TO: Napa County Housing Commission
FROM: Jennifer Palmer, Executive Director
REPORT BY: Alex Carrasco, Project Manager
SUBJECT: Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Engineer’s Report for County Service Area No. 4
RECOMMENDATION
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Recommendation to the Board of Supervisors (Housing Authority Commissioners) approving Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Engineer’s Report for County Service Area No.4.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Budget Subcommittee has finalized the recommended budget for Fiscal Year 2025-2026, which forms the basis for the CSA 4 Engineer’s Report. The recommended budget includes a $1.00 increase to lodger nightly rents ($17 to $18), with no increase to the current $14 per acre assessment rate.
PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS
1. Staff Report
2. Public comment
3. Motion, second, discussion and vote
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
In 2002, the Napa County Board of Supervisors established County Service Area No.4 (CSA No.4) as a mechanism for owners of land containing at least one acre of planted vineyards to vote on assessing themselves to provide services pertaining to farmworker housing in the county, including maintenance or operations of the county-owned farmworker centers. The approved assessments can only remain in effect for a period of five years, unless reauthorized by qualifying property owners for an additional five-year period. The most recent reauthorization occurred in 2022, achieving an approval rating of 86%, marking an all-time high.
In 2017, the State Legislature approved an amendment to Government Code Section 25210.74 to increase the maximum assessment from $10.00 to $15.00 per planted vineyard acre ($1.00 increase each fiscal year, if needed, until the maximum assessment equals $15.00). For Fiscal Year 2024-2025, the assessment rate is $14.00 per planted vineyard acre.
Procedurally, the Board receives an Engineer’s Report identifying each parcel of property subject to the assessment and the amount of the assessment pertaining to each parcel. Based upon the filed Engineer's Report, the Board will hold the required public hearings and determine the actual assessments for each parcel. The levied assessments are submitted to the County Assessor’s office and are included on the property tax bills for the affected parcels, and the County updates its database of exiting planted vineyard acreage within CSA No.4.