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In the News

April 8, 2008

The Carnival is coming to town at Cannery Park!

Lewis Planned Communities is pleased to welcome this fun event hosted by the Emerson Junior High School Parent Teacher Association. The carnival will feature about 20 rides from Butler Amusements, the largest carnival company in the Western United States. It starts on Thursday, April 10th and will run for four days.

APRIL 10 - 13
Thursday 4 - 10pm
Friday 4 - 11pm
Saturday 11am - 11pm
Sunday 12 noon - 10pm

The carnival is sponsored as a fund-raising event by the Emerson Junior High School PTA.

We are pleased to support the Emerson parents' effort to raise funds for school programs by providing the former cannery site's expansive parking areas for the first carnival Davis has seen since 1971.

Please come by, have fun, and help support the PTA's efforts.

March 20, 2008

Lewis Planned Communities acknowledges and thanks the citizens who volunteered numerous Thursday evenings as members of the Davis General Plan Housing Element Update Steering Committee. Over the past 13 months during 26 committee meetings and two community workshops, Chair Kevin Wolf, Vice-Chair Mark Siegler and members - Lucas Frerichs, Jay Gerber, Pam Gunnell, Mike Harrington, Donna Lott, Eileen Samitz, Ellen Shields, Maynard Skinner, Mark Spencer, Kristin Stoneking, Bob Traverso, Norma Turner and Luke Watkins have contributed a significant amount of their time to identify and study potential sites for housing in Davis.

Under the leadership of Chair Kevin Wolf and Vice-Chair Mark Siegler, the committee that was appointed by the Davis City Council in February of 2007 produced a set of Overarching Goals and Housing Location Principles [see page 59 of the final Steering Committee report] for use in evaluating the most appropriate sites for future housing. The committee diligently worked to review and rank 37 sites that they identified as being suitable locations for housing. The Lewis Cannery Park site was included in the committee's recommendations. The committee also outlined various site strategies and suggestions for the path of future housing in Davis.

Lewis also acknowledges that this citizen planning process was successful due to the leadership and hard work by City of Davis Principal Planner Bob Wolcott, the Davis Housing Programs Manager Danielle Foster, the project consultant Jeff Baird, as well as various additional key city staff. It was a superior collaborative effort by all.

A job well done!

The final Steering Committee report can be reviewed on the city's website www.cityofdavis.org under Current Issues, General Plan / Housing Element Update, Attachment.

On April 22, 2008, The City Council and City Planning Commission will hold a joint meeting to receive the report and recommendations of the General Plan / Housing Element Update Steering Committee. After questions of Committee members and staff, public comments will be received. The meeting will be broadcast live on Channel 16, the government channel and via streaming video from the city's website.

March 18, 2008

In a unanimous vote, the Davis City Council approves a resolution authorizing the City Manager to execute an agreement between Economic Strategies Group (ESG) and the City of Davis to prepare a non-residential feasibility analysis for the Cannery Park site.

On October 23, 2007, the Davis City Council voted unanimously to contract with a consultant to study the future viability of either all or a portion of the 100-acre cannery site for non-residential uses. Previously, in 2003 the Davis City Council passed a motion to require a non-residential feasibility analysis when an applicant requests conversion of land use from non-residential to residential.

The Cannery Park proposal includes the proposed rezoning of the 100-acre property from Planned Development (Industrial) to a mixture of zoning that will allow for the development of a mixed-use neighborhood that includes approximately 20 acres of business park/office (225,000+/- square feet) of job- creating opportunities, 21 acres of parks, greenbelts, open space, and just over 45 acres of medium-density residential for a wide variety of “for sale” homes for phased build-out over 5 to 7 years.

At a cost of $45,000 to be paid by Lewis Planned Communities, the consultants work will include the following:

  • Non-retail commercial real estate analysis of the regional and submarket areas to determine the type and rate of development that might occur with the site context and market conditions
  • Regional economic overview including a summary of regional net absorption by year for office, R&D/flex, and industrial uses
  • An “industry needs matrix”
  • Identification of the competitive strengths and weakness of the local submarket, submarket real estate trends and recommended market segments with particularly good prospects for the local submarket
  • Submarket land supply, land availability and cost
  • Identification of whether the supply of land in the submarket is sufficient to meet future demand over the timeframes outlined
  • City of Davis “Capture-Rate” and site analysis
  • Allocation of growth to Cannery Park over the next 15 to 20 years in five year increments
  • Comments on an overall mix of non-residential development on part or the entire site

The report is expected to be completed in June.

