©2015 Save Rural Angwin
Protecting Ag Land and Angwin's Rural Character
Frequently Asked Questions
(Updated October 2015)
"I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security. Defense of our resources is just as important as defense abroad. Otherwise what is there to defend?
Robert Redford
What has Save Rural Angwin accomplished?
Rather than attempt a comprehensive listing of achievements covering the 9 year-to-date process, we provide a list of some of the most significant accomplishments:
> Created a 9-11 member Steering Committee to guide the efforts of SRA and a 15-member Advisory Council of Napa County civic leaders similarly concerned about the conversion of farmland to subdivisions and the conversion of Angwin from a village to a city.
> Followed, studied, actively participated in and testified at public hearings during the three-year Napa County General Plan Update process (2005-2007). Active participation influenced General Plan goals, policies and, specifically, text for Angwin and related unincorporated areas. Produced, with the guidance of a professional planner, and submitted at the invitation of the County, an alternative land use designation plan for the unincorporated area of Angwin.
> Followed, studied, actively participated in and testified at public hearings during the General Plan Amendment process (2008-2009) intended to address the "bubbles". Developed, submitted and advocated for the County Planners and Supervisors to adopt appropriate land use designations expressing the historic, current and future desirable land use for Angwin consistent with the rural nature of Angwin. About two-thirds of that SRA Land Use proposal was adopted by the Board of Supervisors during the General Plan amendment process through 2009.
> Monitored the PUC/Triad development application. Generated support for down-sizing the Triad development project.
> Retained the San Francisco law firm of Moscone, Emblidge & Sater, LLP and hired the Berkeley EIR firm, Grassetti Environmental Consulting.
> Generated public awareness of the Angwin issue by attending Chamber Mixers, Farmer's Markets, and other local events. Developed and continue to maintain an SRA website sharing pertinent news, meetings, and history.
> Participated in the Housing Element Update process that completed in 2009, as well as the Workforce Housing Ordinance and Vacation Rental Ordinance update processes by reviewing and commenting on the draft documents and submitting testimony.
> Hired a Hollywood cinematographer who is an Angwin resident to produce a high quality DVD showing how the proposed PUC/Triad subdivision, or any substantial housing development on Howell Mountain, would destroy the agricultural, forested and open space character of Angwin. The DVD can be viewed on this website.
> Following PUC's October 2010 announcement to abandon their "eco-village" development proposal and suspend the associated Environmental Impact Report, SRA continued to work to preserve the rural character of Angwin and the treasure that is Napa County. SRA is committed to help PUC be successful in any way we reasonably can. Still to be addressed is the General Plan Action Item AG/LU-114.1 with the objective of re-designating at least some of the "Urban Residential" land use area of Angwin to reflect the existing use and character of this rural and unincorporated area.
> Represented SRA interests, since October 2010, at public hearings before the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors on topics of potential impact to unincorporated Angwin. We participated in the County process that led to adopting proximity housing assistance guidelines. We participated in Napa County Groundwater Workshops. We encouraged and facilitated PUC Biology Conservation student participation in "hands-on" local projects at Lake Berryessa and with Land Trust at the Linda Falls Preserve in Angwin. We attended Napa County Local Food Advisory Council meetings.
> Followed the March-December 2011 ABAG housing allocation process and SRA supporters participated in the July 2011 Public Workshop on the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). On-going involvement continued until September 2012 at which time ABAG adopted the final allocation numbers for Napa County.
> Flushed from secrecy the specifics of PUC's land sale listing. Obtained the "Offering Memorandum" prepared by Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank, PUC's exclusive listing agents who globally marketed the land sale which resulted in several purchase offers. In the spring of 2012, PUC Board of Trustees voted to work with Curt Johansen and Sustainable Community Partners, a Delaware limited liability company. Confidential negotiations proceeded through the summer and fall of 2012 that resulted in a Purchase and Sale Agreement being signed in February 2013.
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Launched a citizens' initiative, known as Measure U, for the November 6, 2012 voter ballot to address and complete the unfinished land-use designation process for the Angwin area. The initiative did not prevail; however, over 22,000 Napa County voters did vote for it, understanding the issue of the current land-use designation that allows for inappropriate urbanization of Angwin and understanding the resultant cost to the County taxpayers. Pacific Union College was Napa County's biggest spender in the 2012 election cycle as it pumped in almost $500,000.00 to defeat Measure U. Recall that PUC was negotiating a Purchase and Sale Agreement for residential, commercial and agricultural development of Angwin while declaring adamantly through the election cycle that no such plans existed. Since the election, Pacific Union College undertook
extensive parcel boundary surveying and filed a series of lot-line adjustment applications to the County. Those applications have been approved and recorded, effectively separating specific parcels, totally upwards of 600-700 acres, from the core campus for ease of sale as they have declared they intend to do. SRA remains watchful and committed to preserving the rural and agricultural character of Angwin and Howell Mountain.
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>Joined VISION 2050, a coalition of some 15 neighborhood and preservation groups from across Napa County. VISION 2050 formed to unify citizens voices for preserving local values and to protect watersheds, forests, rural communities, agriculture and open space. See SRA website home-page, left bubble below photograph for VISION 2050 details.
>Attended and participated in the
March 10, 2015,
joint meeting of the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors which focused on setting priorities for Planning staff revisiting county policies and regulations for the remainder of 2015 and 2016.
>Alerted residents and communities to the need for thorough environmental review of a Timber Harvest Permit application filed to occur in upper Bell Canyon, potentially impacting the Dunn-Wildlake Land Trust property, St. Helena water supply and Howell Mountain Mutual Water Co.