[OldNorth] Linden Lane, North of Cornell & the Q District

[John Lofland]

Last week, I reported on this list that the Council will tonight 
approve expanding the Q parking district (which bans overnight 
parking) to Linden Lane. I said I was going to appear at its public 
hearing to comment on the ever-enlarging area of non-resident car 
bans in Davis.

The Staff Report on this item has now come out (at the Council agenda 
web site) and new information in it has caused me to revise my plans. 
I will not speak to the Council tonight.

The reason is that the situation is much larger and more 
conflict-laden than I had previously understood. Linden Lane now 
appears to be only a small part the situation and I do not want to be 
in the middle of  what is likely to be a Q district debate.

The larger situation appears to be a division among residents in the 
area North of Cornell that includes parts of Pine, Purdue, Bucknell, 
and Colby.

Of 98 residences in that area, 81 voted on the question of going into 
the Q district or not. They divided 40 yes and 41 no. Using the 
current Council standard, 54 yes votes were required (67%) for a Q 
district. Therefore, the measure failed.

Proponents and opponents on this North of Cornell matter will likely 
dominate the public hearing.

While I will not speak, I will certainly want to see what happens. 
Depending on how our Old North parking vote comes out, this episode 
could influence how the Council views our "preferential parking" 
proposal when it eventually comes before it.

John Lofland