TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Brian D. Bordona, Director of Planning Building & Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Brian D. Bordona, Director of Planning Building & Environmental Services
SUBJECT: Receive and File the 2026 Napa County Baseline Data Report Update and Kickoff of the Initial Phase of the Countywide General Plan Update
RECOMMENDATION
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Receive and file the 2026 Napa County Baseline Data Report Update; and receive a presentation to launch the Countywide General Plan Update and provide direction regarding the project priorities and the community engagement approach. (No Fiscal Impact; Discretionary)
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BACKGROUND
On February 4, 2025, the Board approved Agreement No. 250315B with Environmental Science Associates (ESA) to update the Napa County Baseline Data Report (BDR), an essential first step in the General Plan Update (GPU). On December 16, 2025, staff presented an update on the BDR progress and the County’s approach to the forthcoming GPU. During this meeting, the Board provided direction for the GPU amendment, emphasizing inclusive and accessible community engagement, meaningful integration of health considerations, coordination with regional planning efforts, and flexibility and innovation in both the process and plan structure.
On April 14, 2026, the Board approved Amendment No. 1 to the ESA agreement, adding the scope of work for the GPU and related Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and extending the agreement term to June 30, 2030. At that time, staff committed to return to the Board to receive and file the completed 2026 BDR Update and to formally launch the GPU.
2026 BASELINE DATA REPORT
Purpose and Scope
The Baseline Data Report (BDR) provides a comprehensive assessment of Napa County’s existing land uses, environmental, cultural, economic, and social conditions, as well as the current regulatory landscape. It does not establish policy or recommend direction. Rather, it establishes a baseline technical foundation to support consistent analysis and informed decision-making throughout the GPU, and subsequent environmental review, permitting, and planning efforts.
The September 2026 Baseline Data Report <https://www.napacounty.gov/4158/2026-Baseline-Data-Report> (BDR) updates and expands the County's 2005 Baseline Data Report, providing baseline conditions and trends to be compared over a two-decade period. It consists of an introduction and 22 topical chapters organized into four thematic areas: 1) Land Use and Agriculture, 2) Community and Public Health, 3) Environmental Resources, and 4) Infrastructure and Mobility. Each chapter follows a consistent structure covering the regulatory setting, methodology, and existing conditions, followed by conclusions and update recommendations. The report focuses primarily on unincorporated Napa County while providing regional and municipal context where relevant, and captures differences in landscape, development intensity, and land use across the county.
Preparation and Public Engagement
The BDR was developed through a structured process combining data collection, technical analysis, and coordination across topic areas, synthesizing information from prior plans, monitoring programs, local, state and federal agency data, and geographic information systems (GIS).
Public engagement was a central component of BDR development. Across three rounds of community workshops, multiple technical focus groups, targeted outreach efforts, and a public comment period, the process engaged a diverse cross-section of residents, organizations, community leaders, and technical experts. Participants provided input on data gaps, existing conditions, and community priorities. Several consistent themes emerged:
• Maintaining Napa County's rural and agricultural character
• Addressing housing affordability and workforce needs
• Preparing for climate and wildfire-related risks
• Protecting environmental resources and scenic landscapes
• Improving mobility and access to services
Executive Summary Online StoryMap
The BDR Executive Summary is available as a digital online StoryMap <https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f78c0b80fbbc4911824a028c98cd4459>, an interactive ESRI-based experience providing an overview of existing conditions and trends across all BDR chapters, organized by thematic area. The StoryMap distills complex technical data into a reader-friendly, visually engaging, and easily digestible format, with a narrative that summarizes key findings, trends and the most significant changes in conditions over the two decades since the 2005 BDR. Accompanying the summary narrative are visuals and figures to help tell the story of the county's existing conditions. Each chapter summary provides a link to the individual chapter, allowing readers to move from the high-level summary into the detailed technical background easily.
What Has Changed Since 2005
The 2026 BDR identifies several important shifts in conditions and in the County’s ability to understand and manage them since the 2005 baseline. Two cross-cutting themes are particularly evident across the report:
Climate, Adaptation and Wildfire have become a foundational, cross-cutting condition.
