Opportunity for Public to Provide Picnic Day Input

Press Release From City of Davis

A special public forum to solicit suggestions from the community on how to improve Picnic Day 2011 will be held at 7:00pm on Wednesday, November 3 at the Davis Senior Center, 646 A Street, in the Multipurpose Room. The forum is jointly sponsored by the city of Davis, UC Davis, the Davis Chamber of Commerce, the Davis Downtown Business Association, the Associated Students of UC Davis and the student-led Picnic Day Board of Directors.

The purpose of the Forum is to provide an opportunity for the public to share ideas and suggestions on how to improve Picnic Day within the community. These recommendations will be shared with the City Council, university, ASUCD and the Picnic Day Board of Directors, which is entirely student-led.

While Picnic Day is a UC Davis event and acts as the university’s official open house, the weekend brings thousands of people to the greater Davis community. The day impacts, both positively and negatively, on the downtown and outlying neighborhoods. Last spring, Picnic Day resulted in significant problems in and around downtown Davis, with the Davis Police Department receiving over 500 calls for service and making 39 arrests. Most of the arrests were for violations related to public intoxication, fighting in public or assault with a deadly weapon. Police also issued another 59 citations for violations such as public urination, open container and minor in possession.

After Picnic Day 2010, university and community leaders began to look at how Picnic Day could be focused on being a safe and family-friendly weekend. Representatives from the city, university, Davis Downtown Business Association, Davis Area Chamber of Commerce, ASUCD, graduate students and Picnic Day Board of Directors formed a working group and have been meeting to develop recommendations to address many of the problems Picnic Day has seen in recent years.

Picnic Day is a treasured community event that we want to see continued,” stated Christi Skibbins, the Chamber’s Executive Director. The Chamber values the cooperation of this working group, and we are eager to do what we can to ensure its success.”

The Davis Downtown Business Association, working in close alliance with the Davis Chamber of Commerce, has already taken a first step to implementing a recommendation to address the alcohol-related problems that have increased significantly in recent years by developing a “Community Covenant” for establishments that sell alcohol. DDBA is asking all downtown businesses to participate in the covenant, which asks participants to refrain from selling or serving alcoholic beverages before 11:00 am on Picnic Day, cease using price promotions or specials on drinks that encourage over-consumption, and provide responsible beverage service training to employees. “DDBA firmly believes that the community will value the responsible decisions made by the establishments that sign on to the covenant, and respond favorably to those businesses throughout the rest of the year,” said DDBA Director Joy Cohan.

The working group has been exploring other potential changes to Picnic Day, such as stiffer penalties, more focused law enforcement activities, and a closer working relationship with Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), the state agency that regulates alcohol licenses.

“It is my hope the public forum will provide a platform for the public to seek creative solutions to address the increasing number and gravity of problems associated with Picnic Day occurring in the city limits,” said Deputy City Manager Kelly Stachowicz, who has been working with the group. “This is an opportunity to make changes to ensure Picnic Day has a positive effect on the community.”

“It’s important to gather community input and to explore ways in which we can return Picnic Day to it roots,” said Gary Sandy, Director of Local Government Relations for the campus.