In November, 2017, the Davis City Council approved plans for the Trackside Center project, a four-story, 48,000 square foot mixed-use building proposed for 901-919 Third Street in Old East Davis near the Union Pacific railroad tracks.
During the planning and review process leading up to project approval, Old East Davis neighbors objected that the proposed building failed to conform to provisions in city planning documents controlling the mass and scale of new buildings adjacent to existing homes, including provisions in the General Plan, Core Area Specific Plan, and Downtown Davis Traditional Residential Neighborhoods Design Guidelines. Old East Davis neighbors also expressed concerns that the proposed building would negatively impact the setting of Old East Davis, the oldest neighborhood in Davis, containing landmark and merit historical resources, and protected by ordinance as part of the city’s Conservation Overlay District.
OEDNA mounted a legal challenge to the City’s approval of the Trackside Center project and prevailed in the trial court. A decision filed in May, 2019 by the Yolo Superior Court ordered the City of Davis to vacate and rescind all approvals for the Trackside Center. The 2019 decision is linked here:
The City of Davis appealed the trial court’s decision later in 2019. As of February, 2021, all briefs for the appeals court have been filed; they follow a sequential order and are linked below. In the briefing sequence, the City of Davis and Trackside Center, LLC are the Appellants, and OEDNA is the Respondent and Cross-Appellant. The final briefs in the sequence are an amicus brief filed jointly by the League of California Cities, the California State Association of Counties and Sacramento Area Council of Governments, in support of the City of Davis, followed by a response from OEDNA.