The Abridged version:
- Davis voters are deciding the fate of the Willowgrove housing development through Measure W.
- Shortly after polls closed, early returns showed about 9,800 votes in favor and 3,800 votes against.
- A ballot measure for the Village Farms development failed by fewer than 300 votes in June.
Strong support for a new housing development in Davis showed in the early returns, with votes in favor of Measure W controlling more than 70% of the vote.
As of about 10:15 p.m. on election night, support for Measure W, which will determine the fate of the Willowgrove housing development, remained far ahead of opposition.
Of the ballots counted, more than 9,800 supported the measure, while about 3,800 votes were tallied against it.
If it passes by a simple majority, Measure W will give the go ahead for a new development that would add roughly 1,200 new homes to the northeastern edge of Davis. If it fails, the city will not annex the land and developers will have to go back to the drawing board.
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What’s Willowgrove?
In a Measure J/R/D vote, Davis residents have the right to weigh in on large developments like Willowgrove, which would need to be annexed into the city. The ballot language includes a list of baseline project features which cannot be substantially changed if approved by voters.
Willowgrove’s baseline features include:
- Rezoning the site to allow for 1,250 residential units at high, medium and low-density designations. That includes at least 250 deed-restricted affordable units, which means that the deed on the property itself limits how much it can be sold for. Twenty of those units will be set aside for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
- The developer sending $6.8 million to the city for affordable housing development.
- A community park with an indoor basketball gym, three playfields with lights, an inclusive playground and retail space in the central area of the park.
- At least 44 acres of buffer between the project and surrounding agricultural land. The developer will also place 374 acres of the nearby Bullseye Farms property under a permanent conservation easement to meet agricultural mitigation requirements for converted farmland at the project site.
- Roadway improvements on East Covell Boulevard, Alhambra Drive and roads along the project site.
- Funding for traffic improvements elsewhere along East Covell Boulevard, Mace Boulevard and the Interstate 80 interchange and West Covell Boulevard and Highway 113 interchange.
- Three miles of bicycle and pedestrian trails that connect to the Wildhorse Agricultural Buffer trail, Gill Orchards property trail and the East Covell Boulevard undercrossing.
- Planting 2,500 trees.
- All-electric units that support EV charging.
Less formal opposition
This is the second large housing development to be on Davis ballots this year. The Village Farms development was struck down by fewer than 300 votes in June.
Davis Eastside LLC, the Willowgrove development group backed by James Koppert, has experienced less formal opposition than Village Farms.
