TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Brian D. Bordona - Director of Planning, Building and Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Trevor Hawkes - Supervising Planner
SUBJECT: Inn at the Abbey proposed Development Agreement terms, Use Permit Major Modification #P19-00038-MOD
RECOMMENDATION
title
PUBLIC HEARING - Inn at the Abbey Development Agreement
Discussion and direction regarding revised proposed terms of a Development Agreement between Napa County and Jackson Family Investments, LCC (Applicant or Owner), concerning their existing Use Permit Major Modification application, #P19-00038-MOD, the Inn at the Abbey. (No Fiscal Impact)
body
BACKGROUND
The purpose of today’s hearing is to solicit input regarding the revised terms of a development agreement and to provide direction to Staff regarding the terms to be negotiated with the Applicant.
History
In February 2019, the Applicant submitted a Use Permit Major Modification request for the project known as the Inn at the Abbey. The Applicant is currently requesting approval to:
1. Demolish three existing buildings currently serving as a restaurant, retail wine shop, art gallery, and five-room motel (10,048 total square feet).
2. Develop the North Parcel with a new 55,000 square foot of floor area hotel building, dedicating 21,000 square feet of floor area to 50 guest rooms and 34,000 square feet of floor area for a spa, retail operations, a rooftop terrace and other public areas, circulation, back-of-house uses, and a 54-stall underground parking garage.
3. Develop the South Parcel with a 11,000 square foot, 11 guest room, hotel building, a 7,500 square foot 12 guest room barn building, a plunge pool, a 350 square foot fitness studio, and two (2) bungalow buildings totaling approximately 4,000 square feet and containing six (6) guest rooms in total. Retention of six (6) existing on-site residential dwelling units that would be used for workforce housing.
4. Landscaping, improvements, and infrastructure associated with the proposed development.
5. An additional 48 new employees to the existing 55 employees for a total of 103 employees on the project site.
The 15-acre project site includes six (6) parcels owned by the Applicant. The project site is located approximately one-half mile north of the City of St. Helena in unincorporated Napa County. Three (3) of the six (6) project parcels are either fully or partially zoned as Commercial Limited (CL), whose compatibility with the County’s Agriculture, Watershed or Open Space policies is enumerated in General Plan policy AG/LU-45. Figure AG/LU-2 from the 2008 General Plan, which shows the location of parcels subject to Policy AG/LU-45 is contained in Attachment D.
Development Agreement
Development Agreements (or DA) are contracts voluntarily negotiated between a property owner and local government that govern the land uses that may be allowed in a particular project. Neither the property owner nor the local government is required to enter into a DA. Development Agreements are authorized by state law (Govt. Code Section 65864 et seq.) and intended to promote community needs by allowing a local government to receive greater community benefits than it could otherwise achieve through the land use regulatory process. In exchange for these greater community benefits, the developer receives vested rights to complete a project subject to the land use regulations in effect at the time the DA is approved without being subject to new regulations. Over the last several years, the Board has entered into Development Agreements for the Carneros Inn and the Meadowood Resort Fire Rebuild and received community benefits and exactions that exceed what otherwise could have been required or imposed.
Here, the DA would provide the Applicant with a vested right to develop the project for 20 years in accordance with the applicable laws and entitlements in effect at the time of project approval and in exchange, the Applicant would agree to terms that would address the impacts of the project which could not have been otherwise required under applicable law.
On December 5, 2023, the Board of Supervisors held a public hearing to discuss proposed DA terms with the Applicant. The meeting video, Staff Report and other associated items can be access here: <https://napa.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6432828&GUID=FA0F1030-720D-407D-9D9B-52770A635BE4>.
At the December meeting Supervisors heard public comment, discussed the proposed terms and issues such as affordable housing instead of housing funds, pedestrian safety, e-bike support on the Vine Trail and a voluntary groundwater reduction. The Board directed the Applicant to revise the proposed terms. The Applicant revised the terms and Staff is requesting that the Board provide direction regarding the revised terms set forth below. A comparison table of the December terms and the current terms is provided in Attachment B.
