Village Homes

Association

Village Homeowner's Association

Location

2655 Portage Bay East #2, in West Davis

Office Hours

Tue-Thu, Noon-4:00PM

Phone

(530)753-6345

E-mail

<vha@davis.com>

Website

http://www.villagehomesdavis.org

Village Homes was designed and built (starting in 1964) by Michael and Judy Corbett on 60 acres in West Davis. The development comprises 220 single family homes, 20 apartments, and Cooperative Housing at Sunwise. Most of the buildings incorporate solar power and design features. There is business space in the community center, an inn, an olympic-sized pool, and a large playing field. Village Homes is one of the nicest places in Davis to live. There is a playground near the Community Center.

Many of the streets in this neighborhood are named after places and characters in The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books, causing some to refer to the neighborhood as "Middle-Earth." There is a continuous bike path on the western edge of Village Homes next to the gardens, and there is a geocache ("Gardens of delight: West"). There is a parallel bike path through the middle of Village Homes crossing all of the streets, with smaller paths between the backyards (there are few fences).

Village Homes was actually quite the place to be in the early 1980's. In 1984, then-French president Francois Mitterrand visited Village Homes, arriving by helicopter. Jane Fonda reportedly bought a house in her pre-Ted Turner phase.

The neighborhood was featured in Time magazine in 1999.

Village Homes is usually portrayed as idyllic in the media and on-line. Those who are critical of the community claim that the reality is that there is some serious dysfunctionality going on. There are many residents whose sole concerns are property values and the appearance of their well-manicured yards; they are not interested in gardening, solar energy, diversity, nor any of the principles that Village Home's original founders valued. They tend to operate by way of anonymous letters to the Homeowner's Association and unsigned notes left on the community bulletin boards. If you are considering moving to Village Homes, be prepared to be attacked because your yard isn't perfect, or because your kids left a bicycle laying on the lawn.

• Harvest Festival - Annual fall potluck. Held in mid-September in the Village Homes Community Center.
  

• Performer's Circle - A monthly folk music gathering in the Village Homes Community Center.

The village has its own vineyards throughout the neighborhood Garden belts snake throughout the village so residents can grow their own produce

The community center has an outdoor amphitheater through which a river flows during the winter

Children can play in the many parks in the Village Homes. The Peace Poles are also abundant. Plaque honoring Michael and Judy Corbett near the Community Center