The subject of this entry no longer exists in Davis or is a former version of something that came afterwards.All information here is for historical reference only.

Student Housing is demanding that the Bike Church be shut down. A letter from Chuck Huneke, the Assistant Director, Residential Education in UC Davis Student Housing informed the church that they needed to vacate. The letter was sent on Oct 29th, 2008, and a copy of the letter in the entirety is below.

This is an entry for discussing and listing methods to get Student Housing and/or the University's "powers that be" to repeal this seemingly unjust "ruling".

Links to reports about the eviction/shut down

You can sign an online petition in support of the bike church by clicking here (and give the "petition-maker" your email for further Bike Church Updates)

Documents & Actions

ASUCD Senate Resolution Passed

The following resolution, with a few grammatical and punctuation changes, was passed as ASUCD Senate resolution #10. Official version will be posted asap. Basically, this means ASUCD support the Bike Church and wants us to stick around!

"Introduced by: Dietrich

An Associated Students of the University of California, Davis (ASUCD) Senate resolution in support of continued existence of the Bike Church,

WHEREAS, the Bike Church serves our community as a cost-equitable resource for the knowledge and tools necessary to maintain and repair bicycles,

WHEREAS, the Bike Church seeks to be a place where people of any age, sex, color, race, sexual orientation, or nationality feel comfortable to learn about and work on bicycles,

WHEREAS, the Bike Church provides centralized access to used bicycle parts and accessories,

WHEREAS, the Bike Church has served the community for nearly five years as an entirely volunteer effort,

WHERAS, the Bike Church provides a space where people can help each other, share skills, and empower each other to construct, repair, maintain and ride their own bicycles,

WHERAS, the Bike Church supports sustainable practices by giving “waste” a second chance by emphasizing the reuse of materials,

WHEREAS, the Bike Church teaches bicycle repair and maintenance rather than providing bicycle repair services,

WHERAS, the Bike Church cultivates a community dedicated to sustainable bicycle/human powered transport,

WHERAS, the Bike Church seeks to empower more people in our community to ride their bikes regularly and for every purpose,

WHERAS, the Bike Church builds community through the communication of knowledge and the practice of sustainable/recycled transportation,

WHERAS, the Bike Church seeks to build a true community of spirit and purpose based on mutual respect and caring, where community members and the university may foster a spirit of cooperation and understanding,

WHEREAS, providing people with the tools and knowledge needed to build, repair, maintain, and ride their bikes helps to promote biking on the Davis campus and within the City of Davis,

WHEREAS, bicycle cooperatives similar to the Bike Church abound in cities across the United States, yet the breadth of resources provided by the Bike Church is not otherwise served within Davis (a League of American Bicyclists Certified Platinum Bicycle City, and a university campus renowned for its bicycle culture),

WHEREAS, the UC Davis Campus and the City of Davis is a bike friendly community that strives to promote biking as a mode of transportation,

WHEREAS, ASUCD is committed to promoting a culture of sustainability and biking is a sustainable form of transportation,

WHERAS, the University of California is committed to aggressive goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (1990 levels by 2020, 2000 levels by 2014, and climate neutral as soon as possible),

WHERAS, bicycling is the least energy intensive mode of personal transportation and getting more people to ride bikes will require significant efforts in education and encouragement,

WHEREAS, The Bike Church has been given notice of eviction by UC Davis Student Housing from its current location at the Baggins End Domes on the UC Davis Campus,

WHEREAS, there are many potential scenarios to maintain the continued existence of the Bike Church either within the UC Davis Campus or within the City of Davis,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, The ASUCD Senate values the contribution of the Bike Church to the UC Davis campus community,

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, The ASUCD Senate supports efforts to find a way to maintain the services that the Bike Church provides, either within the UC Davis campus or within the city of Davis,

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, The ASUCD Senate requests affected departments and organizations (including but not limited to the Bike Church, SPAC, ASUCD, the EC, Student Housing, and Student Affairs, Transportation and Parking Services, the City of Davis) collaborate to consider all reasonable scenarios that would allow the Bike Church to continue operations, and to return to the Senate with an update about specific plans for the future of the organization by _ _,

THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED THAT, a copy of this resolution be sent to Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Fred Wood, Director of Student Housing Emily Galindo, ministers of the Bike Church, Director of the Experimental College Lyndee Norris, UC Davis Bicycle Coordinator David Takemoto-Weerts, members of the City of Davis City Council, City of Davis Bicycle Coordinator Tara Goddard, The California Aggie, and KDVS 90.3 FM"

Bike Church Demonstration

We staged a rally of support for the Bike Church outside Student Housing on Thursday the 13th at 2pm. Over 50 people rode over, testified about their positive experiences at the Bike Church and we presented them with our petition signed by over 400 people.

