TO: Napa County Planning Commission
FROM: Brian D. Bordona, Director of Planning Building and Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Kelli Cahill, Planner III - (707) 265-2325
SUBJECT: Wrights Corner Use Permit Major Modification No. P22-00241-MOD
RECOMMENDATION
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WRIGHTS CORNER INC. / WRIGHT’S CORNER / USE PERMIT MAJOR MODIFICATION NO. P22-00241-MOD
CEQA STATUS: Consideration and possible adoption of a Negative Declaration. According to the proposed Negative Declaration, the proposed project would not have any potentially significant environmental impacts. In accordance with Section 15105(b) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, Napa County submitted the proposed Initial Study/Negative Declaration to the State Clearinghouse for a 30-day review period beginning March 13, 2025, and running through April 16, 2025 (State Clearinghouse No. SCH 2025030679) https://ceqasubmit.opr.ca.gov/. This project is not on any lists of hazardous waste sites enumerated under Government Code Section 65962.5.
REQUEST: This application requests a change in use to three existing structures on the subject property, including:
1) converting an existing 2,738 sf three (3) bedroom residence into an inn with eight (8) guest rooms and construction of five (5) new stand-alone guest cottages of 645 sf each (totaling 3,175 sf)with proposed private events for guests of the inn,
2) convert an existing bike rental/guided tour and luxury tour car staging business to a beer and wine Tavern,
3) convert an existing furniture store with art, antique, and retail products to a mercantile store with wine tastings,
4) addition of a new mobile concession trailer (130 sf) for the sale of coffee and morning snacks,
5) addition of a new 397 sf bathroom with attached storage room for patrons,
6) site improvements to meet Napa County Roads and Street Standards for the commercial driveway, and construction of 28 additional parking for a total of 36 on-site, and
7) upgrade the septic system prior to conversion of the residence to lodging.
The project is located on a 2.35-acre parcel within the Commercial Limited (CL) zoning district and General Plan designated as Agriculture, Watershed and Open Space (AWOS) and Agricultural Resources (AR) at 4370 (also addressed as 4372 and 4374) Old Sonoma Highway, Napa (APN 047-110-017).
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Adopt the Negative Declaration and approve the Use Permit Modification subject to the recommended conditions of approval.
STAFF CONTACT: Kelli Cahill, Planner III, (707) 265-2325 or kelli.cahill@countyofnapa.org
APPLICANT CONTACT: Kerry Smith, Owner; (707) 812-5006; thewrightcorner@earthlink.net
CONTINUED FROM THE APRIL 16, 2025 REGULAR PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Proposed Actions:
That the Planning Commission:
1. Adopt the Negative Declaration based on Findings 1-7 in Attachment A;
2. Approve Use Permit Major Modification No. P22-00241, based on recommended Findings 8-12 in Attachment A and subject to the revised recommended Conditions of Approval in Attachment B.
Discussion:
The project was heard at the April 16, 2025, Planning Commission Meeting. At the hearing, members of the public and Commissioners provided comments and raised questions regarding topics such as the requirements for tenant and event program parking, biological resources, septic field, building permits and code requirements, transient noncommunity water service, groundwater well, underground storage tank.
Staff recommended continuance to June 4, 2025, to allow the project applicant the opportunity to work with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW) or allow Staff time to amend the Initial Study/Negative Declaration to incorporate the recommended mitigation and recirculate the CEQA document for a 30-day review period as an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration. At that meeting, the item was continued to today’s hearing to allow for additional time at the Commissions’ direction. The prior staff report and attachments are available via the following link: https://napa.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7289385&GUID=51E40199-058F-4621-8BE5-71E8F6DF49FD&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Wrights+corner
On April 24, 2025, Staff received email correspondence from CDFW (Attachment G) stating that, while within an area of potential nesting habitat for the Swainson’s hawk, a site visit determined that impacts from the proposed project would be negligible due to visual obstructions of potential nesting trees and similar noise and activities from nearby properties. Therefore, CDFW rescinded the comment letter, as well as removed it from the State Clearinghouse CEQAnet Database thereby not requiring the recirculation of an updated Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration.