In 2005, climate was addressed narrowly, while today it is a key topic throughout the BDR, most visibly through wildfire, which now shapes conditions in chapters spanning public health and safety, geology (post-fire erosion), air quality (particulate matter), water quality (reservoir impacts), biological resources, visual character, housing, and agriculture. The same climate pressures appear throughout including changing precipitation and drought (affecting groundwater and water supply), extreme heat, and sea-level rise. In response, a coordinated set of adaptation and mitigation efforts has advanced, including a draft Regional Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (RCAAP) anticipated for adoption in 2026 and a framework of Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs), a countywide CWPP together with more than 20 community-level plans led by the Napa Communities Firewise Foundation and local Fire Safe Councils, that guide wildfire risk reduction, evacuation planning, and fuels management and strengthen the county's competitiveness for state and federal wildfire funding. In addition, the County has secured and accepted $522,743 in state grant funding and is beginning development of the County’s Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan.
The County has moved from projecting conditions to measuring and managing them.
In 2005, groundwater had no statewide sustainability framework, water quality relied on modeled estimates with regulatory targets still in development, and the County had no greenhouse gas inventory or climate vulnerability assessment. Today the County has an approved Groundwater Sustainability Plan with an annual public monitoring report, adopted total maximum daily loads showing measurable water quality results, a countywide emissions inventory, and a full climate hazard and vulnerability assessment and with the draft RCAAP and CWPP, an emerging framework for acting on that information. The shift from projecting conditions to measuring and actively managing them is one of the most significant changes since 2005.
Select findings from the September 2026 BDR update include:
• Land conservation. Parks and Public Open Space increased approximately 36 percent between 2006 and 2026, from roughly 137,500 to nearly 187,000 acres (an increase of about 49,500 acres), and is now the county's most abundant land use. This reflects land protected through public parks, recorded deed restrictions, and conservation easements, including acquisitions by public agencies and the Land Trust of Napa County, as well as more comprehensive mapping of protected lands since 2006.
• Growth patterns. Population and housing growth since 2010 has occurred almost entirely within the incorporated cities of Napa and American Canyon, consistent with decades of the County’s agricultural and open space preservation policy.
• Agriculture. Winegrapes generated more than $1.03 billion in production value in 2024, roughly triple that reported in 2005 ($357 million). Agricultural land conversion has remained minimal under Measures J and P, Williamson Act contracts, and other agricultural land protections.
• Economy. The wine industry generated an estimated $11.7 billion in total economic impact in 2022, up approximately 25 percent from $9.4 billion in 2016, and directly or indirectly accounted for roughly 72 percent of the county’s employment, leaving the economy heavily concentrated in wine and tourism.
• Environmental justice. The BDR identifies seven census tracts and 12 block groups in unincorporated areas facing disproportionately high cumulative impacts, the County's first such analysis under SB 1000 (2016 Planning for Healthy Communities Act).
• Emissions and energy. Countywide greenhouse gas emissions declined 27 percent between 2005 and 2019, and the electricity supply has shifted substantially toward carbon-free sources.
• Transportation. Travel patterns and transportation planning have changed substantially since the prior BDR, with the share of commutes by personal vehicle declining from 88 percent in 2013 to 81 percent in 2023, work-from-home increasing, and new Vision Zero and active transportation planning frameworks now in place.
The Baseline Data Report Explorer
Geographic information systems (GIS) analysis is a central component of the BDR, supporting mapping of resources, constraints, and service areas. The companion Napa County BDR Explorer <https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/fc8e7d662aaa481285030cd4bce3ffbc> is an interactive web application providing public access to the geospatial datasets used in preparing the report and allowing users to explore relationships across topics. Whereas the BDR is a point-in-time snapshot of conditions during the baseline period, the Explorer is intended as a dynamic, living tool that the County will update periodically so the underlying data stays current over time.
Key features include:
• Data Lookup: allows users to zoom to local detail and view overlays across topic areas
• Living data layers: the Explorer's datasets are designed to be maintained over time, so the spatial information can reflect the most current available data rather than remaining fixed to the baseline period
• Connection to the County's GIS Open Data Hub: where users can view metadata, reference information, and download datasets
GENERAL PLAN UPDATE PROJECT LAUNCH
With completion of the 2026 Baseline Data Report Update, the County is positioned to begin the General Plan Update (GPU). The GPU will build upon the BDR's technical foundation and move from documenting existing conditions to developing a shared community vision, guiding principles, goals, and ultimately updated policies.
The GPU is expected to guide County land use, environmental, social, and economic policies through 2050 and beyond. The approved scope calls for a collaborative process that integrates community input, technical analysis, State requirements, and Board priorities. It also provides flexibility to refine the organization and structure of the General Plan as the visioning process progresses.