March, 2008

Lewis Planned Communities retains Colliers International to market the 100-acre cannery property. The current mixed-use proposal for Cannery Park includes over 20 acres of business park/office opportunities, which could generate around 225,000 square feet of new job-creating space. The goal of this marketing effort is to find potential business/high-tech users interested in locating to Cannery Park. This effort includes a search for users that would fit within the context of the proposed 20.3+/- acre business park/office component of Cannery Park, a larger user that could still be incorporated with some modifications to the plan, and any potential user that could purchase and use the entire site under its current Planned Development (Industrial) zoning.

March 13, 2008

The General Plan Update Steering Committee approves a special site strategies plan for the 98.4-acre Lewis Cannery site in consideration of the adjacent 383-acre site formerly known as Covell Village. [see page 28 of the final Steering Committee report]

February 5, 2008

City posts its Preliminary Draft of the Results of General Plan Housing Element Workshop #2 held on January 24, 2008.

The city summary shows that the public most frequently suggests moving the Cannery site to a "High" ranking category. Seventy percent of the forty-six citizen comments involving changes in the site ranking of the Lewis - Cannery site suggested ranking the site "High" for potential housing rather than the "Medium" as identified by the members of the General Plan Housing Element committee last November. A summary report with all the workshop results is posted on the city's web site under documents for the Community Workshop #2 on January 24, 2008.

The focus of Community Workshop #2 hosted by the city of Davis and attended by 150 community members was to obtain community feedback on: (1) important principles for evaluating potential housing sites; (2) the Steering Committee’s initial ranking of housing sites; and, (3) overall strategies and directions for housing. Attendee responses of new housing near downtown, maximizing infill with a greater emphasis on moderate income housing and attached/smaller housing, and allowing increased densities along with protecting agriculture were most frequently suggested directions for new housing in Davis.

The most frequently suggested reason for the ranking change to "High" of the Lewis-Cannery site was that "it's inside the city limits and is ready for development" as summarized by city staff.

Other frequent and positive comments with regard to the Cannery site include:

  • "High demand for housing and affordable housing isn't available in Davis. Lewis offers a good plan with potential for more units than other sites…"
  • "It’s vacant and ready to go as mixed use. Can provide significant middle income homes that we need"
  • "Close proximity to downtown and shopping"
  • "It is not too far from shopping and downtown, it is less sprawling. I hear industry does not want to locate there"

January 17, 2008

The city of Davis posts the revised land use plan and supporting documents for Cannery Park on its website.

Some 60 members of the Davis community join host Lewis Planned Communities in the Holmes Junior High School multipurpose room for a neighborhood informational meeting… "What’s New" for the old cannery site. The evening community meeting begins with an hour-long PowerPoint update by the Lewis planning team members.

Primary improvements to the Cannery Park vision include an increase in the job generating Business/Office use to 20.3 acres with up to approximately 250,000 square feet of new opportunities for business and high-tech users; a more efficient circulation system reducing the area of paved roadway by 5 acres; an increase in area dedicated to Parks and Open Space with relocation of the neighborhood park to the eastern edge; northern and eastern perimeter channel/buffer increases with additional focus on improved pedestrian/bicycle connections; the inclusion of a "central spine" feature for enhanced pedestrian/bicycle connectivity. No changes were made to the proposed diversity of housing types or to the proposed number of 610 new homes in a mixed use land use plan.

New to the traditional Lewis style of outreach meetings was their hosting of a series of workshop stations in addition to the plan presentation and extensive Q&A. The stations provided attendees with a more in-depth opportunity to meet individually with members of the planning team and exchange ideas.

