Davis voters to decide whether city will grow with research hub and new housing

A proposal for a scaled-down version of an east Davis research hub and housing project that voters rejected in 2020 will again appear on ballots this June.

Measure H would change the land-use designation of agricultural land in east Davis near Mace Boulevard and Interstate 80.

That would allow for the land’s annexation into the city, and pave the way for the construction of a 102-acre “mixed-use innovation center” that would include labs and research space, offices, retail and hundreds of units of housing, according to city staff reports.

Residents voted down a larger version of the Davis Innovation and Sustainability Campus in November 2020, with 52% voting “no.” Opponents to the project heavily criticized the increased traffic that would result from the new development.

Despite the election results, project developers Buzz Oates and Ramco Enterprises remained committed to the idea. The development would attract companies in agricultural, environmental and technology fields to the city, and help keep more UC Davis graduates in town, according to project manager and Ramco Vice President Dan Ramos.

“We believe in Davis, we believe in this project, and we believe in its ability to advance numerous community goals,” Ramos said during a presentation to Davis City Council in February.

The new proposal for a 102-acre campus is about half the size of the original concept, with the northern part of the 2020 proposal no longer considered for development.

The new project scraps about half of the commercial space down to 1.34 million square feet, and the number of housing units was reduced from 850 units to 460.

‘Davis-scaled’ development

The project will still include include a main park area, a hotel and advanced manufacturing facilities, according to city planning documents.

The smaller campus is now a “Davis-scaled” development that takes into account previous community concerns, Taylor & Wiley attorney Matthew Keasling told the council during the presentation. If the ballot measure passes, the developers will fund a comprehensive Mace Boulevard corridor study to determine how to improve traffic issues.

“Although there will be additional cars coming and going from this location, the project is required to mitigate for it (resulting) in an overall roadway system that functions better than it would otherwise,” Keasling told the council.

Opponents worry about traffic

Alan Pryor, a spokesperson for the main opposition campaign against the development, said many Davis residents will likely be unmoved by the changes made to the project. At full build-out, the project could generate up to an additional 12,000 daily car trips, Pryor said.

“All our initial concerns remain the same from the original project, it’s still an auto-centric, freeway-dominated project that has enormous traffic impacts on a major arterial that’s already congested,” Pryor said.

Developers anticipate the new development will generate up to 2,500 new STEM-field jobs, which will be a boon for the city, Keasling told the council.

But Pryor countered that’s far more people than can be accommodated with the existing housing stock in Davis.

“We don’t want to turn our college town into a quote unquote industrial hub that the developers claim will bring down riches,” Pryor said.

The last time Davis voters approved annexing agricultural lands for new development was in 2018, when they supported two projects — Nishi Gateway Project, a 47-acre student housing development, and the Bretton Woods in Davis, a senior housing development.

The ballot measure needs a majority vote to pass. The primary election will be held June 7.

This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 5:25 AM.