A Yolo County Superior Court Judge has ruled that the county may acquire Conaway Ranch through eminent domain proceedings. The City of Davis is a member of the Conaway Ranch Joint Powers Authority. Do you support the purchase of the Conaway Ranch, and what are your thoughts on the future use of the ranch with respect to farming, water rights, open space, habitat, and recreation?
Conaway Ranch consists of 17,244 acres northeast of Davis near the Yolo Bypass. In fact the Davis Wetlands were carved out of this property. Steve Gidaro and his partners purchased Conaway Ranch for $60,000,000. At the time they bought it, they knew the County was interested in acquiring the property, and that eminent domain was likely. I support the eminent domain action.
Gidaro previously indicated that he wanted to develop 4000 units at Conaway Ranch. Now he says wants to keep it as open space. If that is true, he would intend to use it for agricultural land mitigation and Swainson’s hawk habitat mitigation. He also indicated he might sell the water rights out of the region. Gidaro’s current proposals land use proposals include a 3500 home development in western Yolo County , and the 424 acre Shriners’ property north of Covell Boulevard and east of Wildhorse, where he has proposed a 1,500 home development.
Conaway Ranch is currently used for agriculture and duck habitat. I support Yolo County ’s actions. I believe we should maintain farming at the property, which would also help fund the purchase. I support maintaining Swainson’s hawk and other habitat and preserving open space. Our water resources in this region are already overtaxed. I do not support transferring Conaway Ranch Water out of the Basin.
Over time, in collaboration with the other joint powers authority communities and the public, I would engage studies to catalogue the resource values present on Conaway Ranch. I would want to explore improved conjunctive water management, habitat restoration, and recreational opportunities. The property is big enough to accommodate all these uses, and it will take good planning to ensure that the property is actually put to the best use.
This is a good opportunity to lobby in favor of Measure G. Protecting farm land costs money. Davis needs to resolve its structural deficit to be able to help the county. We must reauthorize the parks tax. The environmental community must participate in supporting efforts to balance the budget so we will be in a position to be a partner in regional conservation.
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