TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Ryan J. Alsop, Chief Executive Officer
REPORT BY: Andrew M. Mize, Senior Legislative & Policy Advocate
SUBJECT: Resolution Against Use of Critical Resources to Support Detention Purposes
RECOMMENDATION
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Adopt a Resolution against use of critical resources to support detention purposes. (No Fiscal Impact)
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BACKGROUND
This item is before the Board upon referral of Supervisor Gallagher at the Board’s regular meeting on August 25, 2026. At that meeting, Supervisor Gallagher requested that staff return with an interim urgency ordinance establishing a temporary moratorium on the siting, construction, conversion, or operation of new or expanded detention or correctional facilities within the unincorporated area of Napa County.
Staff convened to discuss the request, and determined two things: first, staff determined that the defensibility of such an urgency ordinance is presently at a lower level than would be preferable and second, while such a facility could arguably meet the criteria of a “quasi-public use,” staff determined that proscribing such a use would create undesirable precedent in Napa County’s code, which is permissive rather than proscriptive.
Staff nonetheless sought to address both the referral and the arguable case of “quasi-public use” and determined that a resolution containing a policy statement based on factual findings would address the core concerns of the referral and lay effective and defensible groundwork as it pertains to the applicability of “quasi-public use” to detention or correctional facilities.
Staff then carefully drafted the resolution attached, which incorporates the substantial weight of Napa County’s - and this Board’s - prior land use policies to inveigh against future siting, construction, conversion, or operation of such facilities.
FISCAL IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
No |
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Additional Information |
Strategic Initiatives: Stewardship & Resilience; Preserve Napa County’s Agricultural Legacy. |
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.