The Davis Enterprise Friday, August 28, 2020

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Writer finds more than she expects on island — Page B1

enterprise THE DAVIS

FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2020

Forum Elias: Close, but no cigar on ethnic studies

Commission OKs mixeduse project BU ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY Enterprise staff writer

The Varsity Theatre sits idle in May as the COVID shutdown bit into downtown Davis’ social scene. OWEN YANCHER/ ENTERPRISE FILE PHOTO

City extends eviction moratorium Varsity gets break on rent

rent revenue would normally go into a capital reserve account that funds repairs and replacements for city-owned facilities. But city staff noted — and the council agreed — that the temporary loss in rental revenue is better than “potentially losing a good and long-standing tenant and having the theater not maintained for months until the city can find a new tenant.”

BY ANNE TERNUS-BELLAMY Enterprise staff writer The city of Davis will extend its moratorium on evictions through September and go even further for one of its own tenants, forgiving rent entirely for the operators of the Varsity Theatre. The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday evening to forgive the $5,500 monthly rent on the theater — which is a cityowned property — retroactively to May and until three months after the end of the local shelter in place. The total cost to the city would be about $78,000 if the local emergency ends in April 2021, city staff said. All of that

Sinisa Novakovic, managing member of Fenske/Novakovic, Inc., which operates the independent theater on Second Street, had told city staff he would have to terminate the lease if he has to continue paying rent, given the theater is bringing in no revenue. Under the new lease agreement, he will continue to maintain the theater and pay expenses of about $2,700 every month to cover utilities,

insurance, maintenance contracts, health inspections and more, city staff said. Novakovic will also continue to pay $100 a month to the city for a capital reserve for the theater, which is required under the lease. The theater has been closed since the county health officer issued a shelter-in-place order in March, restricting nonessential activities in response to the coronavirus. Meanwhile, City Manager Mike Webb announced Tuesday that the city will be extending its moratorium on residential and commercial evictions through Sept. 30. The moratorium, first enacted in March and extended several times since then, states that residential and commercial landlords cannot evict renters who are unable to pay rent due

to the COVID-19 pandemic. So far the ordinance has affected rent payments in April, May, June, July and August and will now cover September payments as well. The city will also continue to waive new city utility bill late fees for all residential and commercial customers, allowing late payments without penalty through September. Customers need not apply and do not need to submit any special forms. Water shutoffs for commercial and residential accounts will also be suspended through September. Provisions of the urgency ordinance governing evictions include: ■ The tenant must provide written notice to the landlord regarding inability to pay rent because of lost income and

SEE MORATORIUM, PAGE A3

UCD responds to wildfire damage Special to The Enterprise From putting out the fires to caring for injured people and animals, to providing emergency housing for colleagues and their families — UC Davis is responding to the horrific spate of wildfires in a big way. As of this morning (Aug. 25), UC Davis had provided shelter for 15 households, a total of more than 40 people, faculty, staff and students and family members, most of them having had to evacuate, others who lost their homes. The campus Fire Department as of Monday morning (Aug. 24) had contributed nearly 700 person-hours to firefighting efforts in Southern California and locally, for example, on the LNU Lightning Complex, where a UC Davis engine crew assisted on structure protection and backfiring operations around Vacaville and Winters last week. Cal Fire reported this morning that the LNU complex had

A mare and her foal run through the charred landscape near Pleasants Valley Drive in Vacaville affected by the LNU Lightning Complex Fires as UC Davis’ Veterinary Emergency Response Team arrives to check out the animals. DON PREISLER, UC DAVIS/ COURTESY PHOTO

covered 352,913 acres across five counties — Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo — and was 27 percent contained. With fires of that size and hot spots all over the state, the UC Davis Fire Department has been going nonstop. No sooner had a four-person

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VOL. 123 NO. 104

crew on Brush Truck 34 returned to campus from the LNU complex Sunday night (Aug. 23), after having first worked on fires in the Angeles National Forest, than the truck was back on the road the next morning, returning to the LNU with a fresh crew, assigned to

WEATHER

Arts . . . . . . . . . .B1 Dail-A-Pro . . . .B3 Pets . . . . . . . . . A2 Classifieds . . . . A5 Forum . . . . . . . . A4 The Wary I . . . . A2 Comics . . . . . . .B4 Obituaries . . . . A3 Weather . . . . . .B3

Sa Saturday: Sunny and warm. Su High 93. Low 60. Hig

24-hour shifts in Winters. Monday, the UC Davis Medical Center was treating four people in intensive care for burns suffered in the Northern California wildfires — and still keeping up with the coronavirus pandemic.

SEE UCD, PAGE A5

A mixed-use project proposed for University Research Park in South Davis received mixed reviews from the Davis Planning Commission on Wednesday night, with one commissioner calling it “a perfect example of a good infill project” and another likening it to sterile Russian housing. The commission ultimately voted 4-3 to recommend City Council approval of the development proposed for Research Park Drive between Cowell Boulevard and Drew Avenue. If approved, the 4.5 acres of vacant land north of the Holiday Inn Express would become home to a complex of four buildings, each containing four floors of apartment units over a ground floor of office and technology space. The buildings would surround an open courtyard. All told, there would be 26,912 square feet of office and open tech space below 160 residential units. The units would be comprised of 32 studios, 96 one-bedroom apartments and 32 two-bedroom apartments. The proposal requires a General Zone amendment rezoning the site from general commercial to mixed use. Applicant Mark Friedman of Fulcrum Property told the Planning

SEE COMMISSION, PAGE A3

Sex-assault suspect pleads not guilty BY LAUREN KEENE Enterprise staff writer WOODLAND — A Sacramento man accused of assaulting and attempting to rape a woman in South Davis earlier PEREZ-MESA this month pleaded Police seek not guilty to the alleany alleged gations during his victims initial court appearance Thursday. Jose Trinidad Perez-Meza, 36, was appointed a public defender to represent him during the brief hearing, where Yolo Superior Court Judge Peter Williams formally read the criminal charges including assault with intent to commit rape, robbery, sexual battery and aggravated kidnapping. Williams also approved a protective order requiring Perez-Meza to keep his distance from the alleged victim, who reported being attacked on the night of Aug. 2 while walking along the Putah Creek bike path near El Pescador Court. Davis police arrested Perez-Meza Monday night following a three-week investigation into the crime. He remains on a $150,000 bail hold at the Yolo County Jail pending his next court appearance, scheduled for Sept. 11. Detectives have said they believe Perez-Meza may have assaulted other women in the region and urge any victims who have not filed reports to contact their local law-enforcement agency.

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