Davis

The issue of Davis Community ChurchÕs zoning status was first addressed by the City Council in October 2007 and still has not been resolved. Instead of aligning the churchÕs zoning status to Òconditional useÓ as it was for 57 years prior to the error in 1996, the same as the other 32 churches in Davis, it was decided by the City Council to use the memorandum of understanding process as suggested by the Rev. Mary Lynn Tobin.

More than two years later, an MOU Ñ agreed upon by the City Council and church representatives with input from the affected neighbors Ñ was adopted by the council, only to be challenged a month later by DCC supporters. The MOU has been reviewed and a revised version is coming back to the council tonight for review.

The C/D streets and Old North Davis neighborhoods, users of Central Park and downtown merchants were not given the oppor-tunity to be involved in the revision of the MOU. One of the neighborhood representatives on the subcommittee has been away from Davis on sabbatical leave. He has requested that this item be dropped from the agenda and addressed in the fall when he returns.

Summer is an inappropriate time to make such an important decision, and even more so since two of the council members are retiring and two new council members have not yet been installed, and those most affected have not been allowed to give their input.

The City Council and many other concerned citizens have spent a great deal of their valuable time and energy, for almost three years, and the MOU process has not worked. It would seem appropriate at this time to reconsider the zoning ordinance proposed in October 2007 by the city manager and his staff, to change the churchÕs zoning status back to conditional use.

Changing the status from permitted use to conditional use, correcting this gross error, would be the fair and democratic solution to the concerns of the C/D and Old North Davis neighborhoods, users of Central Park and downtown merchants. This action would align DCCÕs zoning status with the other 32 churches in Davis, and require DCC to follow the democratic city zoning ordinance requirements already in place, seeking and considering input from those affected by programs provided on DCC property, and approval and overview by the city.

Doree Ruud

Davis

Comments

comments