1. Onsite, affordable housing units for employees: Existing six market rate units to be deed restricted affordable for employees. Provides new affordable housing stock and reduces VMT. Adds affordable units for County’s next RHNA cycle. Restriction of rental rates to affordable levels represents a decrease in rental income of approximately $3.44 million over 20 years.
2. New Residential Units: Prior to occupancy of the hotel, Owner will cause to construct and/or commit to deliver five new dwelling units in Napa County to be occupied by employees who work for owner or owner’s affiliates. Units may be funded by Owner, funded/constructed in partnership with housing developers, non-profit organizations, and/or constructed by Owner on its properties. Should Owner constructed units be rented to outside tenants Owner agrees to maintain rents at moderate income limits (as defined by California Department of Housing and Community Development) for a period of 25 years.
3. Graywater Reclamation and Water Conservation: Project graywater will be recycled and reused. The project reduces groundwater use over existing entitled uses through a costly but proven effective water treatment and reclamation system. Resort buildings will be plumbed to capture, treat, and reuse treated greywater. Groundwater use shall be reduced by 20% over existing entitlements. Excess treated graywater may be made available for irrigation use on adjacent properties subject to County approval and willingness of nearby properties to accept and use reclaimed water.
4. Lodi Lane/Hwy 29 At-grade Crossing Enhancement: The Project will include an at-grade street crossing enhancement to the existing Vine Trail crossing to increase pedestrian, bicycle, and on-site operational safety and traffic calming. The project will include construction of an enhanced crossing as modified to meet County and Caltrans requirements (See example in Attachment D). The project may also include other traffic calming measures (such as a rumble strip/speed table, and/or signage) along Lodi Lane to reduce traffic speeds and increase driver awareness. The benefit of these enhancements extends beyond resort guests and employees to thousands of Vine Trail users.
5. Participation in GSA Pilot Program: Owner will install two Tule sensors, or similar evapotranspiration sensors, at Owner’s property within the Napa River Subbasin. Data from these sensors will be shared with the Napa County Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA). Locations of the sensors to be determined by Owner in coordination with GSA.
6. Establish a Lodi Lane Area Fire Safe Council: The Lodi Lane neighborhood is north of St. Helena and currently lacks a dedicated Fire Wise Council and is a disconnected part of the broader Napa Valley Fire Wise Council. Owner will use their best efforts to establish the Council or expand the boundaries and representation of an existing council which may include funding the organizational startup costs, providing meeting space, and administrative support to form a local Fire Wise Council.
7. Private Fire Truck: Owner will station a type 6 fire truck at the property. During the 2020 fires, Owner’s private fire crews assisted CalFire to fight wildfires in the Lodi Lane area. Staging a private fire truck at the property facilitates future private firefighting resources.
8. Sustainability Measures:
a. LEED Gold - Project will be designed and constructed to a minimum LEED Gold Standard. LEED is a points-based system with four tiers (basic certification, Silver, Gold, and Platinum). Points are scored for a hotel’s different sustainability measures with total points determining the tier achieved.
b. EV Charging Stations - Owner will install 150% of the number of electric vehicle charging stations required by the building code. Under current design and building code requirements, the 150% commitment equals 15 charging stations.
c. No Vineyard Removal - Project removes no vineyard. Existing vineyard is certified organic.
d. Air Quality Monitoring Station - Owner will install and maintain an air quality monitoring sensor. Data from the sensor will be provided to the public (e.g. Purple Air) so that the community has added data on air quality in the area.
9. Vine Trail/Shelter Easements/E-Bike Charging Station: During processing of this project application, Owner has contributed easements for Vine Trail and trail rest shelter without receiving compensation. Due to timing of Vine Trail grant process, Vine Trail asked Owner to grant these easements prior to receiving approval of the project. Owner also will incorporate e-bike charging into site plan. This e-bike charging station will be available to the public using the Vine Trail.
10. Owner may modify the approved site plan, parking, and building locations so long as total square footage, space count, and room count are not increased beyond what was approved in the DA as confirmed by PBES Director.