The Eviction

On October 29th, 2008, UC Davis Student Housing sent the Bike Church a letter stating that we have until December 1st, 2008 to dismantle our structures, and until December 31st to completely remove all traces of the Bike Church from our current location. The reasons given essentially revolve around the perception that the Bike Church grounds are a health and safety risk, that our dome is an unapproved structure and a fire hazard, that our methods of collecting donations in the form of money and goods are a liability, and that the fact that we are open to the Davis community-at-large is also a liability due to the presence of non-students in a housing area (a security issue). Student Housing has not given us any possible alternatives, stating only that we need to get out.

Needless to say, we are all quite shocked at this turn of events, especially given the amount of progress we have made in renovating our space, making it safer, cleaner and more functional. We are currently exploring a number of options for our future. But being an ever-optimistic bunch of people, we are also looking forward to working with the university to stay in our present location that we have come to love, and which we have made so beautiful. The last thing you should expect is for the Bike Church to disappear completely. We will continue to exist, even if we have to do it somewhere else.

We need your help to keep the Bike Church going. Many of you have been blessed by the Church in the past, but we need your blessings and voices now. Sign a petition, write some letters, spread the word! Participate in our future. The Bike Church has been there in your time of need... now the Bike Church needs your help. Keep watching the wiki to stay informed.

Despite the order, the Bike Church will remain open for our usual hours, at least until the deadline. So come by, fix your bike, and get involved!

Sincerely, The Bike Church Ministers

The Sacramento Bee recently reported on this story.

Great Pedal Forward Fundraising

We are currently in the process of raising money to fund the transformation of the Bike Church into a better place. The funds raised will go toward the Great Pedal Forward, which is an initiative to increase our physical, organizational and administrative efficiency. This movement will create a more inviting and functional space, which will allow us to increase the population served by the Bike Church not only in the campus community, but also in the larger Davis community. It will also help us to use volunteers more effectively through a cleaner and more organized physical space and organizational structure. While the Bike Church has thrived and grown in its first four years, we need to raise money in order allow the Bike Church to create a sustainable foundation for serving the community for years to come.

We started things off with dance party fundraiser on May 16th, 2008. We raffled off bicycles and other goodies and had local DJs spining late into the evening. It turned out to be a massive party and we received $1440 from donations and merchandise sales. Thanks to everyone who attended and donated. We hope we can have a great party like that on a regular basis.

If you are interested in donating you can either purchase our Merchandise or donate directly to us: contact [email protected].

For those interested here is some details about how much money we've been raising:

From
How much?
Dance Party
1440
Anonymous in-kind donations
2000
Solar Community Housing Association SCHA
500
UCD Campus Sustainability Grant / Spring 2008 http://sustainability.ucdavis.edu/grants/awards.html
2000

Bike Dome Deconstruction

Sunday, November 23rd starting at 9 a.m., we deconstruct the geodesic gazebo. Student Housing is unwilling to compromise in their eviction of the Bike Church or provide an extension while we search for a new home. While the Bike Church will continue to fight to remain, we will completely disassemble the dome by the December 1st deadline.

Come out, and help us to use this tragedy to build an even stronger community around the Bike Church! We need your hands, hearts and minds on Sunday and beyond. They can take away our shelter, but they cannot destroy our community, our spirit!

We will begin the morning with a short vigil of remembrance for the structure, followed by careful dismantling of the dome and wood platform. There shall also be food, music and celebrating, for our dedication to community, educational empowerment and sustainability through bike wrenching only grows! Come for as long or as short as you like.