Purpose of This Board Discussion
The purpose of today's discussion is to present the goals and priorities that staff recommends to guide the GPU and to obtain the Board's feedback on them, together with input on the proposed approach to community engagement. Staff has drafted these recommended priorities building directly on the County's adopted 2025-2030 Strategic Initiatives. The Board's feedback will help staff and the consultant team confirm the priorities, frame the engagement strategy, and identify the issues, values, and tradeoffs that warrant further community and technical consideration.
General Plan Update Framework
Consistent with the scope approved by the Board in April 2026, the GPU will:
• Build upon the findings and data contained in the 2026 Baseline Data Report Update;
• Modernize the 2008 General Plan to reflect current conditions, State requirements, County priorities, and community values;
• Maintain Napa County's long-standing commitment to agricultural preservation, environmental stewardship, and community well-being;
• Integrate health, equity, resilience, and economic considerations across General Plan topics through a Health in All Policies framework;
• Address climate resilience, wildfire risk, water security, and other changing conditions as fundamental planning considerations;
• Coordinate with related County, regional, and resource-planning efforts; and
• Use alternatives, technical analysis, and community engagement to evaluate tradeoffs before developing a preferred plan direction.
Overview of the General Plan Update
The GPU is organized into six stages:
1. Project Launch: This stage focuses on preparation of the project branding, website, and communications strategies and a review of goals, policies, and actions in the existing General Plan relative to key BDR findings, State requirements and guidance, and updated priorities, policies, and plans of the County and the incorporated areas.
2. Visioning: During the initial community engagement, community members will provide input that informs the preparation of the General Plan vision statement and guiding principles, which will be the foundation for the GPU process.
3. Policy Alternatives: The GPU team will prepare conceptual alternatives for implementing the Vision and Guiding Principles. Based on community feedback, the General Plan land use map and designations may be updated.
4. Policy Development: Next, policy frameworks for land use, health, and environmental justice, as well as recommendations for refinements to agriculture and economic development policies, will be prepared for community review.
5. Draft GP and EIR: This stage involves preparation of the Administrative Draft, Public Review Draft, and Final General Plan as well as the EIR.
6. Review and Adoption: The project will conclude with public review of the General Plan, recommendations from the Planning Commission, and adoption and certification by the Board.
Board input and strategic direction will be requested at key decision points in the process:
• Project Priorities: The GPU team will present recommended priorities for the GPU, grounded in the County's Strategic Initiatives, for the Board's review and refinement, along with the proposed engagement approach. (September 15, 2026, meeting).
• Community Vision: The GPU team will summarize initial community engagement resulting from the visioning stage (#2 above) and ask the Planning Commission and Board to affirm the vision statement and guiding principles.
• Plan Direction: Before preparing the draft General Plan, the GPU team will ask the Planning Commission to recommend and the Board to confirm land use and other key policy directions.
• Draft General Plan and EIR: After the release of the Draft General Plan and EIR, the GPU team will hold a study session with the Planning Commission and Board to provide initial feedback.
• Adoption: The Planning Commission and Board will hold a series of public hearings leading up to General Plan adoption and certification of the EIR.
This staged approach is intended to provide the Planning Commission and the Board with meaningful opportunities to shape the GPU while allowing community input and technical analysis to inform decisions throughout the project and between major decision points.
Recommended Priorities for the General Plan Update
The project scope of work establishes the planning process, tasks, and deliverables for the General Plan Update (GPU), with community engagement and technical analysis providing important input throughout the process. As the County begins this work, early direction from the Board will help ensure the GPU starts with a clear understanding of the Board's priorities and the key issues the planning process should address. This initial discussion is intended to refine the proposed priorities and begin establishing guiding principles that can provide an overall framework for the update. These principles will help orient the work of staff, consultants, and advisory groups while remaining responsive to community input, technical analysis, and issues that emerge as the process moves forward. Ultimately, the Board will consider and provide direction on the policy choices developed through the GPU process and will be responsible for adoption of the updated General Plan.
Rather than beginning from a review of the existing General Plan, staff recommends that the GPU build on the County's adopted 2025-2030 Strategic Initiatives, which already express the Board's long-term direction. The Strategic Initiatives establish four goals: 1) Healthy, Connected Communities; 2) Environmental Sustainability and Resilience; 3) Agricultural Legacy; and 4) County Service and Workforce Excellence, all of which are supported by the Board’s core values of inclusivity, collaboration, stewardship, access, and data-informed decision-making.
Building on that foundation, staff has drafted the following priorities to guide the GPU. Each aligns with one or more of the Strategic Initiative goals and is intended to preserve the County's agricultural legacy, strengthen environmental and community resilience, support healthy and connected communities, and ensure that future land use decisions are sustainable, balanced, transparent, and grounded in the best available information.
