CEQA reforms are a necessary step in streamlining housing development, but they will not solve the entire housing crisis in California, which is a national problem requiring political courage, financial tools, and federal leadership.
Interim City Manager Kelly Stachowicz is focused on managing Davis’ complex development proposals, addressing homelessness, and managing the city’s structural budget challenges, while navigating the university relationship and addressing rising construction costs.
Measure J/R/D has been a useful tool for protecting Davis from uncontrolled growth, but it has also created a system where the only options are “take it or leave it,” leading to unworkable outcomes and limiting the ability for community planning.
Measure J/R/D is a simple voting system that has led to poor choices, while a community-driven amendment could provide a better solution to addressing the housing shortage in Davis.
The Sacramento Area Council of Governments has released a draft plan for the 2025 Blueprint, which aims to accommodate 580,000 new residents, 278,000 new homes, and 263,000 jobs by 2050, while promoting equity, transportation efficiency, and climate resilience, and is open for public comment until August 8.
Davis Joint Unified School District is facing a crisis as high housing costs are driving out teachers, resulting in a loss of students and revenue, and the district is exploring the possibility of building housing for its employees to address the issue.
Interfaith Housing Justice Davis advocates for mixed-income, mixed-housing neighborhoods, strategic density near transit and services, responsible land stewardship, and protecting community health to create a future where housing is accessible, sustainable, and just for all members of the community.
California’s housing crisis is a long-term and systemic imbalance between supply and demand, rooted in decades of policy failures, exclusionary zoning, and political resistance to growth, and will not be solved by short-term market shifts or a few temporary price drops.
California YIMBY leaders Nolan Gray and Brooke Pritchard discussed the state’s housing crisis, the need for statewide solutions, and the potential of Senate Bill 79 to promote dense housing near high-quality transit hubs and limit urban sprawl.
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The community is discussing the possibility of reforming Measure J to allow for more affordable housing developments to bypass the citizen-vote requirement, in order to meet the city’s housing needs and avoid state intervention.
Davis needs to stop stifling growth, affordability, and opportunity by rethinking its housing policies and building out rather than up to meet its housing demands.
California is cracking down on cities that fail to meet their housing goals, with Fresno losing its Prohousing Designation for failing to follow through on reforms, and Davis facing similar threats if it doesn’t reform its Measure J/R/D and streamline its permitting processes.
Davis needs to reform Measure J to meet state housing mandates and avoid legal scrutiny, but doing so requires a willingness to evolve and act responsibly.
The Davis City Council is facing a difficult decision on how to reform Measure J, with some members advocating for a wait until 2030 or a path that could involve litigation from the state or a third party.
The Davis City Council agreed to send any proposed amendments to Measure J/R/D through city commissions for further review and analysis, and to delay any ballot consideration until 2026 or 2027, due to cost constraints and the need for a comprehensive vision for the city’s housing development.
HAUS, a student-run initiative under the Associated Students of UC Davis, is providing resources, advocacy, and emergency shelter to help students navigate the housing crisis and address homelessness.
Davis’s Measure J, which has long been a political fortress against peripheral development, is increasingly becoming a legal and political obstacle to future housing growth and compliance with state law, and the city must decide whether to reform it in order to meet its housing obligations.
Measure J, a growth control measure in Davis, California, is increasingly putting the city on a collision course with state housing law, and reforming it to align with state law and serve actual housing needs is the smarter path.
Measure J, an anti-growth ordinance intended to prevent urban sprawl, has been successful in slowing down development in Davis, but it has also led to the prioritization of low-density single family housing, exacerbating the housing crisis and climate change.