The proposed Affordable Housing Plan for the Willowgrove development in Davis, California is advancing through city review, with the Social Services Commission set to consider its approval.
The average rent for apartments in Davis declined 1.8% from fall 2024 to fall 2025, due to the addition of thousands of new student housing beds, with the blended average monthly rent now at $2,711.
The Village Farms Davis project has been falsely accused of having adverse environmental impacts, but data and facts show that it is designed to meet or exceed environmental standards and will not have any significant negative effects on the surrounding area.
The Davis City Council discussed the need to revisit assumptions regarding population targets, housing density, and transportation infrastructure before moving forward with peripheral development plans.
The Davis City Council will review a consultant report that assumes a sprawling land-use pattern and then demonstrates that the roads and transit network needed to support it will be problematic, providing a cautionary worst-case scenario for Davis voters to react to.
The City Council is considering changes to the Village Farms Affordable Housing agreement, including clarification of the deed restricted permanently affordable units, reduction of acreage requirements, and the possibility of rental units instead of ownership units.
Measure J, while presented as democratic, actually excludes marginalized and disadvantaged people from having a say in housing policy, resulting in a system that is biased towards those already in the housing market.
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 will discuss the feasibility of a large-scale northeast growth concept, considering its transportation demands, costs and long-term fiscal implications, as outlined in a report by Fehr & Peers.
Measure J has been in place for 25 years and has resulted in a lack of housing, increased costs, and a failure to meet the city’s needs, leading to a call for a reevaluation of the system.
Measure J has been in place for 25 years and has not produced better projects or outcomes, instead resulting in a slow-motion stalemate and growing vulnerability for Davis.
After 25 years of Measure J, Davis must confront the reality that the policy has not produced the desired results of better projects and housing outcomes, but has instead entrenched a system of rejection, delay, and unmet state obligations.
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.
A recent poll on Nextdoor shows that the Village Farms proposal is overwhelmingly unpopular and has no chance of passing, with only 15% support and a one in 100 quintillion chance of passing.
The Village Farms project in Davis lacks a comprehensive flood plan and relies on unproven engineering design principles, posing a major flood risk to the city and its residents.
The City Council must deny certification of the Village Farms EIR due to its inadequate and flawed nature, which would expose the City to liability and surrender its leverage to correct course on the disastrous project.
The Village Farms Davis project has been designed to meet higher flood protection standards than the rest of Davis, and includes proven engineering solutions to protect against flooding, such as raising the elevation of the land, rebuilding and redirecting the Covell Ditch, and constructing a large basin.
The Davis City Council reached a tentative agreement to include 100 deed-restricted low-income affordable housing units in the Village Farms project, while adjusting the timing of the units in relation to market-rate development in Phase 3.
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 Council should not accept the latest iteration of the Affordable Housing Plan for Village Farms due to its lack of critical elements, such as VLI and LI units, and its failure to maximize funding opportunities.