“You let this go and you will have a real catastrophe.”
Louis Martini, Napa Valley Winemaker, 1968
Napa holds a unique and prominent position to usher in a visionary, resilient, integrated and principled collaboration between environmental sustainability, resilience and affordable housing.
Napa’s potential to serve as a national model - a template for the rest of the nation - is unquestionable.
But City/County officials are choosing to follow disavowed planning and development directives for what they have tagged the FRMU - Foster Road Mixed Use - a development plan with approval for 1500 residential and commercial units = approximately additional 3500+ people, 3500+ vehicles, etc.
A NEW CITY WITHIN THE CITY OF NAPA
–
BREAKING NEWS
– BREAKING NEWS
STOP THE BACKDOOR REZONING OF NAPA - DEMAND TRANSPARENCY NOW
KNGG OPPOSITION TO NAPA ZONING ORDINANCE O2025
Yes, you guessed it they're at it once again!
The City of Napa is on the verge of quietly enacting Ordinance O2025. This under-the-radar ordinance is nothing less than a sweeping zoning change that will re-shape our neighborhoods for decades — without any of the public oversight that such a move demands and ordinance requires. And the City Council will be voting on this on July 15, 2025.
This "interim" Ordinance 02025 introduces much higher building heights, removes residential density caps, and gives staff wide discretion to rezone parcels on a case-by-case basis — all without a comprehensive Environmental Impact Review. This unilateral disfiguration of Napa's future is unacceptable.
KNGG demands that the Napa City Council:
Postpone any vote on Ordinance O2025-__ until a full zoning map (Exhibit A) and land use correspondence table (Exhibit B) are released to the public for a timely review.
Conduct a series of widely publicized public hearings complete with parcel-level impact analyses.
Commission a CEQA-compliant update to assess environmental and community impacts.
Let’s protect the character, health, and future of our city . Please share widely.
THE LINES ARE DRAWN
The parcels are located in Napa County - immediately south of the City limits on the western extremity of the City of Napa. They comprise 5 parcels owned by:
1.) Ghisletta Family
2.) Napa Horseman’s Association
3.) Mr. K. Wilcoxson
These are commonly referred to in the collective as the “Ghisletta Ranch” as it is by far the largest land area (144 acres).
In 2005, an unusual request by the Ghisletta Family and Attorney Kevin Teague gained approval by the City Council & County: these properties now fall within the City of Napa’s SOI (Sphere of Influence) and within the existing RUL (Rural Urban Limit). Heretofore they had been part of the protected lands of Stewart Dairy Ranch - slated NOT for development.
However, to respond to the continual requests of these privatized interests the City will need to rezone - to upzone - these parcels for housing and commercial development.
AND they need to annex these parcels to bring them into city jurisdiction.
To do so they need to bring this to a vote by the citizens of Napa - that is YOU.
KNGG is committed to advocating for smart growth initiatives, for responsible, resilient urban in-fill, affordable housing, coupled with full integration of sustainable environmental practices throughout the City and County of Napa.
Perpetuating widely disavowed planning practices such as urban sprawl, spot-zoning, leapfrogging and up-zoning will only continue to result in the exploitation and devastation of Napa’s last vestiges of rarified and iconic Prime Agricultural Lands - the 144 acres in Southwest Napa aka the Ghisletta Lands.
Take a deep dive into KNGG’s Resource Library containing letters, videos, articles, governmental documents & much more.
KNGG has sourced a large data set to further inform us all about the history of land use issues throughout the Napa Valley - specifically regarding the history of the “Save Foster Road” Neighborhood Alliance and KNGG’s advocacy positions.
The unacknowledged risks associated with the almost two decades of local government’s proposals and attempts to implement (what may well be) erroneous briefs need to be addressed and resolved equitably.
Our positions are firmly rooted in smart growth planning directives and urban development, economic research (i.e. agro-tourism) , data, and both academic and institutional studies.
Michael Walker, Senior Planner City of Napa, addressing the Planning Commission, 09.01.2022
Citizens of Napa addressing the City Council, 09.01.2022
Citizens of Napa addressing the City Council, 09.20.2022
Citizens of Napa addressing the City Council, 09.01.2022
Citizens of Napa addressing the City Council , 09.20.2022
David Morrison, Napa County Planning Director, announcing that the City & County have reached agreement with Attorney Kevin Teague to ANNEX the Prime Agricultural Lands known as the Ghisletta Land, 01.24.2023
CHANGE IS POSSIBLE.
We’ve done it before.
We can do it again.
Overwhelmingly, most Napa residents have long stood in opposition to re-zoning/up-zoning and annexation for a period spanning well over three decades. The public’s understanding and rejection of this irresponsibly proposed re-zoning project has not changed throughout these years.
Ready to take the next step?
This is a community movement. Whether you are most comfortable contributing time to help achieve our goals, money to help us move forward, or energy to put political pressure on our governments, we would like you on our team.
“Creative vision, adaptability and community voices are the key to successful preservation.”
— KNGG / Save Foster Road
KNGG would love to hear from you.
Let us know your thoughts, suggestions and concerns.