maintaining a cooperative relationship will enable us to collaborate to address each others’ interests.