At this time, the applicant has made no changes to the project description presented on April 16, 2025. Once again, staff has reviewed the proposed project and supports granting approval, subject to revisions to the recommended conditions of approval as discussed below and incorporated into Attachment B. Staff prepared an Initial Study/Negative Declaration that evaluated the potential environmental impacts of the proposal as presented by the applicant. Staff determined that the applicant’s proposal would not have any potentially significant environmental impacts based upon the existing conditions of the parcels and given that the proposed physical improvements are limited, generally occurring in already disturbed areas. Therefore, staff recommends the adoption of the Negative Declaration. Furthermore, staff found the requests to be consistent with the Zoning Ordinance and applicable General Plan policies including the County’s current groundwater requirements.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: Consideration and possible adoption of a Negative Declaration. According to the proposed Negative Declaration the proposed project would have less than significant environmental impacts. In accordance with Section 15073 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, Napa County submitted the proposed Initial Study/Negative Declaration to the State Clearinghouse for a 30-day review period beginning on March 13, 2025, which runs through April 15, 2025 (State Clearinghouse No. SCH 2025030679) This project is not on any lists of hazardous waste sites enumerated under Government Code Section 65962.5.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The project was heard at the Planning Commission meeting of April 16, 2025. Members of the public and Commissioners provided comments and raised questions regarding topics such as Event Program parking, Biological Resources, Septic Field limitations, Building Permit and Code requirements, the requirements for a transient noncommunity water system, Groundwater Well for water system, and Underground Storage Tank cleanup. The staff report herein focuses on providing clarification of topics raised and updated Conditions of Approval to address issues accordingly. The prior staff report and attachments are available via the following link:
https://napa.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7289385&GUID=51E40199-058F-4621-8BE5-71E8F6DF49FD&Options=ID|Text|&Search=Wrights+corner
There are no proposed changes to the project, only revisions to the Recommended Conditions of Approval in Attachment B.
Tenant and Event Program Parking - Commissioner questions were raised concerning whether there would be sufficient parking for proposed events. Staff is recommending a condition of approval that clarifies no parking shall occur within the public right-of-way and that if any events are held which will exceed the available on-site parking, the applicant/permittee shall prepare an event-specific parking plan which may include, but not be limited to, valet service or offsite parking and shuttle service. Offsite event parking shall be provided at a location not located in the AP or AWOS Zoning Districts of the County; see Revised Condition of Approval (COA) 4.13(b).
Biological Resources - On April 24, 2025, Staff received email correspondence from CDFW (Attachment G) stating that, while within an area of potential nesting habitat for the Swainson’s hawk, a site visit determined impacts from the proposed project would be negligible due to visual obstructions of potential nesting trees and similar noise and activities from nearby properties. CDFW rescinded the comment letter, as well as removed it from the State Clearinghouse CEQAnet Database (State Clearinghouse No. SCH 2025030679). Therefore, no mitigation measures will be included regarding this issue.
Septic Field - The use of the onsite wastewater dispersal area(s) and reserve area(s) shall be restricted to activities which will not contribute to compaction of the soil with consequent reduction in soil aeration or damage. Activities which must be avoided in the areas of the onsite wastewater system include equipment storage, traffic, parking, pavement, etc. Given these requirements, an amended Environmental Health Division memorandum has been provided and incorporated into COA 4.11(b).
Building Permit and Code Requirements - To ensure that the applicant/permittee understands building and fire code requirements including accessibility compliance associated with change of occupancy requirements implemented with this Major Modification entitlement, Building Division has documented such requirements as amended in their Memorandum of Conditions of Approval, dated May 8, 2025. (See COA 4.11(c)).
Transient Noncommunity Water Service - The State Water Resources Control Board permits multiple types of public water systems, and regulations vary depending on the type of water system. Classification is based on the total number of users, frequency of users, and type of individuals utilizing the water system. California Health and Safety Code §116275 provides information on public water systems. The following definitions have been listed for reference:
California Health and Safety Code §116275
(h) “Public Water System” means a system for the provision of water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances that has 15 or more service connections or regularly serves at least 25 individuals daily at least 60 days out of the year.
