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Davisite Banner. Left side the bicycle obelisk at 3rd and University. Right side the trellis at the entrance to the Arboretum.

Category: Housing

  • 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.

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  • Response to Alan Pryor concerning Mutual Housing’s support of Measure V

    By David J. Thompson

    In today’s Vanguard (May 29,2026), there is an OpEd by Mutual Housing in support of the Village Farms project: “We Should Know: Village Farms Gives Affordable Housing Its Best Chance,” by Craig Adelman, CEO of Mutual Housing.

    Early this morning Alan Pryor, a frequent poster on behalf of Village Farms supported the OpEd stating among other items that:

    “Mutual Housing is the largest and most respected affordable housing developer in Northern California – and in Davis.”

    Both facts promoted by Alan Pryor in this statement are simply not true. I say that as over 40 years an advocate, funder and co-developer of affordable housing in not only Davis but throughout California and five other western states.

    Here is the remainder of my response to Mr. Pryor in today’s Vanguard:

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  • Twelve Davis teachers in support of Measure V

    [Doug Buzbee emailed the following to the Davisite for posting]

    Dear Neighbor,

    We are Davis teachers, and we are lucky to teach in this wonderful community. But our schools are in trouble. Every year, we have fewer and fewer new students. It’s gotten to the point that unless something changes, we will struggle to sustain the quality schools that Davis expects and deserves.

    Because of declining enrollment, the Davis Joint Unified School District announced potential plans to close two elementary schools and possibly a junior high school.

    Make no mistake – the ripple effects of school closures would be felt across our town, and not just by families with students. Deep-rooted school communities would be dissolved, surrounding neighborhoods would become less desirable, biking to school would become harder, car traffic would increase, teachers would be let go, and the list goes on.

    Those of us who teach at these threatened schools face a simple question from our students: why is this happening? The answer is clear – Davis has not done enough in recent years to make it possible for young families to move here.

    This is why we are supporting Measure V on the June ballot.

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  • I Did Not Endorse Measure V

    By Rena Nayyar

    I have recently learned that, without my knowledge or permission, I have been put on an endorsement list for Yes on Measure V (Village Farms).  How did this happen?  I have actively opposed Measure V (Village Farms) from the beginning because of its many problems even though I am a teacher in Davis concerned about school closures. 

    I have spoken in opposition to the Village Farms project due to its many impacts at multiple city and school board meetings, the local Sierra Club group, and to the Davis Teacher’s Association.  I have even helped table at the NO booth at the Farmer’s Market, and donated to the No campaign.  So, how could my name have possibly been put on an endorsement list?  How many other “endorsers” are also unknowingly on this Yes on Measure V list as well?  

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  • Why Traffic “Improvements” Destroy Cities

    By Tim Keller

    I would like to briefly weigh in on one of the elements of the debate currently being waged online regarding Measure V.

    Opponents complain that the new residents will clog our streets with “traffic” while supporters of the project point out that Village Farms will pay for “traffic improvements” that will mitigate or perhaps even improve traffic. 

    It is my distinct impression that both sides of that debate are missing the most important question: What exactly are “traffic improvements”?

    In practice, “traffic engineering” is usually shorthand for constructing LARGER intersections: adding pavement, turn lanes, traffic lights, slip lanes, and other infrastructure intended to move more cars through an area more efficiently.

    You can optimize signal timing to some degree, but beyond that, most “traffic improvements” simply mean making more room for automobiles.  This is not necessarily something we should be cheering for.

    As urban planner Lewis Mumford warned all the way back in 1955:

    “Adding lanes to deal with traffic congestion is like loosening your belt to cure obesity.”

    Consider these two downtown intersections here in Davis:

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  • Village Farms – Much To Do About (Developer Double-)Crossings

    Original visual used by Yes on V of Village Farms to North Star bridge, now deleted.

    by Tuvia ben Olam DBA Todd Edelman

    l lived in the Czech Republic for about seven years – where I did similar mobility curmudgeon work as I do here, BUT everyone from local district mayors to engineering company bosses liked me because my father is Slovak and I’m Jewish… but mostly because I was an activist with constructive ideas. Imagine that!

    In the Czech Language the term for “communication” generally encompasses systems and technology for things like the Internet and physical transportation infrastructure, for example…. bridges!

    In that framework or lens I offer now a hopefully somewhat fresh look at bridges and the communication about bridges connected with projects of the Seven Generational Families of Davis (Henceforth: The Seven).

    Still, the obvious place to start is Promenade (Formerly Known as Nishi)…

    I’m binging GoT right now. That’s all.

    The Bridge of Friendship between The Seven and Union Pacific

    In a May 16th Op-Ed for the Davis Vanguard – its title is the basis for mine for this article – The Seven’s Sandy Whitcombe refers to the claim of Measure V opponents that “… Union Pacific Railroad (henceforth: UP) is holding up a grade-separated crossing”. She then says she wishes that the opponents “…asked us first…” about it.

