©2016 Save Rural Angwin
Protecting Ag Land and Angwin's Rural Character
"Delay is preferable to error."
Thomas Jefferson
From Our Mailbag
March 12, 2011 - Napa Register: "First-time homebuyer program looking for applicants." Since February 1, 2011, only one person has turned in an application. Read Here
March 9, 2013 - Napa Register: "Opposing groups file briefs in county housing lawsuit". Angwin remains in the county-wide affordable housing feud as court decisions could have statewide implications. More
March 2, 2013 - Napa Register: "Angwin land dispute remains unresolved". Napa County, Pacific Union College and Save Rural Angwin have yet to meet and discuss brokering a compromise on a land-use dispute in the Up-valley community of Angwin. More
February 12, 2013 - Napa Register: "Angwin land-use battle topped election spending". Pacific Union College was Napa County's biggest spender in the 2012 election cycle, as it pumped in almost $500,000 of its own money to defeat a land-use initiative that targeted three of the college's parcels in Angwin. More
February 2, 2013 - The Sacramento Bee: "West Village complex has yet to fulfill UC Davis' vision". Before construction began, UC Davis laid out a vision for West Village, its new on-campus community, as a showcase of energy efficiency that would provide affordable housing for faculty and students. Nearly two years after the $300 million development opened, it has not yet fulfilled those expectations. More
December 28, 2012 - Napa Register: "County willing to mediate Angwin land dispute". Getting a compromise on land-use issues in Angwin may be difficult following an emotional, hotly contested election that ended in Measure U's defeat, but Napa County supervisor Diane Dillon said she's willing to try. More
December 26, 2012 - Napa Register: "Top 10: fight over Angwin land will spill over to 2013." The Angwin land battle ranks as the Napa Valley Register's No. 7 story of the year.
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December 15, 2012 - Bohemian: "Pinot, Poverty and Politics". Voters reelect a supervisor who promises to use his position at ABAG to limit housing requirements in Napa. More
December 6, 2012 - St. Helena Star: "Save Rural Angwin undeterred by Measure U defeat". The Angwin community's Save Rural Angwin will continue to battle for its conservation objectives. More
December 5, 2012 - Napa Register: "Reasons Measure U was defeated". Now that the voting is over, I (author, Duane Cronk) join the host of others who wonder how Pacific Union College could have won so many voters against Measure U. More
December 1, 2012 - Napa Register: "What Napa voters told us in November". Now that the mercury has dropped in Napa's political thermometer, focus can shift to the messages left behind by voters... Precinct tallies showed that countywide campaigns - like those for Angwin-specific Measure U - must still look to the population centers for their support. If a countywide measure is to pass, it can only do so by winning in Napa's two largest communities, the cities of Napa and American Canyon. More
November 29, 2012 - Napa Register: "Urban voters key to Measure U's election defeat." St. Helena was the only jurisdiction in the county to approve the measure, with 53% of voters casting yes votes. More
November 27, 2012 - St. Helena Star: "Election results certified". More
November 8, 2012 - The Weekly Calistogan: "County ballot measure wrap-up: Road tax passes, PUC restrictions fail". Save Rural Angwin faced a large fundraising gap against Measure U's detractors. The No on U movement received $450,000.00 from Pacific Union for a publicity drive that included television commercials, while the conservation group raised $108,000.00 in Measure U's support.
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February 9, 2014, Napa Valley Register: "County should address zoning in Angwin". Set aside the politics, emotion, litigation and the money attached to long-burning land-use arguments in Angwin, one of Napa County's most remote and rural enclaves, and what remains is a call to action contained within the county's General Plan. Read More
February 7, 2014, Napa Valley Register: "Angwin group to push county for rezoning of college parcels". With Pacific Union College's plans to sell land in Angwin to a developer now exposed in court, Save Rural Angwin is making a new push to get the Board of Supervisors to address a five-year-old commitment it made to deal with the land-use designation in some of that property. Read More
January 27, 2014, Wine Executive News, A Wine Industry Insight Publication: "Napa lawsuits snarl Chinese Tycoon's Howell Mountain land buy". More
January 25, 2014, Napa Valley Register: "Preservation group determined to protect Angwin lands". Two weeks ago, the Napa Valley Register broke the story that PUC and its long-term relationship with developer Curt Johansen has fractured and imploded. SRA remains committed and hopeful that PUC, already noted as having one of the most beautiful campuses in the United States, will begin serious dialogue with all of us in the Angwin community and the entire Napa Valley. Read the details
January 12, 2014, Times-Herald: "Settlement of Vallejo developer (TRIAD) multi-year lawsuit on the horizon. Sound Familiar? Read More
January 11, 2014, Napa Valley Register and January 16, 2014, St. Helena Star: "Pacific Union College (PUC) sues over failed Angwin land deal". PUC and Sustained Community Partners (SCP) have been negotiating a land sale agreement since 2012 and signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement on February 13, 2013. The purchaser, SCP, was to develop residential units on the two existing designated affordable housing sites, re-locate or refurbish the commercial center, develop up to 4 agricultural estates, develop up to 600 new housing units and upgrade the PUC sewage treatment plant including establishing a Utility District. The land sale fell through when SCP failed to make a 2nd required deposit of $210,000.00. PUC swiftly terminated the agreement and entered a sale agreement with a third party to close a deal no later than February 24, 2014. Then December 18, 2013, PUC filed a court complaint to restrain SCP from suing them for their decision to terminate the purchase-sale agreement with SCP. Read the details.