(i) “Community water system” means a public water system that serves at least 15 service connections used by yearlong residents or regularly serves at least 25 yearlong residents of the area served by the system.
(o) “Transient noncommunity water system” means a noncommunity water system that does not regularly serve at least 25 of the same persons over six months per year.
Based on the proposed numbers of employees and guests, the project will be required to install a “Transient noncommunity water system” as required in COA 4.11(b).
Groundwater Well - Per California Code of Regulations (CCR) Title 22 §64554(c) “Community water systems using only groundwater shall have a minimum of two approved sources before being granted an initial permit”. As noted above, the project’s water system will not be a “community water system”, therefore the referenced requirement for two (2) wells is inaccurate. The code section referenced in the letter does not relate to this topic.
Per CCR Title 22 §64554(a), at all times, a public water system's water source(s) shall have the capacity to meet the system's maximum day demand (MDD). The project well will be the primary source of water for the project. In order for a well to be permitted to serve a public water system, the source must comply with the provisions of CCR, Title 22, Chapter 16, Article 3, §64560 ‘New Well Siting, Construction and Permit Application’.
The necessary information on the existing well will be provided during the water system permitting process to demonstrate that it currently meets standards or that improvements will be completed to comply with regulations. Condition of Approval No. #4.1 reflects this information.
Underground Storage Tank - The project site included a former gas station where an underground storage tank was removed, and the site cleaned. As part of the CEQA review, Staff reviewed County GIS hazardous layers which did not identify the site as containing a hazardous facility despite having had an underground storage tank onsite. To confirm the site was no longer listed, Staff searched the State Water Resources Control Board GeoTracker database and found that the site (Local Agency Case No. 0602, Regional Board Case No. 28-0256), as first reported in 1992 and completed with status Closed as of May 2006 (Attachment E).
Public Comments:
Staff received two comment letters prior to the April 16, 2025, Planning Commission hearing and one letter the day of the hearing. (Attachment F)
Decision Making Options:
As noted in the Executive Summary Section above, staff is recommending approval of the project with revised conditions of approval as described in Option 1 below. Decision making options also include a no project alternative.
Option 1 - Approve Applicant’s Proposal (Staff Recommendation)
Disposition - This action would result in approval of a Major Modification for Wrights Corner Project proposal. Staff recommends this option and finds the request to be consistent with the Zoning Ordinance, applicable General Plan policies, and other County regulations as presented in the Recommended Findings (Attachment A).
Action Required - Follow the proposed action listed in the Executive Summary. If revised conditions of approval are to be amended, specify conditions to be amended at time motion is made. This option has been analyzed for its environmental impacts, which were found to be less than significant.
Option 2 - Modify the Applicant’s Proposal
Disposition - This option would result in modification of the operations, such as customers/visitation for the Tavern, reduced event program, limit wine tasting by business, reduce the number of seats and/or denial of some of the requested changes in use or components of the uses, to address concerns of the Commission and/or public comments if solicited.
Action Required - Follow proposed actions listed in the Executive Summary and recommend amended scope and applicable conditions of approval. The item may need to be continued to a future date if significant revisions to the recommended conditions of approval are desired.
Option 3 - Deny Proposed Project
Disposition - In the event the Commission determines that the project does not or cannot meet the required findings for the granting of the Major Modification, Commissioners should articulate what aspect or aspects of the project are in conflict with the required findings. State Law requires the Commission to adopt findings, based on the General Plan and County Code, setting forth why the proposed Use Permit is not being approved.
Action Required - Commission would make a motion to deny the project based upon the Commission's statements.
Option 4 - Continuance Option
The Commission may continue an item to a future hearing date at its own discretion.
ATTACHMENTS:
A. Recommended Findings
B. Revised Recommended Conditions of Approval and Final Agency Approval Memos
C. Previous Project Conditions
D. Application Submittal & Project Description
E. RWQCB Geotracker database Report
F. Public Comments received on or before April 16, 2025
G. CDFW Correspondence received on April 24, 2025