image from the Village Farms website
DAVIS, CA — The Davis City Council is set to review schedule options for the proposed Village Farms Davis development, a nearly 500-acre project in North Davis that would add 1,800 market-rate and affordable homes, parks, greenbelts, and a range of community amenities.
According to the staff report placed on the consent calendar, prepared by Economic Development Director Katie Yancey and Community Development Director Sherri Metzker, the project, known as the Village Farms Davis proposal, spans 497.5 acres and is designed under the Biological Resource Preservation Alternative project description. In addition to housing, the plan includes a 20-acre community park, a smaller neighborhood park, a 47-acre natural habitat area, an educational farm, a fire station, a pre-K daycare, and a 118-acre “urban agricultural transition area.”
The proposal also features nearly 41 acres of neighborhood greenbelts and 22.7 acres of roads.
The housing mix would include 310 low-density market-rate single-family units and duplexes, 1,130 medium-density units, and 360 high-density multi-family units, which would include both market-rate and affordable housing. In total, 1,800 residential units are proposed, spread across 209.5 acres.
Beyond the housing, non-residential uses would occupy approximately 288 acres, with open space, parks, habitat areas, and agricultural transition lands making up the largest shares.
The development requires several discretionary approvals, including a General Plan Amendment and a Development Agreement. Development agreements are long-term contracts between a developer and the city that establish responsibilities, timelines, and financial obligations for improvements. They provide a framework to mitigate risk for the developer while outlining benefits to the city beyond statutory requirements.
The Village Farms proposal will also need voter approval under the city’s Measure J/R/D ordinance, which requires that any change to agricultural or open space land for urban use be approved by the electorate. That vote is tentatively scheduled for June 2026.
The developer has already provided staff with a draft of the Baseline Project Features. Under Measure J/R/D, these features define the essential commitments of the project that voters will consider on the ballot. According to the report, the electorate “will vote on those Baseline Project Features as part of the Measure J-R-D vote, which has been tentatively targeted for June 2026”.
To meet that timeline, staff outlined two possible schedules.
Schedule A would begin with commission workshops this fall, followed by council workshops and staged approvals in December. This schedule is designed to maximize public input and transparency by spreading decisions across multiple meetings.
But staff noted that Schedule A leaves limited time between the City Council’s workshop and certification of the environmental document, which could make it challenging to incorporate revisions if council provides extensive feedback.
Schedule B, in contrast, would delay some steps until early January 2026, giving more than a month between the City Council workshop and certification of the environmental document. This would allow more time to incorporate council feedback into revised documents.
However, it would require the City Council to make multiple critical decisions in one meeting and would place the final decision to put the project on the June 2026 ballot at the last possible regular meeting before the statutory January 13 deadline.
Staff cautioned that this “does place the developer in a more precarious situation.”
Under Schedule A, the Planning Commission is set to hold a workshop on October 22, followed by a public hearing on November 12 to recommend approval of the General Plan amendment, pre-zoning, development agreement, and Baseline Project Features. The City Council would then hold its own workshop on November 18, followed by certification of the environmental review and introduction of the ordinances on December 2. The council would then consider the second reading of the ordinances on December 16, ahead of the January 13 deadline.
Schedule B outlines the same commission and council workshops in October and November but pushes certification of the environmental review and introduction of ordinances to January 6, 2026. That meeting would also include approval of the General Plan amendment, Baseline Project Features, and the resolution calling for a special election. The second reading of the ordinances would occur January 20, after the deadline. While this still meets legal requirements, it compresses decisions and increases risk for the developer.
City staff expressed a preference for Schedule A, which they believe provides more opportunities for the public to weigh in on the project before final approvals. “Staff favors Schedule A and will endeavor to follow the milestones laid out in this option,” the report states.
However, staff noted that the City Council may direct them to pursue Schedule B or request an alternative.
Staff will return to the council on September 30 with a study session on policy matters related to peripheral projects, which could further shape the Village Farms timeline. While deal points related to the proposal will not be discussed in detail at that session, it could be an opportunity for the council to provide additional direction on scheduling options.
The Village Farms Davis proposal comes at a critical moment in Davis housing policy. With the city facing ongoing pressure to meet state housing mandates, voter approval under Measure J/R/D will determine whether the project moves forward.
Supporters are likely to emphasize the mix of housing types, affordable units, and community amenities, while critics may raise concerns about growth, environmental impacts, and the city’s ability to absorb new development.
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