Bike Church Demonstration

The first demonstration was held at 2pm November 13th. It was a great show of support with over 50 people riding and amazing testimonies about how the Bike Church has positively influenced people's lives.

Call to Action

As many of you know, UC Davis Student housing has issued an eviction notice to the Davis Bike Church. You can find plenty of information about the situation in the attached press release on our Davis Wiki page, or by contacting the ministry by email. We're writing to ask you to speak out against the eviction and to express your support for the Bike Church by encouraging the UC Davis Administration to recognize the value of Bike Church in our community and to work collaboratively with us to find permanent resolutions to their concerns. Here are a few ways you can help:

Sincerely,

The Ministry

USE THE FOLLOWING TEXT AS A BASE FOR YOUR PERSONAL EMAIL TO UC DAVIS ADMINISTRATORS

SEND YOUR EMAIL TO: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Dear UC Davis Administrators,

The Davis Bike Church has served us, the Davis and UC Davis community, for four years as a unique repository for tools, recycled parts, and knowledge about bicycles. During that time, thousands of us have been empowered through education received at the Bike Church. It is for this reason that we are troubled by the sudden eviction of the Bike Church from the University campus. Though we understand the concerns expressed about the Bike Church, we are frustrated by Student Housing Administration's unwillingness to work constructively toward viable resolutions. UC Davis as a proud history of fostering the roots of unique community service organizations; consider the Experimental College, Craft Center, KDVS, the Bike Barn, Outdoor Adventures, and Unitrans as examples. It saddens us to see the current UC Davis Housing Administration snuff the efforts of an emerging group of volunteers proving a valuable community service. We respectfully request that Student Housing, and other appropriate departments of the University, spend the time and effort necessary to allow Bike Church volunteers to comply with University regulations and thus continue to serve the community for years to come.

In the eviction notice sent to the Bike Church, Student Housing expressed several concerns which we believe are easy to resolve if the University staff would only communicate and collaborate with the Bike Church volunteers. Concerns about liability have already been solved by such organizations as the Craft Center, and it would be simple to implement a similar waiver system. Environmental Health and Safety concerns have been addressed since Student Housing first began to press the issue, and the efforts of Bike Church volunteers need only the review, additional guidance and approval from University Environmental Health and Safety experts. Fire Department concerns can be solved through communication and cooperation in implementing modern fire prevention. Monetary transactions of other campus organizations have been structured and regulated, and certainly clear guidance from University officials would allow the Bike Church to operate according to necessary accounting policy. Student Housing's concern about the Bike Church serving non-student community members in a location near student housing seems unfounded since the EC gardens, with an equally immediate proximity to the Domes, has a long standing history of serving people from throughout the community. Lastly, the Domes community approved and supported the Bike Church from its inception and continues to express clear and strong support for the Bike Church activities.

We implore the UC Davis administration to stay true to their public service, educational, and environmental promises by taking the time to work collaboratively with this grass-roots community service project, rather than dismissively brushing it aside. The Bike Church volunteers provide education and a welcoming community for bicyclists, filling a niche that is neglected by other campus programs. Losing this organization may seem small compared to more pressing administrative concerns, but it would be a sad blow to the base of the UC Davis community and would reflect a lack of University support for community building, public service, and sustainability.

Sincerely,

The First Report & Call to Action

Read on; the e-mail I received from Darach Miller has some details of The Church's plight:

For those of you who haven't already heard, the Davis Bike Church has been evicted from its traditional stomping grounds of four years. This is a major bummer for those who've relied on its tool, part, and knowledge repositories, as the Bike Church is now in serious jeopardy.

To make a long story short, the Bike Church contacted various University departments last year in an effort to coordinate a renovation of the facility according to appropriate regulations. We thought we were past the "cease and desist" stage and into the "clean up to standards" stage of a grassroots organization, a belief based on numerous communications between Bike Church Ministers and University officials that demonstrated acknowledgment and approval of the Bike Church's existence on University property. Eventually, we got Student Housing to give us a list of what needed to be done. Thus began the Great Pedal Forward of the Summer of '08.

