UC Davis agrees to build housing for over 5,000 – and will pay city if it misses deadlines

In a major deal struck by UC Davis, the city of Davis and Yolo County, the university has agreed to build enough housing to accommodate 100 percent of any new enrollment growth among students who are guaranteed housing at the school, or nearly 5,200 beds by fall 2023.

The legally binding deal, announced Tuesday, marks a symbolic turning point in a years-long back-and-forth between local municipalities and the university over who is responsible for housing the school’s growing student numbers, as the city continues to see rents rise.

UC Davis will be required to increase its current stock of beds from 9,818 to at least 15,000 by fall 2023, with two shorter-term deadlines of 10,500 beds by next fall, and 12,500 beds by fall 2021. The school will pay Davis and Yolo County $500 apiece for each bed not delivered within six months of every deadline. Any additional enrollment above UC Davis’ previous goal will also have to be covered.

In line with the University of California system’s efforts to boost the number of students it educates, UC Davis has welcomed about 5,000 additional students over the last two years, according to UC Davis spokeswoman Dana Topousis. The school now enrolls about 38,400 students.

“We’re recognizing we’ve grown and the housing needs to catch up to the enrollment, and we’re finding a lot of students want to stay on campus beyond their first year,” Topousis said. Campus housing is currently guaranteed only for first-year students.

All campus housing plans to meet the 2023 goal have already been approved by the University of California Board of Regents this summer as part of the school’s long-range development plan. The agreement comes out of a months-long mediation process about the multi-year plan between the city, the campus and the county over concerns about impact of new housing on the environment, transportation and city services, according to Yolo County Supervisor Don Saylor.

The memorandum of understanding is part of a larger plan for increased partnership between the city, the county and UC Davis, which is the area’s major economic driver. UC Davis, known for its big bike culture among students and residents, will pay $2.3 million toward improving transportation in the area, including parts of the Richards Boulevard/I-80 interchange, County Road 98, Russell Boulevard bike path west of Highway 113, and the Russell Boulevard Corridor, according to a UC Davis press release. The deal does not outline a timeline for when each of those projects will begin, but Saylor said improvements should begin within the next couple years.

“UC Davis is a unique asset to the Sacramento region, the largest employer in Yolo county and ... really the treasure of our region,” he said. “In the local area there are ongoing issues about accommodating the needs of the campus, and this agreement strikes a balance to add housing and invest in some of the needs in the surrounding community in recognition of the shared long-term destiny.”

This story was originally published September 25, 2018 at 5:37 PM.