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Record of Proceedings

Napa Planning Commission Regular Meeting - April 7, 2022: Draft General Plan Elements Discussion

Planning Commission — Thursday, April 7, 2022
BodyNapa, California
SessionPlanning Commission
DateThursday, April 7, 2022
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

So let's uh call to order roll call, please.

0:06

Commissioner Urtado?

0:08

Here.

0:08

Commissioner Kelly.

0:10

Here.

0:10

Commissioner Shotwell.

0:12

Present.

0:12

Vice Chair Masaro.

0:14

Here.

0:14

And Chair Heather.

0:16

I am here.

0:17

Can I ask all of you to please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance?

0:24

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

0:32

One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:39

Thank you.

0:45

So we are on to agenda review and supplemental reports.

0:50

The planning commission conducts all meetings in accordance with the Ralph Brown Act and pursuant to the city rules of order for planning commission meetings.

1:01

Are there any changes to this evening's agenda?

1:05

Anybody?

1:06

Nope.

1:07

Not from staff, not from my colleagues here.

1:10

Good.

1:11

Thank you.

1:13

We're on to public comment.

1:14

And public comment provides an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the planning commission on items of interest that are not otherwise noted on the agenda.

1:29

I emphasize not because it's sometimes confusing for the public when they're invited to come up here and speak.

1:37

Each speaker's comments will be limited to three minutes and will comply with the rules of order for planning commission meetings.

1:45

Is there anyone from the public who would wish to provide public comment on non-agenda items?

1:50

Not nothing on the agenda.

1:52

If it's general plan, that's on the agenda.

1:55

I have general plan, but honestly, we've done a prior agenda.

2:03

So you'll have to wait.

2:06

Probably about 10 o'clock tonight.

2:08

We'll let you up here.

2:16

Can I interject one second?

2:17

Yep, Vince Smith Community Development Director.

2:19

I believe Mr.

2:20

Andrews is here to talk about items that were on the past agenda that are not on the agenda tonight.

2:25

So the items that are on the agenda tonight are the items that are listed.

2:29

I I was going generally speaking, like general plan, but if the thing is if we have Mr.

2:36

Andrews speak now or anybody else, I can't take there's no nothing to do with it because it's not I'm not going to speak.

2:44

I did make the commissioners and well, okay.

2:48

Stop.

2:49

Public comment, get up there now.

2:52

That's what I understand.

2:53

All right.

2:57

My name's Tom Andrews.

2:58

I live at 2165 Lawn Oak Avenue.

3:01

And I had made some comments earlier about the Lindavista extension and then uh bridge across Redwood Creek.

3:10

And I I did uh meet with uh three planning commissioners, yourself, Ms.

3:16

uh Vice Com Vice Chairman Masaro, and uh Commissioner Shotwell, and I I had reached out to um Commissioner Kelly and her Tato and their schedules didn't know really allow to uh uh them to come out and meet me because it was sort of a time consuming effort, is what I was requesting.

3:39

But so I I uh I have I want to give them exact I want to have to go in uh the printed material I gave each of you.

3:50

I'd like to have them uh right Tom.

3:54

So you had five packets, three you got rid of, two you need to get rid of now.

3:58

Well, I didn't get rid of them, I gave them to you to diligently review them.

4:04

I read every word.

4:04

If you give those to Patty, that would be great.

4:06

Okay, that's all I wanted to do.

4:08

Is that right?

4:08

Okay.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historic Preservation███████████████████████23%
Public Health██████████████████18%
Procedural████████8%
General Plan████████8%
Public Engagement███████7%
Arts And Culture███████7%
Water And Wastewater Management███████7%
Parks and Recreation██████6%
Design Guidelines███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Napa Planning Commission Regular Meeting - April 7, 2022

The Napa Planning Commission met on April 7, 2022, at 5:30 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting focused on administrative reports on the Draft General Plan, specifically discussing three elements: Community Services/Parks & Recreation, Historical & Cultural Resources, and Public Health & Equity. No formal action was taken on the General Plan; the discussion was for feedback. The commission also heard public comments on various topics, including a proposed bridge over Redwood Creek and traffic calming.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the Planning Commission Regular Meeting Minutes for March 17, 2022, by a single vote without discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Tom Andrews (2165 Lawn Oak Avenue) provided packets and comments regarding the Lindavista extension and bridge across Redwood Creek, noting prior meetings with three commissioners.
  • Maureen Tripp (Slow Down Napa) expressed frustration over the city's lack of response to traffic calming concerns, citing the 1998 Envision Napa plan that included a goal to protect residential streets from high-volume traffic.
  • Bill Tuka (2377 Stonehouse Drive, retired city planner, Cultural Heritage Commission member) advocated for a citywide historic resource inventory update, adoption of seven potential historic districts as local districts within 10 years, hiring a preservation consultant, and closer collaboration with Napa County Landmarks.
  • Kara Brunzel (1613 B Street, cultural resource management consultant) echoed Tuka's comments, emphasizing the economic and environmental benefits of historic preservation and the need for a consultant to assist applicants early in the process.

