Pro-housing committee led by Realtors forms in Davis to back Measure V development
A new committee formed in Davis to support Measure V, adding momentum to a closely watched vote on a proposed 1,800-unit housing development.
The committee, named Yolo County Housing Education Coalition Supporting Measure V, was formed Friday, according to the filing from the City Clerk’s Office. Sharleen Agvateesiri, executive director of the Yolo County Association of Realtors, is listed as the committee’s principal officer.
“Housing in Davis is at a critical crossroads,” Agvateesiri said in a statement. “Without new development, we risk losing the very things that define our community, our parks, our schools, and the deep sense of belonging that makes Davis special.”
Measure V would ask Davis voters to approve the Village Farms project, a nearly 500-acre development in north Davis with about 1,800 housing units. Supporters say the measure would increase school enrollment, strengthen the local economy and help secure the city’s long-term stability.
“Measure V helps protect that future and in the timeline that we need it,” Agvateesiri said. “This project preserves open space, creates homeownership opportunities, and expands affordable housing.”
The Village Farms development team operates a separate Yes on Measure V committee, which held a campaign kickoff event earlier this month. The campaign also commissioned a February poll of 300 Davis voters that found early majority support for the measure.
The committee reported receiving more than $130,000 from the project’s developer, North Davis Land Trust, according to campaign finance filings.
Opponents said the proposal should be scaled back, citing concerns about traffic, infrastructure, flooding risks, potential toxic exposure and affordability. Eileen Samitz, who leads the No on Measure V committee, raised those concerns in a February interview.
Samitz is a retired microbiologist and medical technologist at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and a former member of the city’s planning commission. Campaign filings show Samitz donated $3,000 to the opposition committee on March 12, its only reported contribution.
