Davis Buys Easement on 217 Acres of Farmland
The city and the Solano Land Trust will co-own a permanent agricultural conservation easement on Hamel Lane south of Davis.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Organic Food
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The City of Davis has purchased an agricultural conservation easement on 217 acres of farmland on Hamel Lane in Solano County, adjacent to the city's southern border. The city will co-own the easement with the Solano Land Trust, which will monitor it in perpetuity.
Why it matters
The city and the Solano Land Trust moved to protect the land because it sits next to city limits and includes a portion of both forks of Putah Creek along with prime agricultural soils. The easement keeps the acreage as permanent farmland and open space for the Davis area.
The easement covers 217 acres at a cost of $1.3 million, and about 80% of the land is planted in row crops. Details on future land-use restrictions beyond current use were not included in the source.
The players
Solano Land Trust
A regional land conservation nonprofit that will monitor the easement in perpetuity on behalf of the city.
City of Davis
The city government that purchased the agricultural conservation easement and will co-own it with the land trust.
The details
The easement is a permanent preserve for farmland and open space, co-owned by the city and the Solano Land Trust. The land was owned for decades by the Hamel family before the Tyson family bought it a few years ago.
Timeline
A few years before the purchase, the Tyson family bought the land from the Hamel family.
The city announced the recent easement purchase on November 3, 2026.
Season Trajectory
The purchase extends the Solano Land Trust's conservation easement work into prime farmland at Davis's southern edge, where Putah Creek and row-crop soils are at stake. It positions the city as a co-owner of permanent agricultural land rather than only a buyer of development rights.
The preserved land keeps 217 acres near Davis in farm and open-space use rather than development. Residents on the city's southern edge will see the land remain in row crops and grazing under the easement.
The takeaway
Permanent conservation easements can keep farmland at a city's edge in productive use over the long term. Residents interested in local farmland protection can follow the Solano Land Trust's monitoring work on the easement.
Further reading
Explore more on the region's farming and land stewardship in Organic Food.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Davis Enterprise.
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