11. Owner continues to use the amount of established/vested parking area documented in approved use permit P12-00359-VMM on the AW zoned parcel as shared parking for the North and South parcels without intensification of use.
12. Owner continues use of the South parcel with the historic/vested wastewater treatment system on the AW lands for all South parcel uses (employee housing and commercial uses).
Since the December meeting, the Applicant has also provided a Housing Needs Assessment (the Assessment), prepared by BAE Urban Economics, which compares the permitted and proposed project in several different metrics: total employment, projected incomes of employees, household numbers and incomes, and the affordability gap by household size and income. The purpose of the Assessment is to provide the Board with a quantified evaluation of how the proposed project will impact employment and housing, and how that compares to the existing entitlements. Staff has reviewed the Assessment and is available to answer any questions the Supervisors may have about the contents.
Recommended Edits to DA Terms
Staff recommends that the five new dwelling units (Term No. 2) be deed restricted for 40 years rather than the 25 years proposed by the Applicant. Napa County has consistently required 40 years as the minimum time frame for affordability restrictions on residential units. Napa County Code (NCC) §18.107.040 requires that affordable housing built with housing fund monies be deed restricted for a minimum of 40 years. Likewise multiple-family development projects which provide a percentage of their units to affordable incomes are required under NCC §18.107.140 to deed restrict those units for 40 years. Under NCC §18.107.110 the County requires the sale of affordable units, deed restricted for a minimum of 40 years, when rental units from a rental project are sold. Similarly, as to the six on-site employee units (Term No. 1), Staff recommends that those units remain deed restricted for employees of the project for as long as the project is operational. While this appears to be the Applicant’s intent, Staff requests that it be clearly stated in the DA terms.
Staff is requesting direction on the revised terms of the proposed DA so that Staff may proceed with negotiations and preparation of a Draft Development Agreement consistent with the Board’s direction which will be processed concurrently with the pending Use Permit Major Modification. The terms of the Draft Development Agreement will be analyzed for their environmental impacts in the Inn at the Abbey Draft EIR, which is currently being prepared. Both the Development Agreement and the Use Permit Major Modification will be considered by the Planning Commission, which will make its recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The Board will decide whether to approve the DA, the Use Permit Major Modification and the Final EIR. Direction on the DA terms in no way obligates the Board to approve the DA or any of the related actions.
Public Comments Received Since December Meeting:
Prior to completing this report, Staff received three comments in support of the project. On May 7, 2024, the County received a comment letter from the City of St. Helena requesting that the DA include a term requiring the Applicant be engaged in discussions surrounding the rehabilitation of the aging water main/service to the project parcel, which is located outside of the city limits. (See public comment in Attachment E). Staff forwarded the request to the Applicant and believes that the parties are discussing the City’s request. As of the date this report was finalized, discussions between the parties are being scheduled but Staff does not know the outcome or whether the City’s request may be accommodated through an agreement directly between the Applicant and the City rather than included in the DA. An update regarding the discussions (if any) will be provided to the Board at the hearing.
PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS:
1. Chair invites disclosures.
2. Chair introduces item and opens the public.
3. Staff Report presentation.
4. Chair invites Applicant and members of the public to comment on the terms of the Development Agreement.
5. Chair closes the public hearing.
6. Board deliberations and discussion regarding the terms of the Development Agreement. A motion is made and seconded to direct Staff to negotiate and prepare a Development Agreement on the agreed upon terms.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
|
Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
No |
|
Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Mandatory |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: Draft EIR in process. A Notice of Preparation (NOP) was issued on July 23, 2020, and the 30-day public comment period closed on August 24, 2020. Pursuant to CEQA and State CEQA guidelines Section 15064, the discussion of potential effects on the environment in the EIR shall be focused on those impacts that the County has determined may be potentially significant. The County has determined that the project may have significant effects on the environment in the following areas: Aesthetics, Agricultural Resources, Air Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Biological Resources, Cultural and Tribal Cultural Resources, Energy, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and Planning, Noise, Population and Housing, Public Services and Utilities, Transportation/Traffic, and Wildfires.