TO: Napa County Planning Commission
FROM: Brian D. Bordona - Director of Planning, Building and Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Michael Parker, Planning Manager
SUBJECT: Proposed Updates to the Micro-winery Ordinance
RECOMMENDATION
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Discussion and recommendation that the Board of Supervisors adopt an ordinance amending Section 18.08 (Definitions) and Section 18.124.130 (Use Permit Modifications - Procedure- Categories) of Chapter 18.124 (Use Permits) of Title 18 (Zoning) of the Napa County Code regarding the issuance of micro-winery use permits and modifications.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Proposed Action:
That the Planning Commission:
1. Recommend the Board of Supervisors find the proposed amendments exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under Public Resource Code Section 21080.17, and under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.4, which allows local jurisdictions to establish their own procedures and exemptions, consistent with CEQA; Section 15303, regarding the new construction and conversion of small structures; Section 15304, regarding minor alterations to land; and Section 15305, regarding minor alterations in land use limitations; and Classes 3, 4, and 5 in Appendix B of the Local Procedures; and
2. Recommend the Board of Supervisors adopt an ordinance amending Section 18.08 (Definitions) and Section 18.124.130 (Use Permit Modifications - Procedure- Categories) of Chapter 18.124 (Use Permits) of Title 18 (Zoning) of the Napa County Code regarding the issuance of micro-winery use permits and modifications.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: Pursuant to the California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3 (Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act) and Napa County’s Local Procedures for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act, the adoption of this ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act. The adoption of the ordinance is exempt under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.4, which allows local jurisdictions to establish their own procedures and exemptions, consistent with CEQA; Section 15303, regarding the new construction and conversion of small structures; Section 15304, regarding minor alterations to land; and Section 15305, regarding minor alterations in land use limitations; and Classes 3, 4, and 5 in Appendix B of the Local Procedures.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
On April 5, 2022, the Board of Supervisors (BOS) adopted the Micro-Winery Ordinance (MWO) which established a new sub-category of winery with the following characteristics:
A. Ferments on-site at least 201 gallons of wine annually and has a production capacity of no more than 5,000 gallons of wine;
B. At least 75 percent of the grapes used in fermentation on-site are grown on the same property as the micro-winery or contiguous parcels under the same ownership. For the purpose of this section, "the same property as the micro-winery" means any parcel or parcels identified as included within the Use Permit application;
C. Has a maximum of 5,000 square feet of total enclosed space including storage, processing facilities, tasting areas, and caves;
D. No more than twenty Average Daily Trips (ADT) (ten daily round trips) are generated by tasting room visitors, all winery employees including seasonal employees, and deliveries to and/or from the winery;
E. No marketing events are conducted on site;
F. Tours and tastings and retail sales for wineries in the Agricultural Preserve and for the Agricultural Watershed, may be conducted on-site but are limited to between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.;
G. No subsequent application for an increase in the production of wine or tasting room visitation shall be considered within two years after the approval of the original micro-winery use permit.
H. Micro-wineries shall only be permitted within the Agricultural Preserve (AP) and Agricultural Watershed (AW) zones.
The original ordinance contained a sunset clause in Section 2.A.5 of the ordinance, which stated: “No application for a new micro-winery use permit or modification of an existing micro-winery use permit, whether minor or major, shall be considered three years after May 5, 2022 (the effective date of this Ordinance), unless the provisions in this code pertaining to micro-wineries are extended, re-adopted, or amended by the Board of Supervisors.” On March 11, 2025, the Board received a status report presentation from staff on the MWO and requested Board direction. The Board voted to extend the ordinance in perpetuity and directed staff to return to the Board at a future date with a recommended ordinance update after working with stakeholders and the Planning Commission to introduce amendments that are under the jurisdiction of the County and aimed at improving the overall ordinance.
On May 6, 2025, the Board held a public hearing where they voted to adopt an ordinance amending Section 18.10.020 (Duties - Specific subjects) of Chapter 18.10 (Zoning Administrator) of the Napa County Code removing the sunset date of May 5, 2025, of the MWO.
Adhering to Board direction from March 11th “to return to the Board at a future date with a recommended ordinance update after working with stakeholders and the Planning Commission to introduce amendments that are under the jurisdiction of the County and aimed at improving the overall ordinance,” staff participated in a stakeholder outreach meeting with Save the Family Farms on April 30, 2025. Topics at that meeting included but were not limited to the background and original intent of the MWO, regulations that are within the authority of the local jurisdiction vs state or federal regulations, pain points applicants have experienced during the entitlement process, and pain points that have prevented people from moving forward with an application.