Through spending thousands of volunteer hours and over a thousand dollars in community donations, we were able to complete a massive renovation that included a floor for the dome, new cabinetry, restructured facilities, and a level of organization never before seen n our humble facilities. Despite efforts made to communicate with appropriate departments about inspection and approval of our facilities, the officials (except at EH&S) failed to work with us to meet their demands. Nevertheless, we believed we were on track for becoming an University-approved fixture in the Davis bicycling realm. We had a final inspection scheduled for October 1st to decide the fate of the Bike Church, until things suddenly changed.

Student Housing suddenly canceled the walk through inspection. After several weeks of no communication, we inquired about our fate. Chuck Hunecke, the Student Housing-Domes liason acting on Student Housing's behalf, declared that we were aliability and a fire hazard, and due to our "open membership to the Davis community" and intial establishment "without specific approval", we mustvacate and dismantle our structures by December 1st and clear all tracesof the Bike Church from the Domes' land by December 31st. This is a major setback, but also a new opportunity. We're not exactly sure of the future of the Bike Church, but we are investigating and pursuing all options available. We are currently working on temporarily moving our experimental education facility to the Experimental College gardens before pursuing a closer relationship with the City of Davis, who has supported us in the past and is doing all they can to help us in these troubled times. However, this is still unsure.

How can you help?

This Saturday, November 8th, Delta of Venus is hosting the Save the Bike Church Danceparty sponsored by New Belgium Beer and KDVS, featuring DJs Mr. Glass, Dog Tones, and Deacon Morgan. There will be a petition and letter writing station, as well as further information about a demonstration occuring next week. We'll have more information about volunteering at the Bike Church, such as how to become a minister. Anyone can get involved in our non-hierarchal consensus organization, but we're also looking for specialists in non-profit organization. Come check it out, whether to get involved or just to show support by dancing the night away!

May your chain be supple and your wheels true,

Minister Darach

Letter from Student Housing to the Bike Church

This is the letter telling the Church that we need to vacate, sent on Oct 29th, 2008:

Thank you for checking in with us to inquire about the status of the Bike Church. We are aware that there is a group of people who would like to see the Bike Church succeed and offer services to the community. There are actually a variety of updates I can share with you and I apologize for the delay as I am still in the process of talking to a couple of people responsible for addressing the recent concerns.

As we look at the recent development of the Bike Church and its 4-5 year history on Student Housing property, there are a variety of concerns for our department. One concern relates to the general risk and liability of this kind of operation on residential property. Health and safety issues are always going to be under a microscope and any injury or concern is a liability for our department. Another liability is the money and property you collect as “donations”, which can be a large concern for the campus and Student Housing if it does not meet strict regulations. Now that you are a registered student group the Student Programs and Activities Office (SPAC) might be of assistance to you in this area as you grow (see UC Davis, Policy & Procedure Manual Sections 260 & 270). Another health and safety concern relates to this organization having open membership to the Davis community and the security issues that can arise since this facility is located in a housing area. The final concern is related to the fact that the Bike Church established itself on Student Housing property without specific approval and continues to operate and grow as its own entity. The current location of the Bike Church results in our involvement and staff time to address any issues that arise.

Student Housing has been notified by the UC Davis Fire Department that the Bike Church structure does not meet code and should stop being used immediately. Along with the concerns from the Fire Department there are a number of requirements that the structure needs to meet to receive campus approval. These requirements include items such as submitting detailed schematic drawings of the structure, receiving approval from multiple campus committees, and receiving official approval from Student Housing for use of the land. Based on the time, money, and on-going commitment needed to receive approval it does not seem like the Bike Church structure will be able to receive campus approval.

Another reason for the delay in getting back to your group relates to our due diligence in finding a possible solution and positive outcome for everyone involved. We have reconfirmed with the Fire Department their stance on the need to immediately stop use of the facility. We have conferred with the UC Davis Office of Resource Management and Planning as to other campus options that might be considered. In our research, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the Bike Church is now a registered student group with the Student Programs and Activities Office (SPAC) which, as previously mentioned, might be of some assistance in helping your organization. We have made some initial contact with their office and had planned on meeting with them. You should consider doing the same.

