By admin 
Measure V appeared all but certain to fail Tuesday as the Davis housing initiative trailed by 238 votes with fewer than 400 ballots left to count countywide, according to the latest update from Yolo County election officials, leaving supporters acknowledging their chances had largely evaporated.
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The measure, which would allow construction of the proposed Village Farms development with 1,800 homes on 498 acres north of East Covell Boulevard, was losing 11,569 votes to 11,331 after the latest update Tuesday afternoon.
While 390 ballots countywide had yet to be counted and another 385 voters still had an opportunity to cure ballots rejected because of signature issues, it is not clear how many of those ballots were cast in Davis, the only jurisdiction where Measure V appeared on the ballot. The city is home to about 30% of Yolo County voters and roughly 60% of city voters cast ballots in the primary, results show.
Although the measure remains mathematically alive, it would need an overwhelmingly favorable share of the remaining Davis ballots to erase its deficit.
“Our chances are pretty much diminished,” Sandy Whitcomb of the Village Farms development team said Tuesday.
On a Zoom call after Tuesday’s results update, campaign leaders discussed whether a recount would be worth the expense and whether they should continue contacting voters whose ballots were rejected.
The meeting was “devoid of mood,” Whitcomb said. “Everyone was sort of quieter than usual.”
The measure had steadily gained ground as late ballots were counted. After trailing by nearly 500 votes on election night, the deficit narrowed to 238 votes. But the improvement was not enough to erase the lead held by opponents, according to an analysis of vote updates monitored by The Bee over the past two weeks.
Voters have until 5 p.m. June 24 to cure ballots flagged for a signature mismatch, so the results will not be final until Yolo County certifies the election, which must occur by July 2.
Preliminary precinct results showed the measure faced its strongest opposition in precincts closest to the proposed development site in north, east and south Davis. The measure performed best in central and west Davis, continuing the pattern established on election night.
Under the city’s Measure J-R-D, Davis voters decide whether to approve development projects that require rezoning agricultural or open space land for urban use. The ordinance has shaped growth in Davis for more than two decades and has repeatedly blocked large peripheral housing projects.
Whitcomb said attitudes toward growth have shifted but not enough for Davis to meet its state housing obligations.
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“Twenty-one years we waited,” Whitcomb said. “We thought at this point, people have to be ready.”
Voters will have an opportunity to weigh in on another development, the 1,250-unit Willowgrove project, in November.
A defeat of Measure V, meanwhile, would leave both the city and the Davis Joint Unified School District without the economic benefits Village Farms supporters argued the project would provide. Developers estimated the project would add more than $1 billion to the city’s tax base and bring roughly 1,100 additional students to district schools.
“Realistically, Davis needed this,” Whitcomb said. “And they’re not going to get it.”
The election night margin of 4 percentage points amounted to fewer than 500 votes. Because many younger and more liberal voters waited to cast their ballots until the last minute, the campaign expected the early results would not be favorable and believed it would make up ground as the count progressed. Since election night, the margin has narrowed to 238 votes, or about 1 percentage point.
The close margin underscores the city’s divided views on growth. Despite endorsements from the Davis City Council and the DJUSD board, along with more than $750,000 spent by campaign supporters, Measure V appeared likely to fall short of the simple majority needed for approval.
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Yolo County saw higher-than-expected turnout for a primary election, Deputy Clerk-Recorder Katharine Campos said. More than half of all ballots arrived on or after Election Day.
Campos said the late surge likely reflected voter indecision in the gubernatorial primary.
Yolo County plans another election update by 4 p.m. Thursday. Any voter may request and pay for a recount after certification.
If the results hold, Whitcomb said Village Farms and its roughly two dozen investors backing the development would not return it to voters.
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“That’s a big fat ‘no’,” Whitcomb said when asked. “It’s been 30 years.”