Statement
of Ted Adams as a GNA Board Member to a Joint Meeting of the Davis City Council
and the Board of Education, May 22. 2008:
Members
of the City Council and Board of Education,
I am here
tonight on behalf of the Board of the Grande Neighborhood Association. Our Association has been working for 7 years
to help the community create a viable future for the Grande site in North Davis.
In
the past 2 years, we have been greatly encouraged by the open processes that
you, our elected local officials, have implemented to allow neighborhood input
in determining the future of the Grande parcel.
We have appreciated the opportunity to work with Tom
Lumbrazo, the District’s real estate consultant. A year ago,
the Board of Education invited two members of our Association to participate in
the 7/11 Surplus Property Committee, which concluded that the Grande site is
surplus to anticipated School District
needs.
During
the past year, we also were invited to participate in the discussions of the
Real Estate Assets Subcommittee, which includes two members each from the City
Council and Board of Education. In the
meetings of the Real Estate Assets Subcommittee, we witnessed firsthand a
renewed spirit of cooperation between the City Council and the Board of Education.
Three
months ago the Subcommittee agreed upon a workable plan for the Grande site,
one that involved compromise among all the parties to create benefits for all
parties. The School
District will gain much-needed revenue for its facility
needs. The City will realize new tax
revenues on taxable land parcels that it never anticipated! And the Grande neighbors hope that we can
look forward to an in-fill housing development that is compatible with the
surrounding neighborhood.
The
agreement that was reached in February planned for 41 residential units on the
Grande site. But in March the General
Plan Update Steering Committee recommended greater density in the range of
50-75 units. So we know there is more
work to be done.
To
conclude, we thank all of you for working together, and with us, to accomplish
what we have realized thus far. We look
forward to a continuing, constructive partnership in the future.
Ted
Adams
May
22, 2008
"
