The former UC Davis Ag Center (aka Bay Area Research and Extension Center, or BAREC) is 17 acres of "prime farmland" that is agriculturally zoned. It is located at 90 N. Winchester Blvd. in Santa Clara. The state of California, which still owns this property, is in the process of selling it to SummerHill Homes and the City of Santa Clara for housing developments.

VIVA (Valley Initiative for Values in Agriculture) and SaveBAREC want to turn this property into a small urban farm, which would counterbalance what they say is overdevelopment in the area. They are asking for supporters to contact local polititians to ask them to not change the agricultural zoning, and to preserve the property as farmland. The struggle over BAREC has highlighted other local issues, such as the openness of City Council Meetings (they often have closed meetings). Read more

From 1928 to 2003, the property was a University of California Agricultural/Horticulture Research Center. Composting research was conducted there. Its centralized location made it possible for many people to have access to the results of the research. Urbancompost.org The site has also hosted research into production of specific crops, pests, and weather patterns. The University of California decommissioned the research station when it felt that advances in agricultural technology had improved to the point where it was conducting less research. However, closing the site also helped the UC system to satisfy some of its budgetary requirements.

Save BAREC | City of Santa Clara Meetings | Santa Clara County Division of Agriculture | Santa Clara County History | UC Cooperative Extention Santa Clara County | Santa Clara County Open Space Authority | Fairview Gardens in Goleta (near Santa Barbara)