Staff requests the Board's feedback to confirm or refine these priorities:
1. Preserve the Agricultural Legacy and a Resilient Rural Economy
Maintain the Agricultural Preserve as the foundation of the County's land use framework while keeping agriculture economically viable. Support the wine industry and a diverse local economy without compromising the resources that make Napa County distinctive.
2. Build Healthy, Connected Communities and Meet Housing Needs
Plan for communities where people can live, work, travel, and access services. Meet the County's housing responsibilities, particularly workforce-affordable housing in locations that support existing communities while minimizing conflicts with agriculture and natural resources.
3. Strengthen Environmental Stewardship, Climate Resilience, and Water Security
Integrate climate adaptation, wildfire resilience, habitat protection, and resource conservation throughout the General Plan. Ensure development is supported by sustainable water supplies that protect groundwater, watersheds, and ecosystems.
4. Align Growth with Infrastructure, Services, and Community Capacity
Align the location and intensity of development with roads, water and wastewater systems, emergency response, and other infrastructure, evaluating cumulative effects rather than individual projects in isolation.
5. Modernize the General Plan and Make Engagement Transparent
Create a General Plan that is clear, practical, and grounded in current data. Provide accessible ways to participate and clearly communicate what was heard and how it shaped recommendations.
Given these proposed GPU priorities that align with the County’s Strategic Initiatives, are there additional or alternate priorities the updated General Plan should address, if any?
Engagement Approach
Consistent with prior Board direction, the proposed engagement approach (see attached) prioritizes early, inclusive, and accessible participation, with an emphasis on reducing barriers to participation and reaching residents, businesses, and community members where they are. The proposed approach includes a combination of broad community outreach, topic-specific engagement, stakeholder coordination, and online participation opportunities designed to inform the Community Vision Plan and subsequent alternatives and policy development.
The approved scope anticipates that these engagement activities will occur at multiple stages of the GPU, including during development of the Community Vision Plan, development and evaluation of alternatives, development of the preferred plan direction, and review of the Draft General Plan and EIR. The intent is to provide multiple opportunities for community input while ensuring that engagement is focused on the decisions and policy choices being considered at each stage.
Direction Requested
Staff seeks the Board's initial direction on the engagement approach:
Does the Board have any questions, comments, or suggestions about providing meaningful and inclusive opportunities for participation?
Next Steps
Following today's meeting, staff and the consultant team will begin the initial outreach and engagement phase, including but not limited to district town halls, stakeholder meetings, community events, and other outreach activities. The results of this work will be used to develop the Community Vision Plan.
The GPU team will soon reach out to each Supervisor and Board Aide to coordinate a district-specific town hall. This will also be an opportunity to discuss community events to participate in, community-based organizations to engage with, and “third places” outside of home and work where people connect, gather, and could be invited to inform the General Plan.
Staff expects to return to the Board at the Vision, Goals, and Outcomes stage, following the initial outreach and visioning activities. At that meeting, the Board will review an emerging Community Vision Plan, including the proposed vision statement, guiding principles, goals, and outcomes, and provide direction before the project advances into development and evaluation of alternatives.
Requested Actions:
1. Receive and File the 2026 Napa County Baseline Data Report (BDR) Update;
2. Provide Initial Direction on the General Plan Update (GPU) Project Priorities and Proposed Engagement Approach
FISCAL IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
No |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
Yes |
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Where is it budgeted? |
1700000 PBES - General Plan |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
The 2026 Baseline Data Report Update filing and Board direction regarding the General Plan Update project priorities and engagement approach support the timely launch of the GPU project previously authorized by the Board. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
No |
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Future fiscal impact: |
Work is already funded under an approved contract amendment. Expenditures for the GPU and related EIR preparation will likely continue through June 30, 2030, and will be budgeted accordingly during each budget cycle. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
The item includes a presentation on the 2026 BDR and request for input on the GPU engagement plan. The item does not include a request for approval or denial. |
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Additional Information |
County Strategic Initiatives: Build Healthy, Connected Communities; Champion Environmental Sustainability and Resilience; Preserve Napa County’s Agricultural Legacy |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is exempt from CEQA under Section 15262, which allows feasibility and planning studies for possible future actions that have not yet been approved or adopted. An Environmental Impact Report will be prepared for the General Plan Update as authorized under Amendment No. 1 to Agreement No. 250315B.