At that meeting, the Save the Family Farms leadership also presented to County staff the results of a survey they conducted of their members. The key takeaway from that survey was the costs of the permit fees, and costs related to infrastructure and road improvements to meet the Roads and Street Standards are the primary deterrents for those choosing not to pursue a micro-winery entitlement. One of the questions of the survey spoke directly to “suggestions for updates to the ordinance.” Two common responses were “reducing marketing restrictions” and “making road upgrades more affordable.”
Regarding permit fees, the County recently concluded a fee study, which was presented to the Board of Supervisors on November 5, 2024. Recommendations included but were not limited to increasing cost recovery from 80% to 100% for all applicant fees to ensure the County General Fund isn’t burdened by discretionary development applications. After careful consideration, public comment, and discussion, the Board accepted and adopted recommendations (resolution 2024-119) to increase fees associated with private development applications. Given this decision by the Board of Supervisors, staff did not consider reduced permit fees as part of amendments to the MWO.
Given recent discussions with the Board of Supervisors and their direction to "introduce amendments that are under the jurisdiction of the County and aimed at improving the overall ordinance," in addition to the current legal proceedings related to the Napa County Roads and Street Standards, staff chose not to propose changes to those standards at this time. Instead, staff limited the scope of proposed amendments to revisions within the existing MWO. It is important to note that the Fire Marshal has the authority to review and make determinations on road exception requests as they relate to fire operations, emergency vehicle access, and compliance with applicable fire and life safety codes. In coordination, the Engineering Division is responsible for reviewing the design and construction aspects of emergency vehicle access to ensure they meet applicable engineering standards and support safe and effective emergency response operations.
In addition to meeting with Save the Family Farms, staff also reached out to various representatives of the wine industry groups regarding proposed amendments to the MWO.
Since the passage of the ordinance, three micro-wineries have successfully gone through the process and been approved; Goel Micro-winery, Chaix Family Micro-winery, and Stewart Ranch Micro-winery. Currently, there are three micro-winery applications that are in process, while three additional micro-winery applications have withdrawn their applications pending the update of this ordinance.
Given the history of the MWO, recent Board direction, and outreach efforts, staff’s recommendations for proposed amendments to the micro-winery ordinance are as follows:
18.08.377 Micro-winery
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Original: |
Proposed: |
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"Micro-winery" means a new winery or an existing micro-winery that modifies its use permit pursuant to Section 18.124.130.(F) below, both of which meet all of the requirements of the County Code applicable to a winery as well as the following specific restrictions and prohibitions: |
No Change |
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A. Ferments on-site at least 201 gallons of wine annually and has a production capacity of no more than 5,000 gallons of wine; |
A. Ferments on-site at least 201 gallons of wine annually and has a production capacity of no more than 10,000 gallons of wine; |
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B. At least 75 percent of the grapes used in fermentation on-site are grown on the same property as the micro-winery or contiguous parcels under the same ownership. For the purpose of this section, "the same property as the micro-winery" means any parcel or parcels identified as included within the Use Permit application; |
At least 75 percent of the grapes used in fermentation on-site are grown on the same property as the micro-winery or contiguous parcels under the same ownership. For the purpose of this section, "the same property as the micro-winery" means any parcel or parcels identified as included within the Use Permit application. On-site vineyards must be planted at the time of application submittal and demonstrated to be capable of supporting 75 percent of the approved production capacity; |
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C. Has a maximum of 5,000 square feet of total enclosed space including storage, processing facilities, tasting areas, and caves; |
No Change |
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D. No more than twenty Average Daily Trips (ADT) (ten daily round trips) are generated by tasting room visitors, all winery employees including seasonal employees, and deliveries to and/or from the winery; |
D. No more than forty Average Daily Trips (ADT) (twenty daily round trips) are generated by tasting room visitors or marketing event attendees, all winery employees including seasonal employees, and deliveries to and/or from the winery; |
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E. No marketing events as defined in Section 18.08.370, are conducted on site; |
E. Will hold no more than 10 marketing events, as defined in Section 18.08.370, per year, each with no more than 30 attendees; |