Discussion Items

  • Community Services, Parks & Recreation Element (Chapter 4): Commissioners balanced needs of locals and visitors, discussed water supply reliability (24% reduction in first year, 40% in years 2–5 based on urban water management plan), encouraged graywater systems for new development, supported a central arts and cultural center in downtown, and emphasized expanding parks into underserved areas (e.g., South Napa). Commissioner Kelly suggested reducing the goal of a 1.5–2 mile radius for community-serving parks.
  • Historical & Cultural Resources Element (Chapter 5): Commissioners discussed ADUs in historic neighborhoods (state laws allow guidelines for properties on the Historic Resources Inventory), recognition of tribal nations (including a possible formal apology), the need for a comprehensive HRI update every 5–10 years, and incentives for preservation like Mills Act and fee waivers. Commissioner Kelly raised concerns about new development dwarfing historic landmarks such as the First Presbyterian Church and Uptown Theater.
  • Public Health & Equity Element (Chapter 9): Commissioners highlighted food deserts, food waste (State AB 1383 requiring organic recovery), digital access as a necessity, language access for limited-English households (93% of linguistically isolated households are Spanish-speaking, per page 9-25), and the need for action-oriented language. Vice Chair Masaro praised the element as outstanding and suggested incorporating wording from Laura Keller’s public letter, including replacing vague verbs with “achieve, develop, implement, increase, require, ensure, and institutionalize.”

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken; the discussion served as feedback for staff to refine the Draft General Plan.
  • Staff committed to reviewing language across all elements for consistency and to consider adding action-oriented verbs where appropriate.
  • The Planning Commission requested an annual progress report on General Plan implementation, similar to the annual housing update.
  • Staff noted that the proposed bridge connection (Lindavista/Redwood Creek) could be modified to pedestrian, bicycle, and emergency vehicle access only; this will be analyzed in the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and brought back for planning commission recommendation to city council.
  • The public comment period for the Draft General Plan remains open until April 25, 2022, with comments accepted via the city website (2040.com).

Meeting Transcript

So let's uh call to order roll call, please. Commissioner Urtado? Here. Commissioner Kelly. Here. Commissioner Shotwell. Present. Vice Chair Masaro. Here. And Chair Heather. I am here. Can I ask all of you to please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. So we are on to agenda review and supplemental reports. The planning commission conducts all meetings in accordance with the Ralph Brown Act and pursuant to the city rules of order for planning commission meetings. Are there any changes to this evening's agenda? Anybody? Nope. Not from staff, not from my colleagues here. Good. Thank you. We're on to public comment. And public comment provides an opportunity for members of the public to directly address the planning commission on items of interest that are not otherwise noted on the agenda. I emphasize not because it's sometimes confusing for the public when they're invited to come up here and speak. Each speaker's comments will be limited to three minutes and will comply with the rules of order for planning commission meetings. Is there anyone from the public who would wish to provide public comment on non-agenda items? Not nothing on the agenda. If it's general plan, that's on the agenda. I have general plan, but honestly, we've done a prior agenda. So you'll have to wait. Probably about 10 o'clock tonight. We'll let you up here. Can I interject one second? Yep, Vince Smith Community Development Director. I believe Mr. Andrews is here to talk about items that were on the past agenda that are not on the agenda tonight. So the items that are on the agenda tonight are the items that are listed. I I was going generally speaking, like general plan, but if the thing is if we have Mr. Andrews speak now or anybody else, I can't take there's no nothing to do with it because it's not I'm not going to speak. I did make the commissioners and well, okay. Stop. Public comment, get up there now. That's what I understand. All right. My name's Tom Andrews. I live at 2165 Lawn Oak Avenue. And I had made some comments earlier about the Lindavista extension and then uh bridge across Redwood Creek. And I I did uh meet with uh three planning commissioners, yourself, Ms.

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