We understand and appreciate the mission and goals you strive for with this program. Many of your objectives are in alignment with Student Housing objectives as they relate to sustainability, recycling, promoting health and wellness, etc., but we are not in the bike repair business. Based on the notice from the Fire Department and the other concerns listed above we need to have use of the Bike Church structure stop immediately and for the Bike Church in its’ entirety to be removed from Student Housing property. The structure should be completely dismantled by December 1, 2008 and everything should be removed from Student Housing property by the end of this calendar year (December 31, 2008). We will be posting flyers in the next couple of days in the Bike Church area. Anything you can do to help notify your members would be appreciated.

Chuck Huneke

Assistant Director, Residential Education

UC Davis Student Housing

(530) 752-1736

fax: (530) 752-4345

[email protected]

Add an idea

You must be logged in to comment on this page. Please log in.

2008-11-07 23:00:46   eff that, student housing is shady and UC centric! Bike Church needs to keep fighting! —StevenDaubert

  • Heh, UCD's Student Housing is UC Centric? No wai!! —ES
    • Why should UCD housing care about helping people in the community fix bikes they use to commute in a bike centered town? There really is no need to try and enrich other peoples lives thru proverbially teaching people how to fish, especially when bike church people don't talk with code enforcement before erecting structures, and because it's a potential fire hazard, and non students come on campus, and UCD could get sued! —StevenDaubert
      • They shouldn't. They should just build more parking garages. It's much cheaper and safer. —TyNowotny
      • Student housing should care because it's projects like these that make UCD an attractive and interesting university to attend, at least on the sidelines.

2008-11-08 11:57:11   I am one of the ministers at the Church, and I would like to make a small clarification before wrong information gets too far. The part of the letter that says that housing made "several shady unannounced inspections" before canceling the walkthrough is not true, at least not to our knowledge. What happened is the walkthrough scheduled for Oct. 1st was canceled on Sept 23rd. On Oct 8th, during our open hours, a couple of UCD Police officers came through with a list of license numbers and began searching through our bikes, ostensibly looking for stolen property. They found none. That was the first "unannounced inspection." The second was on Oct 15th, when a representative from Student Housing was found walking around the Church, taking photos. That was a little more alarming, so we sent a letter to SH asking to re-open lines of communication, as we had heard barely a peep out of them for over a month. They sent back a letter telling us to GTFO. History in the making!! —TyNowotny

2008-11-11 13:17:06   Here's a mini-doc for the Bike Church: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33aBxHPxhug . I hope to do some filming at the demonstration to weave into the doc. Hopefully documenting the passion of community involvement may help out with our efforts to keep the bike church in its natural habitat. —AyseG

2008-11-12 11:37:31   Been fixed. —Darach

2008-11-13 16:23:45   Novel idea: can the place at all be moved? Strange idea, I know, but if Student Housing can help select a site they *do* approve of, and the Bike Church folks can relocate, then you might be able to thrive and grow with the Student Housing departments blessing. - ~~~~ —JeffWood

—-Move where? -Darach

2008-11-13 20:21:36   SPAC specifically indicates that groups are open to community membership...Student Housing needs to read SPACs documents more closely. —AlexMandel

2008-11-15 09:22:59   :( I like the bike church and all it stands for. —ChristyMarsden

2008-11-16 06:29:14   I think UCD Housing should remove the Bike Church from its current location. It should remove them and help them to become a member of a more appropriate University department that will provide them with an indoor place where they can continue operations. Even more, UCD should put the Church in charge of the masses of abandoned bikes that TAPS reclaims each year. Further, UCD should support the Church in the organization of a Yellow Bike program. These are some steps that I think might help UCD might turn this conflict into a mutually agreeable solution, leaving all parties better off than before. I think it's perfectly understandable that UCD Housing doesn't want to be responsible for the Bike Church, but it's a huge mistake of the U itself lets that be the end of it. —TheAmazingLarry

2008-11-22 12:23:43   It is my opinion (and this is only conspiracy theory) that the only viable reason to shut down a service as wonderful as the bike church is that it would harm local stores such as Unspeakable Evil and some of the thriving local repair shops. Perhaps there's some pressure from the town? Anyway, I don't know. —MasonMurray

Add tags