    Well, back in December 2017 during my first meeting on the Bicycling, Transportation and Street Safety Commission (BTSSC – the predecessor to the Transportation Commission), the then Assistant City Manager Ashley Feeney told us that City had a good relationship with UP and it would likely be possible to have a level crossing between Arboretum Drive and Nishi. Later on, as the proposal moved through Council’s approval step in County annexation and then towards the popular vote, the documents for the project referred to a “grade-separated crossing” but the main imagery I recall – and could find in a search – was an undercrossing. 

    Visual by Promenade (Nishi) proponents from 2017 or so.

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  • Village Farms Flood Analysis Is Behind the Times

    Ponding at the Wildhorse Agricultural Buffer during winter storm.

    By Marjorie Longo

    Water doesn’t care about property lines—it flows wherever the land takes it. That’s why flood studies shouldn’t stop at property lines. However, the Village Farms flood analysis mostly focuses on the project itself and a few broader downstream areas (https://www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/community-development/development-projects/village-farms-davis). It does not show detailed results for existing neighborhoods—the places where people actually live, drive, and may need emergency access. Where are the post-Village Farms flood maps for Wildhorse, North Davis, or the streets south of Covell?  A few extra inches of water during a storm can mean the difference between a dry home and a flooded one, or between a passable road and a blocked evacuation route.

    While the Village Farms flood analysis provides numbers for farmland and shows water pooling on the Wildhorse Golf Course and Wildhorse Agricultural Buffer, it doesn’t answer the key question residents have: what happens on my street?  When the next atmospheric river is dumping on Davis, runoff spreads broadly over our flat topography. And inches of extra flood water add thousands of dollars of damage to flooded homes and can mean the difference between muddy flood water in your home or not.

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  • Why a Cannery Mom is Voting Yes on Measure V: We Shouldn’t Pull Up the Drawbridge

    By Katharine Dooley-Hedrick

    Three years ago, my family moved to the Cannery, drawn by Davis’s reputation as the ideal place to raise kids. Our daughters were five and two, and the strength of Davis’s public schools was central to our decision. Shortly after moving to town, our oldest started Kindergarten and my husband left for a 6-month deployment with the US Navy. In those months as a solo mom to two young kids, I found what so many do in Davis: a community of friends and neighbors that welcomed and supported us. Davis’ commitment to community and neighborly engagement is not something easily found elsewhere.

    Today, I cherish the independence my children have found here—the freedom to bike to school and explore our neighborhoods with a sense of security that is increasingly rare. My support for Measure V is rooted in the desire to make this wonderful community more accessible and attainable for other families like ours.

    Over the past two years, I’ve spoken with countless community members while volunteering with the Village Farms project. It has been inspiring to hear the many reasons people are drawn here. For many, Davis attracted them as an ideal place to raise their family. Unfortunately, that dream is increasingly unattainable due to a lack of family-friendly homes.

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  • Village Farms Davis: Why I Differ With Councilmember Deos

    By Greg Rowe

    This article responds to the endorsement of the Village Farms project by Councilmember Linda Deos, published by The Davisite and the Davis Vanguard on May 9. Deos was appointed to the planning commission during my tenure as chair.  While dealing with many complex planning issues and projects, Linda impressed me as thoughtful, articulate and deeply caring about her community. It was therefore with pleasure that I subsequently endorsed her city council candidacy. 

    I continue to applaud Linda’s council performance, and share her concern that Davis must become a viable, vibrant home for new residents without losing its soul and core values. Along with Mayor Donna Neville, Deos had the demanding task of negotiating the development agreement (DA), ballot baseline project features, and other legal documents for the Village Farms Davis (VFD) project.

    Among Linda’s reasons for endorsing VFD are the grade-separated bicycle and pedestrian crossings of F Street and Pole Line Road, and preservation of the 47-acre alkali playa wetland habitat.  As explained below, these project components are not due to any benevolence or authentic community commitment on the part of the developer (North Davis Land Company, LLC).  These requirements were, in fact, imposed on the developer as a condition of placing the project on the June ballot. In the case of the alkali playa wetland habitat, specimens collected in the 1950s by UC Davis faculty and historical aerial photography clearly demonstrate that the existence of this rare habitat should have been known to the developer.

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  • Would Village Farms affect water quality in the rest of Davis?

    By Matt Williams

    Regarding Measure V, one of the issues the Village Farms development brings to the forefront is the availability of water.  

    The water right of the Woodland Davis Clean Water Agency (WDCWA), which serves Davis, is a “junior” permit not a “senior” permit.  In “perfect” years (years without drought or low snowpack impacts) the permit authorizes WDCWA to utilize UP TO 45,000 acre feet of water per year. 

    The words “up to” are wiggle words, just like the wiggle words “may” and “if” in the Baseline Features of Measure V.

    However, 45,000 almost never happens because very few years are absent any drought impacts. As a result, WDCWA’s surface water diversions have been consistently and significantly limited during summer months and other dry periods. 

    During these times, to backfill what it isn’t allowed to divert, WDCWA utilizes up to 10,000 acre feet of water under a “senior” water right purchased from the Conaway Preservation Group. 

    However the 10,000 acre feet are significantly less than the number of acre feet that are not allowed to be diverted under the terms of WDCWA’s “junior water right.”

    How does that affect Davis water users … humans and plants alike?

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