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Village Farms - Measure V
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Places
California
Davis
Village Farms - Measure V
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As of May 20th I had 1,200 great comments since I posted this on Nextdoor a week ago. I wish I had time to list them all, but I've got several other irons in the fire right now.
This is a hot issue based on the number of signs in peoples yards.
As of May 15 Combined, pro-measure committees have reported expenditures and fundraising totals ranging from approximately $315,000 to $561,000.
No on Measure V committee, primarily from individual voters, has spent $21,000 to $35,000.
Village Farms is a proposed 1,800-unit residential development development in North davis between the Cannery and Pole Line Rd. at the intersection of Covelle and Pole Line Rd.
They list it as 490 acres, but it includes 115 acres of farm land above the development separated by a drainage channel. The development itself is 383 acres.
It's been said that they included that farm land to get it put in the city limits, so they can develop it later without having to get a vote (Measure J/R/D) again.
See the map at Measure V - City of Davis
Click on "FULL TEXT OF MEASURE V"
| Density | Acres |
|---|---|
| Low Density | 61 |
| Medium Density | 136 |
| High Density | 16 |
The developers are only going to build 100 and donate the land so someone else will need to build the other 260.
This adds up to about 2,000 units, which is more than the 1,800 listed earlier, but there are a lot of "up to" and "approximately" numbers.
100 lower-income units must be built in phase 1,
The rest will be left to future nonprofit development and subsidies.
Supporters frame the project as a long-overdue response to the city's chronic housing shortage and its ripple effects across the local economy, schools and workforce.
Opponents warn that the development would bring significant environmental and infrastructure impacts while failing to address the affordability crisis it claims to solve.
As of May 6, "Yes" on Measure V Davis, sponsored by the developer, has pumped more than $784K into the race, while a campaign supported by the California Association of Realtors has spent just over $40K.
Timeline :
2026-2028 Initial site work (Leveling, core infrastructure.)
2028 - 2043 Residential Buildout: The construction of the 1,800 homes is planned to occur in four phases over an additional 15 years, for a total project duration of about 17 years.
Developers:
The Village Farms Davis project is being developed by North Davis Land Company LLC. This group consists of seven local Davis families with a long history of development in the city,7 local multi-generational families - The Whitcombe, Makley, Roe, Streng, Shepard, Schulze, and Buzbee families The same team was previously involved in developing other Davis communities like The Cannery and Covell Village.
The families in North Davis Land Company had a legacy of building Davis's first greenbelts and bike paths, and utilizing local small builders.
However,
The project is currently scheduled to appear on the June 2026 ballot as Measure V, which is required to amend the City of Davis General Plan and allow for the annexation of the currently agricultural land into the city limits.
See:
Measure V - City of Davis Measure V - City of Davis | ace.yolocounty.gov
Sample of Argument in Favor of Measure V
| Type | Acres |
| Natural Habitat | 47 |
| Greenbelt | 41 |
| Public | 29 |
| Park Recreation | 23 |
| Urban Ag Transition | 11 |
| Mixed use | 3 |
| Total | 154 |
See: Yes on V
and Just the Facts from Village Farms
Sample of arguments against V
Whitcombe proposed two earlier versions: Covell Center and later, after Measure J was approved by Davis voters his Covell Village project was on the 2005 ballot. It was rejected by voters due to all the problems it would bring including the massive impacts and costs. Now the 1,800 housing unit Village Farms is the latest iteration, but it has all of the same issues and even more impacts and costs.
The DEIR was released in January 2025.
Guest Commentary: Planning Commission and Majority of Public Commenters Strongly Criticize Village Farms Project and DEIR Part I
"The Village Farms Draft Environmental Report (DEIR) was released in January of 2025.
The outcome of the meeting was that the planning commissioners expressed significant concerns and had much criticism of the Draft EIR as well as raised other issues regarding the project. Likewise, the majority of the more than 50 public commentors, both in person and by recorded voicemail, disapproved of the project for many reasons that have been pointed out before (see previous article links below.) However, a majority of the commissioners and some public commentors wanted to see an analysis of a "reduced footprint" alternative, similar to one included in the Covell Village DEIR by the same consulting group.
See Guest Commentary: Village Farms DEIR Is Inadequate, Project Would Bring Massive Impacts and Costs The DEIR was rushed and is inadequate since it's missing important details and makes unwarranted assumptions and conclusions.
It is disappointing that the Proposed Project assumed that the vernal pools (protected by Federal law) could be paved over. The developer proposed paving over the vernal pools in previous versions but environmentalists protested because sampling was done in dry season when the vernal pools were absent. Vernal pools reemerge in wet seasons when seeds, including rare native plants and eggs of endangered Vernal Pool Tadpole Shrimp hatch.
There was almost no green space.
This image was at Measure V - City of Davis
Click on image to expand
These posters were on the fence on Covelle.
Links:
Village Farms Davis.com it will transferyou to "yes on V"City of Davis – Community Development & Sustainability Department Planning Division Phone: (530) 757-5610 Email: planning@cityofdavis.org
