DIXON, Calif. — The city of Dixon is known for its small town feel, but that could change with a developer hoping to bring thousands of new homes to the area.
As a lifelong resident and small business owner, Becky Jacobs has seen many changes in Dixon over the course of her life.
"The traffic is more congested. Everything is so much more busier than it ever used to be," she said.
The busy feeling may continue to be an issue as Lewis Group of Companies is hoping to add thousands of new homes and develop retail space.
"We proposed that we would build up to about 6,000 units. That number is a fungible, squishy number, but that's a good target," said Rob White, Vice President of Lewis Group of Companies.
It's called Harvest at Dixon and it's located south of Dixon High School. The developers plan to space out the development to 300 homes a year, over the course of 20 years. On top of housing, parks are in the plans as well as a way to incorporate the agricultural community.
"Things like farmers markets, but also urban farms, little community farm and garden opportunities, but also educational opportunities," White said.
The proposal is intriguing to Jill Orr. She is currently the owner of Historic Dawson's.
"It looks like it's going to be a really good project. But again, everybody wants to have that small town feeling. We don't want to lose that," Orr said.
As a life long resident, Orr has also seen developers come and go and hopes this time will be different.
"If you're going to say something, then you make sure you hold to it because I've seen too many of them walk away and not keep their promises," she said.
So far, there have been three community meetings held by the developers to make sure residents stay informed. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 12 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at 201 S. Fifth Street in Dixon. It's something the developers said is important to them before they even submit the application for the plans to the city.
"We're not borrowing money. We're not looking for equity money. We don't have a bunch of partners that we have to answer to," White said.
A spokesperson with the City of Dixon provided ABC10 with this statement:
"Harvest at Dixon is currently gathering community input through workshops and outreach events. Once the proposal is finalized, they will submit an application to the City for review by the Planning Commission and City Council. There will be an extensive public outreach process from the City once the application is submitted.
To move forward, the project area will need to be annexed into the City. It will also require an amendment to the City’s General Plan to change city limits.
The developer and partners have purchased the land that would be in the proposed community. We applaud them for working with the City and gathering public input early in the process."
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