The City of Davis announced today that it recently purchased an agricultural conservation easement on 120 acres of farmland located about a half-mile from the City limits, northeast of the Mace Boulevard curve, as a permanent preserve for farmland and open space. The property is currently planted with almond trees.

The City will co-own the $960,000 agricultural conservation easement with the Yolo Land Trust that will monitor the easement in perpetuity on behalf of the City. The City and the Yolo Land Trust were both interested in protecting this land because of its proximity to the City limits, its location near other protected farmland and its prime agricultural soils. This is the second collaboration with the property owner, the Gill family, who previously sold an agricultural conservation easement on 124 acres northeast of Wildhorse to the City and the Yolo Land Trust in May of 2022. 

“The City has now protected about 6,000 acres of land so far, preserving the agricultural character of the area around Davis,” said Mayor Josh Chapman. “Without the special open space parcel tax funded by Davis taxpayers, the City would not be able to protect so many acres.”

A quarter of the purchase price was paid with funds from the City’s special open space protection parcel tax (Measure O) and open space development impact fees. The remainder was paid with grant funds from the State of California. The transaction closed on March 15, 2024. 

The State of California’s funds come from the California Strategic Growth Council’s Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation program (SALC), in collaboration with the Department of Conservation. SALC is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment – particularly in disadvantaged communities.

For more information about the City’s Open Space program, including a map of all the other conservation easements around the City, go to: https://www.cityofdavis.org/city-hall/community-development-and-sustainability/open-space-program. For questions, contact Open Space Program Manager Tracie Reynolds at: treynolds@cityofdavis.org. 

Press contact: Barbara Archer, barcher@cityofdavis.org, 530-400-3418