The proposed Village Farms development in Davis is being voted on in June, and the decision could have implications for the city’s future, including school enrollment, housing costs, and the ability to retain the next generation of families.
The Davis City Council voted unanimously to advance the Village Farms development to a citywide ballot, approving a series of entitlements, amendments and agreements that set the framework for one of the largest housing proposals in city history.
The Davis Citizens Planning Group has expressed concern that the proposed Village Farms and Willowgrove projects will not provide affordable housing for families with elementary school-aged children, and that the district’s proposed solution of closing schools will not address the underlying issue of unaffordable housing.
The City of Davis is considering revisions to the existing Measure J/R/D Affordable Housing exemption in order to meet the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) targets and maintain control over housing development.
The Davis City Council is divided over how to guarantee affordable housing in a proposed development, with some councilmembers arguing for baseline guarantees and others advocating for a development agreement that could be amended in the future.
The district’s school closure plan is based on a flawed method that excludes 15.7% of the students, resulting in an inaccurate enrollment projection and potentially leading to the closure of schools that serve a large number of interdistrict transfer students.
The Davis Planning Commission is holding a public hearing on December 17 to consider the proposed Village Farms Davis project, a residential development that would add up to 1,800 homes on nearly 500 acres in north Davis.
The Davis City Council is holding a public workshop to discuss the proposed Village Farms Davis development, a large-scale housing and annexation project that could ultimately go before voters in June 2026.
The Davis City Council has deferred ballot action on Measure J/R/D, instead focusing on affordable housing production and climate-related standards, and has not yet decided on a timeline for any future changes.
The Davis City Council is discussing potential amendments to Measure J/R/D, a voter-approved ordinance that requires citywide elections before agricultural or open space land can be converted to urban use, with the goal of exempting certain types of projects, such as affordable housing, and potentially reducing costs by placing the measure on the November 2026 general election ballot.
The Willowgrove project has become the first annexation project in Davis to release its tentative map prior to a vote of the Davis voters, providing the public with a detailed understanding of the proposed community before any final vote.
Davis residents are debating whether the city should build housing to support school enrollment, but demographic modeling shows that the level of housing needed to stabilize enrollment is almost exactly the same level the state is already requiring the city to build under its housing obligations.
Davis, California is facing an enrollment crisis due to a lack of affordable housing, leading to a decline in school enrollment and the potential closure of schools, prompting the city to consider new housing developments to address the issue.
The Davis City Council has sent a clear message that the Village Farms project will not move forward unless it delivers firm, enforceable commitments on affordable housing, housing mix, farmland restoration, and transparency.
The Davis City Council will hold a public workshop to review and discuss the Village Farms Davis project, a proposed 498-acre development that could bring 1,800 new homes, a community park, open space, and extensive infrastructure improvements to the city’s northern edge.
The proposed Village Farms development at Pole Line Road and East Covell Boulevard is a missed opportunity to create a vibrant, mixed-use district that would meet Davis’s housing needs for the next 40 years, due to its poor design decision of placing a park in the way of transit and local shopping.
Sausalito voters will decide this fall whether future upzonings required to meet state housing mandates should be subject to voter approval, which could have far-reaching implications for other cities in California.
The City of Davis needs additional housing, but the proposed Village Farms project includes a fourth fire station and a downpayment assistance program that could add to the city’s deficit spending and not benefit low-income residents, so the commission should recommend that the fire station proposal be dropped and the downpayment assistance program be either dropped or administered by a private entity.
The City of Davis is considering modifying Measure J to allow developers to qualify for exemptions through affordable housing, climate or environmental mitigation, community benefits, or an Urban Limit Line, in response to increasing state pressure on the city’s housing policies.
The City of Davis is holding a joint meeting of five city commissions to discuss potential amendments to Measure J/R/D, which could allow for exemptions to the voter-approved ordinance that has defined the city’s growth policies for a quarter century.