 

The spontaneous exchange of ideas at the six workshop stations that featured Land Use Choices, Traffic & Circulation, Neighborhood Character, Parks & Open Space, Natural Resources and Growing Smart was particularly beneficial. Lewis will be reviewing all the written comments provided at each station. The planning team anticipates using public comments during collaborative discussions with the city as they plan together for a city-led Cannery Park site outreach effort in the spring.

January 2, 2008

Lewis launches Cannery Park website to enhance public communications and build awareness of plans to develop the former 100-acre cannery site on East Covell Boulevard. Developed and designed by Studio66 located in Davis, California, this new site introduces the family-owned Lewis Group of Companies that intends to develop the new master-planned mixed use community.

The website features project and site history, project details and frequently asked questions. Web-based opportunities to learn what's in the news, communicate with your Davis City Council Member and share comments with the project team about Lewis' plans for "growing smart" allow the public to easily stay engaged throughout the planning and entitlement process for Cannery Park.

December 20, 2007

In response to council's October direction to formally begin processing the Cannery Park application proposal, Lewis Planned Communities formally submits a revised land use plan with supporting materials to the city and the city begins the technical review of the proposal. Twenty-one members of the city of Davis representing the city manager's office, community development, public works, housing, parks and community services, finance, police and fire come together to hear principal planner Mike Webb's update on the status the Cannery Park development application. Staff also listens to a brief presentation from the Lewis team explaining the revised Cannery Park development proposal.



November 30, 2007

The city of Davis issues a Request for Proposals (RFP) to find a qualified consultant to prepare a feasibility analysis of potential non-residential development on all or a portion of the Cannery Park site. The analysis is a study of the market prospects and economic feasibility of the redevelopment of the property as directed last month by the Davis City Council. Consultants have until December 21st to respond to the city’s request.

It is anticipated that a consultant will be selected and begin work shortly after the holidays. The analysis and preparation of a final report will take approximately three months to complete.

November 29, 2007

Members of the General Plan Housing Element Steering Committee use the identified "Overarching Goals and Housing Location Principles" to complete their overall ranking of thirty-seven potential housing sites using two size categories: those smaller than 25 acres and those larger than 25 acres. Of the eighteen sites larger than 25 acres that were reviewed, the Cannery Park site ranks second only to the 27-acre PG&E Service Center site. The Cannery Park and PG&E Service Center sites are the only sites larger than 25 acres which are both located within the current city limits and are NOT subject to a Measure J citizens vote. However, the PG&E Service Center site is currently the utility's regional service center and home to some 400 employees. According to initial findings by the staff and the committee, a feasible plan for the relocation of this existing center would be needed as well as an evaluation of possible contaminants.

October 23, 2007

The Davis City Council votes to allow the processing of Cannery Park to begin. By unanimous vote (5-0), the council directs staff to commission preparation of a non-residential viability study for the site to help determine the most appropriate and viable amount of Business Park land use for the nearly 100-acre site. With a vote of 4-1, the council also directs staff to begin collaborative community outreach with Lewis and begin the technical review of the Cannery Park proposal. Additionally, the council voted unanimously not to begin the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process until technical review and evaluation of the non-residential viability study are complete. Lewis begins working closely with staff on the next level of outreach to engage the community in the on-going visioning process for Cannery Park.

September 25, 2007

Lewis Planned Communities sends a letter to Davis City Manager Bill Emlen requesting that the city consider removing the "on-hold" status placed on the Cannery Park application in February 2007. The formal application for Cannery Park was submitted to the city in November of 2006, however the review process was put "on-hold" until selection of the "Preferred Alternative" by the city's General Plan Housing Element Steering Committee was complete. The "Preferred Alternative" is the identification, prioritization, and grouping of appropriate sites for new housing for the 2006-2013 time period.

The selection of the "Preferred Alternative" was originally identified as occurring in July-August 2007; however, the current timeline shows that the "selection" will likely happen in late spring of 2008. With the Steering Committee's initial positive evaluation of the Cannery Park site as an appropriate location to consider for new housing, Lewis requested that the "hold" status be removed so that the important process of community outreach could continue. This activity would enable the city and Lewis to gather feedback and provide them with opportunities to further refine the vision for a new neighborhood in the best tradition of Davis.