Clarifying Affordable Housing commitments (or lack thereof) in Village Farms

By David J. Thompson

Almost every day a Village Farms supporter (like Alan Pryor) makes unsubstantiated boasts about VF’s affordability features.

However, in particular only the words in the Baseline Project Features have legal standing. Those listed components are only changeable by the city or the developer except by a citywide vote. The Development Agreement between the City and the developer can be changed without having to go to a citywide vote.

As to Section 4 Affordable Housing there are only 9 lines in Section 4 of this 9-page legal agreement. There are no guarantees as to the pricing of any affordable for sale units nor any mention of them at all. 

The false claims by VF supporters might win votes for the project but they are an empty promise of 1,000 homes starting at $400,000 to $500,000. If we had a commitment from the developer or the city of how many units will be in this sales price range that would be useful, but we do not. So the boasts of VF supporters are not substantiated but the reader is fooled. 

That wording is nowhere to be found in either the Baseline Features or the Development Agreement.

Speaking of mistruths please read my response to another of Mr. Pryor’s personal attacks (May 29) on me that are not true.

Mr. Pryor,

Another day, another mistruth.

Mr. Pryor yesterday (May 29) in favor of Yes on V, states wrongly another damning ‘gotcha’ fact which is clearly not factually true.

“Perhaps Mr Thompson would explain why he was all in on the objectively less advantageous Bretton Wood low-income housing program for which he was the designated developer…”

Mr. Pryor you ought to know eight years later that I was not the “designated developer” of the Bretton Woods low-income housing program.

Mercy Housing is the designated developer and I neither have any relationship with them.

Please be wary of the facts provided the public by Mr. Pryor as a daily community spokesman for and defender of Village Farms.

Mr. Pryor, any answer to my analysis yesterday of your false claims about Mutual Housing being the largest provider of affordable housing in Northern California and Davis? Mutual Housing is none of those facts you claim.

Just for comparison with Village Farms, Bretton Woods was required to do 68 affordable units but gave land to Mercy to do 150 units.

David J Thompson, a longtime resident of Davis has spent a 40 -year career as an advocate, writer, funder or co-developer of affordable housing not only in Davis but throughout California and five other western states.