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F. Tours and tastings, as defined in Section 18.08.620, and retail sales as defined in Sections 18.16.030(G)(5)(C) for wineries in the Agricultural Preserve and 18.20.030.(H).(5).(C) for the Agricultural Watershed, may be conducted on-site but are limited to between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.; |
F. Tours and tastings, as defined in Section 18.08.620, and retail sales as defined in Sections 18.16.030(G)(5)(C) for wineries in the Agricultural Preserve and 18.20.030.(H).(5).(C) for the Agricultural Watershed, may be conducted on-site but are limited to between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Tours and tastings shall not be permitted on the same day as an approved marketing event; |
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G. No subsequent application for an increase in the production of wine or tasting room visitation shall be considered within two years after the approval of the original micro-winery use permit. |
G. Reserved. |
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H. Micro-wineries shall only be permitted within the Agricultural Preserve (AP) and Agricultural Watershed (AW) zones |
H. Micro-wineries shall only be permitted within the Agricultural Preserve (AP) and Agricultural Watershed (AW) zones and shall comply with all other local ordinances, rules, and regulations associated with winery development and permitting under the Napa County Code and Title 18, and in compliance with state and federal laws. |
18.124.130 Use permit modifications-Procedure-Categories
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OriginalProposed |
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F.1. Any increase in (1) the number of full-time equivalent existing permitted employees, including seasonal employees, (2) tours and tastings, or (3) deliveries, so long as the total number of vehicle trips for all such uses on the property does not exceed 20 ADT or 10 round trips; |
F.1. Any increase in (1) the number of full-time equivalent existing permitted employees, including seasonal employees, (2) tours and tastings, (3) marketing events, so long as the total does not exceed 10 events, (4) deliveries, so long as the total number of vehicle trips for all such uses on the property does not exceed 40 ADT or 20 round trips; |
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F.2. An increase in wine production so long as the total annual production does not exceed 5,000 gallons annually; |
F.2. An increase in wine production so long as the total annual production does not exceed 10,000 gallons annually; |
Additional Information:
Today’s public hearing was noticed in the Napa Valley Register on Thursday, July 31st. The same notice was also emailed out to the County’s Interested Parties List that same day.
At the time of publishing, staff received one public comment.
Decision Making Options:
As noted in the Executive Summary Section above, staff requests the Planning Commission recommend approval of the amended ordinance to the Board of Supervisors as proposed, which is described below in Option 1. The Commission may also propose revisions or continue the item if more information is required or if substantial changes are recommended.
Option 1 - Forward Recommendation of Approval of amendments to the micro-winery ordinance (staff recommendation).
Disposition - This option would result in the Commission’s recommendation for approval of the amended ordinance as currently proposed being forwarded to the Board of Supervisors. The Board will consider the ordinance after a duly noticed public notice period. If the Board chooses to adopt the ordinance, as proposed, it will close the public hearing and adopt the ordinance update. The ordinance will then become effective 30 days after final adoption.
Action Required - Follow proposed actions listed in the Executive Summary.
Option 2 - Forward Recommendation of Revised Ordinance
Disposition - If minor amendments to proposed code language are recommended, the Commission may make a final recommendation with direction to staff on the nature of changes to proposed language. Staff will incorporate proposed changes into a revised draft ordinance forwarded to the Board of Supervisors at a subsequent duly noticed public hearing where the Board will be asked to follow the same process outlined in Option 1 above.
Action Required - Follow the proposed actions listed in the Executive Summary and stipulate that the recommendation for approval is for the ordinance as amended. Provide specific direction to staff on the nature of code language amendments.
Option 3 - Recommend to Deny the Proposed Amendments
Disposition - In the event the Commission does not support the amendments to the ordinance as proposed, the Commission would vote to recommend denial. The Commission should articulate why it does not recommend amending the micro-winery ordinance. A denial recommendation would result in the Commission formally recommending the Board of Supervisors deny staff’s proposed amendments to the micro-winery ordinance.
Action Required - Commission motion, second, and vote to recommend the Board of Supervisors deny the amendments to the micro-winery ordinance as proposed.
Option 4 - Continuance Option
The Commission may continue to a future hearing date if substantial changes to the ordinance are necessary, or if issues cannot be satisfactorily addressed at the initial hearing. If the Commission wishes to continue the item, it should be continued to the September 17, 2025, Planning Commission meeting so as not to impact the planned October 21, 2025, Board of Supervisors hearing date.
ATTACHMENTS:
A. Proposed Ordinance - Redlines - 18.08.344 & 18.124.130
B. Proposed Ordinance - Clean - 18.08.344 & 18.124.130
C. Public Comment