September 17, 2013 - Napa Valley Register: "County housing requirement will benefit from Napa Pipe". The Napa County Housing Element is a part of the county's General Plan. It spells out suitable locations in the unincorporated area that could be the site(s) for the housing allocation, which includes moderate, above moderate, low and very low income units. The 2007-2014 cycle required 651 housing units in the unincorporated area. The State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) refused to certify the County's plan for 2007-2014, calling the Angwin and other east county locations too far away from urban centers to be affordable for low-income households. The new cycle runs from 2014-2022 and requires a total of 180 units (all categories for the entire time period) to plan for. As the planned home of 700-945 housing units, the Napa Pipe site will accommodate the majority of the requirement for the next several cycles.
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July 12, 2013 - Napa County website: "Housing lawsuit decided largely in county's favor". The First District Court of Appeal issued its ruling on the County's long standing housing litigation, affirming that the County's adopted Housing Element complies with requirements of State Housing Law. Read More
May 10, 2014, Napa Valley Register: "Challenge in the Third District". Having two strong candidates competing for the same office is a good problem to have. But it is still a problem. The Napa Valley Register Editorial Board endorses Diane Dillon.
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May 8, 2014, Napa Valley Register: "Work remains on affordable housing task force report". Last spring's recommendations from a task force devoted to increasing the supply of affordable housing in Napa County are proving difficult to implement. More
May 1, 2014, Napa Valley Register: "Easy solutions for affordable housing elude panelists." Litigation costs, a lack of available land and costly building fees were some of the barriers that officials cited Wednesday at a public meeting on the lack of affordable housing.
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April 30, 2014, St. Helena Star: "Candidates forums planned." At least three upcoming candidate forums will feature races of interest to up-valley voters.
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April 26, 2014, Napa Valley Register: "Incumbent and challenger take their cases to voters." More
April 12, 2014, Napa Valley Register: "Democrats in Napa to hold forum on affordable housing." The forum will be Wednesday, April 30, 2014, at 6:30 pm at Napa County Library, 580 Coombs St., Napa. Angwin is identified in the County Housing Element as a significant affordable housing location. More
March 7, 2014, Napa Valley Register: "Planners want backup for Napa Pipe housing". Having spent four years and nearly $1 million legally defending three areas of rural Napa County as appropriate housing sites (Angwin, Moskowite Corner and Spanish Flat), county staff isn't willing to toss them by the wayside in the county's new housing plan. More
March 7, 2014, Napa Valley Register: "Yolo County administrator tapped for county planning post." David Morrison, formerly assistant planning director and public works director for Yolo County has been hired as Napa County's Planning Director.
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July 22, 2014, Napa Valley Register: "Supervisors favor less residential growth in Angwin." Five years after initially pledging to address the residential development potential of two parts of Angwin, a majority of the Napa County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday that more housing units are ill-suited for those areas in the rural community atop Howell Mountain. The Board took no formal action, however, directed the Planning Director to begin drafting options for how to change parcels' land-use designations in the General Plan More
July 20, 2014, Napa Valley Register: "Supervisors to address Angwin development issues Tuesday." Five years delayed, a "study session" on how to address the land issues in Angwin, with no formal action expected, will be a part of the Board of Supervisor's scheduled meeting on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at approximately 0955 AM. More
February 15, 2015, Napa Valley Register: "Napa County to explore the price of wine success." Napa County's wine country is facing a type of soul-searching that often comes with wealth and fame - is it being true to its roots or in danger of being ruined by its own success? The county Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission will meet on March 10 to discuss what Supervisor Diane Dillon has called "the big picture". That could be just the beginning of a months-long public discussion that could shape Napa's future. More
February 3, 2015, St. Helena Star: "Working together" by The Napa Valley Register Editorial Board. The NVR Editorial Board sat down last week with the county's five mayors and the chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors to discuss how problems that confront Napa County are playing out in all corners of the county. Development has often been haphazard, with little regard to the effect it may have on other parts of the county. A public meeting set for March 10, 2015, will examine growth issues in the unincorporated county. Read More
January 2, 2015, The Press Democrat: "Volker Eisele, Napa winemaker who led the fight for farmland protection, dies at 77." "No one in the North Bay has done more for farmland protection than Volker Eisele", said Sandy Ellis, executive director of the Napa County Farm Bureau. Full Article
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December 23, 2014, Napa Valley Register: "How much wine should there be in wine country?" Napa County for years has tried to find a balance between agriculture and tourism and between agriculture and the natural environment. "We need to have the bigger discussion and look at the bigger picture," Diane Dillon said.
