The City of Davis has released the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Willowgrove Project, a 1,250-unit mixed-use development that would convert 232 acres of farmland into residential, retail, and commercial space, and includes a 45-day public comment period running from Nov. 10, 2025, to Jan. 2, 2026.
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 held a marathon workshop on the Village Farms project, while the Davis Joint Unified School District warned of the consequences of inaction on housing, including declining enrollment, program cuts, and possible school closures, highlighting the need for affordable housing in Davis.
The Davis Joint Unified School District Board of Education is facing a potential loss of 1,000 students over the next decade due to rising housing prices, falling birth rates, and changes in UC Davis’s workforce patterns, which could lead to school closures and staff cuts unless two proposed housing developments are approved.
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 proposed Village Farms housing development in Davis, CA could help address declining school enrollment and high housing costs by providing a range of housing options and bringing an estimated 701 new students to the Davis Joint Unified School District.
The proposed Limited Equity Housing Cooperative (LEHC) by Village Farms is financially dangerous and ill-prepared, and the City of Davis should reject it immediately due to its infeasibility and potential for financial loss for 82 Davis families.
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.
The proposed Village Farms PIP does not meet the requirements of Section 18.05.050 and does not provide the range of housing types and qualitative land use that the city would get under normal standards, and the proposed LEHC is not feasible to meet 100% -120% of median income.
The Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation has suggested changes to the city’s affordable housing plan, including increasing the percentage of affordable units in new developments, requiring long-term affordability, and ensuring that the city meets its RHNA requirements.
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 Davis City Council voted unanimously to defer a decision on requiring community microgrids in the two proposed peripheral housing projects, while approving a $185,000 traffic fee study to move the developments forward.
Parents, educators, and residents of Davis are urging the City Council to expedite the Village Farms and Willowgrove housing projects to prevent families from being priced out of the city, which is hurting schools and teachers.
The City of Davis is facing a housing crisis and should focus on facilitating the addition of housing and affordable housing, rather than pursuing costly and speculative microgrid projects.
By following a “Corridor densification” strategy, cities can increase their housing supply by 84% while only increasing their footprint by 7.3%, creating a more efficient, low-traffic, and sustainable city.
The Davis City Council received overwhelming public support for the proposed Village Farms Davis project, which would bring 1,800 homes and other amenities to the city, and staff recommended adopting Schedule A to move the project forward to a Measure J/R/D election in June 2026.
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 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 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.
The Davis City Council is considering a proposed amendment to Measure J/R/D to exempt affordable housing projects from voter approval, and to place the amendment and two housing proposals, Village Farms and Willowgrove, on the June 2026 ballot.