3,844 housing units to come online in Napa County, according to plans. Here’s where
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the new long-term housing plans adopted by Napa County and its five cities is the quantity of housing units planned.
Collectively, the six housing elements — all but for Napa County and Yountville have now been certified by the state — show how the jurisdictions are planning for 3,844 new housing units to be built across the county through 2031, representing about 2.6 times the 2015-2023 ask of 1,482 new units.
Of course, the local governments don’t build those units: residential developers propose housing projects that would serve to satisfy those allocations. A housing element serves to give such developers something of a starting point by identifying sites where such projects are encouraged, according to city of Napa senior planner Michael Walker.
“A lot of what this does is it identifies sites the city has identified, saying, ‘Hey these are great for housing, we understand this is a great location, it’s multi-family zoned, we encourage housing,’” Walker said of the city’s housing element. “So if there’s developers out there that see that and want to take action and submit something for those sites, that provides a little bit of that framework to do that.”
Housing allocations are assigned by the state, then are divided up by regional authorities such as the Association of Bay Area Governments.
The allocations are also split up by income level, meaning that jurisdictions must plan for housing that would be affordable to very low income, low income, moderate income and above moderate income residents. An income considered “very low” in Napa County is 50% of the area median income, which is $90,700 for one person.
For this housing element cycle, the state assigned a larger number of units than in previous eight-year cycles, and put in place a more stringent review process.
That includes being stricter about municipalities showing that the sites cities identify in the process are actually viable for housing, according to Walker. Those efforts are part of the state’s push to address California’s housing crisis.
About 70% of the overall Napa County allocation — 2,669 units — is for the city of Napa, where most of the county population resides. That compares to an ask for:
- 622 units in American Canyon
- 256 units in St. Helena
- 119 units in Calistoga
- 106 units in unincorporated Napa County
- 72 units in Yountville
The number of planned units represents a considerable jump in units from the 2015-2023 housing element cycle. Specifically, the jurisdictions at that point were required to plan for:
- 835 units in the city of Napa
- 392 units in American Canyon
- 31 units in St. Helena
- 27 units in Calistoga
- 180 units in unincorporated Napa County
- 17 units in Yountville
The city of Napa received the bulk of the increase, in part because it made a deal with Napa County. The city was allowed to annex the Napa Pipe Property — where roughly 945 homes are planned — from the county in exchange for taking on 80% of the county’s allocation for the unincorporated area.
Those 861 units represent much of the 1,963 total already in development as of October 2022, according to the city’s housing element. Projects that comprised those units were already under city review, approved or under construction.
Another assumption comes in the form of projected accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, construction — the city anticipates there will be 366 new ADUs built by the end of the 2023-31 cycle.
That leaves the city of Napa showing capacity for 800 units on vacant sites, and 467 units to be built on underutilized sites.
In total, the city of Napa identifies sites for 3,517 new units — representing a buffer of 31.8% more units than allocated. But much of that projected growth is in the above-moderate income category, with the city projecting potential surpluses of only 10.2% for lower-income units and 12.6% for moderate-income units.
American Canyon’s allocation, the second largest in the county, will be entirely fulfilled by pipeline projects — much coming from the Watson Ranch development in the city’s northeast. There is an overall buffer of 933 units, largely for moderate and above-moderate units, according to the city’s housing element, along with a buffer of 33 units for very low income and 20 units for low income.
St. Helena identifies 93 pipeline units in its element, largely consisting of the controversial 87-unit Hunter subdivision, and projects that 72 ADUs will be built.
In the plan, the city identifies 12 sites where the remaining 184 units could be built, including several city-owned areas, giving it a planned surplus of 170 units overall.
Calistoga’s allocation is fulfilled by 128 pipeline units, consisting of the 78-unit Lincoln Avenue Apartments project and the 50-unit Silverado Terrace. The city adds an estimated 24 ADUs, as well as identifying space for 128 more units in opportunity sites, giving the city a total of 280 units.
Yountville’s housing element — which along with the county has yet to be certified by the state — identifies six vacant sites, including one area the French Laundry restaurant uses part of as a vegetable garden, that would allow for a capacity of 88 housing units. It also projects adding 10 ADUs over the eight-year period.
Notably, the town anticipates adding zero surplus units for the above-moderate income category.
To fulfill the unincorporated housing mandate, Napa County identified sites for hundreds of units, along with projecting 98 ADUs. That includes state-owned land in Skyline Park, acres south of the city of Napa near Foster Road and an area at Spanish Flat at Lake Berryessa as places housing units could be built.
You can reach Staff Writer Edward Booth at 707-521-5281 or edward.booth@pressdemocrat.com.