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April 17 , 2015, St. Helena Star: "We all benefit by protecting valley land." Every minute America loses more than 1 acre of farmland to urban development. Farmland preservation is not a priority for most Americans and perhaps especially not for today 's young adults. ...the greatest challenge is indifference. More
April 11 , 2015, Napa Valley Register: "Ag protection committee to plunge into knotty issues." The Napa County Board of Supervisors appointed 17 members to the Agricultural Protection Advisory Committee, supported by 12 alternates. More than 50 people applied to help the county with policy recommendations. Supervisors gave the committee topics to explore. The committee is to make recommendations to the county Planning Commission by September 2 , 2015 on a variety of topics; among the discussion concerns are such topics as minimum parcel size for new wineries, limiting the amount of variance allowed for setbacks on new wineries, and requiring different development standards for wineries located in the Agricultural Preserve (AP) and Agricultural Watershed (AW) zoning districts. More
March 29 , 2015, Napa Valley Register: "A new coalition, Vision 2050, will scrutinize county's future." Vision 2050 is a coalition of local groups, including Save Rural Angwin, that seek to merge their individual voices into a much louder voice. Supervisor Wagenknecht expects Vision 2050 will be taking part in the county's upcoming Agricultural Protection Advisory Committee effort to look at county growth policies. More
March 10 , 2015, Napa Valley Register: "County officials tackle wine industry growth questions." Napa County's growth summit, held March 10 , 2015, before an audience of over 400 ended after six hours of discussion including three hours of public testimony. County leaders agreed to launch a larger community conversation that is expected to last into Fall 2015. The Board of Supervisors wants to create a forum with the cities to discuss regional land use issues, form a committee to review the Winery Definition Ordinance and investigate creating a traffic mitigation development fee. It also wants the county to complete a stalled climate action plan. More
May 28, 2015, Napa Valley Register: "Grand Jury wants more winery audits." Napa County's policy of choosing 20 wineries at random each year to see if they are complying with county rules doesn't go far enough for the grand jury. For the audits done for 2011-2013, 30% to 40% of the wineries each year failed to meet at least one use permit requirement, the grand jury report said. More
May 19, 2015, St. Helena Star: "Save Rural Angwin joins Vision 2050 coalition". Save Rural Angwin has joined Vision 2050, a coalition of organizations dedicated to land and resource preservation in Napa County. More
May 19, 2015, Napa Valley Register: "Documentary shows danger to our watersheds". One of the most important documentaries to see this fifth year of severe drought is "The Russian River: All rivers - The Value of an American Watershed". This film should be required viewing for every governing official, vintner and voting citizen. It is particularly pertinent for those of us who live here in the Napa Valley and are concerned about its environmental future.More
May 15, 2015, Napa Valley Register: "Symposium throws spotlights on Napa's watersheds." Napa County celebrated its watershed improvement successes and looked at challenges ahead amid a four-year drought and climate change predictions. Senator Lois Wolk, keynote speaker for the symposium, stated, "We have to start thinking about our water policies in a new way." More
January 27 , 2016, Napa Valley Register: “Proposed initiative targets watershed protection”. The “Water, Forest and Oak Woodland Protection Initiative” would protect the County’s oak woodlands and preserve forests and tree canopy along County streams and wetlands within the Agricultural Watershed. MORE
November 4, 2015, Napa Valley Register: "Agricultural protection ideas going to supervisors". Napa County's latest quest to balance winery success and farmland protection will go to the Board of Supervisors on December 8 for what could be a resolution. More
November 2, 2015. Napa Valley Register: “Locals working on creative traffic solutions.” Everyone talks about Napa Valley’s traffic problems. A group of 85 local leaders met to talk about remedies by discussing solutions in use throughout the United States. More</
March 21 , 2016, Napa Valley Register: “Officials dedicate Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument”. Officials dedicated the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument on Saturday, March 19 , 2016. The monument covers 350,000 acres of public lands, including 62,000 acres in eastern Napa County. MORE
March 12 , 2016, Napa Valley Register: "Initiative proponents hope to defuse opposition”. A Napa County oak and watershed protection initiative proposed for the November ballot has been retooled with the hope of defusing opposition from a wine industry that says tough rules already exist. MORE
February 25 , 2016, Napa Valley Register: “County tallies up its greenhouse gas emissions”. Vehicle exhausts are one of the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions in unincorporated Napa County. A task force is studying ways to reduce emissions from a variety of sources. Next, Napa County must set a greenhouse gas reduction goal. The schedule calls for a draft climate action plan to be available for public review by this summer and public hearings and adoption in the fall. MORE
February 4 , 2016, Napa Valley Register: “Protect our precious commons”. A property and vineyard owner assesses the watershed protection initiative drafted by the law firm of Shute, Mihaly and Weinberger, the firm that also drafted and defended our current Agricultural Preserve, the first in the nation. MORE