Community Development Department – Planning Division
1600 First Street + P.O. Box 660
Napa, CA 94559-0660
(707) 257-9530
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT
SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
AGENDA ITEM 7.B File No. PL23-0143 BIG RANCH ROAD ANNEXATION
I. GENERAL INFORMATION
PROJECT
SUMMARY:
An application for a Zoning Amendment to amend the existing pre- zoning designation for approximately 66 acres of land adjacent to the City’s north-eastern border and Annexation of approximately 51.5 acres of said land into the City boundaries in the Big Ranch Road area.
LOCATION OF
PROPERTIES:
2275, 2285, 2305, 2321, 2331, 2295 Big Ranch Road, 1438, 1382, 1383, 1390 & 1391 Rosewood Lane, 1130 Trower Avenue, APNs:
038-240-005, 038 -240-006, 038 -240-014, 038 -240-015, 038-240- 020, 038-240-022, 038-240-023, 038-160-023, 038-160-024, 038- 160-025, 038-160-026, 038-160-029
GENERAL PLAN:
Medium Density Residential (8 to 18 units per acre)
EXISTING PRE-
ZONING:
Single Family Residential (RS-5, RS-7, RS-10, RS-20)
PRE-ZONING: Master Plan (MP)
APPLICANT/
PROPERTY
OWNER:
Theresa Van Winden-Staggs
1805 Pueblo Avenue
Napa, CA 94558
Phone: (707) 291-1138
STAFF
PLANNER:
Michael Allen, Senior Planner Phone: (707) 257-9530
ATTACHMENTS: ATCH 1 – Draft Resolution
ATCH 2 – Draft Ordinance
ATCH 3 – CEQA Consistency Analysis
ATCH 4 – Location Map
ATCH 5 – Parcels Requesting Annexation
ATCH 6 – General Plan Land Use Map
ATCH 7 – Existing Pre-Zone Designations
ATCH 8 – Parcels Opposed to Annexation
ATCH 9 – Correspondence
ATTACHMENT 9
PL23-0143 Big Ranch Road Annexation 2
II. RECOMMENDATION
Staff r ecommends that the Planning Commission forward a recommendation to City Council to (1) adopt a resolution (Attachment 1) authorizing City Staff to submit an application to the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to initiate proceedings for the annexation of the six properties at 2275, 2285, 2305, 2331 Big Ranch Road, 1130 Trower Road (only the portion within the RUL and south of the future Trower Avenue extension) and 1438 Rosewood Lane; and (2) adopt an ordinance (Attachment 2 ) establishing a Master Plan Zone District and pre -zoning an approximately 66 acres to a Master Plan District; and determining that the actions authorized by the resolution and ordinance were adequately analyzed by a previous California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) action.
III. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On October 23, 2023, Theresa Van Winden-Staggs, (Applicant), the owner of the property at 2331 Big Ranch Road and represent ing the owners of the properties at 2275, 2285, 2305 Big Ranch Road , 1130 Trower Avenue (only portion within the Rural Urban Limit Line and south of the future Trower Avenue extension) and 1438 Rosewood Lane (APNs 038-240-022, 038-240-005, 038 -240-023, 038 -240-014, 038-160-029, respectively), totaling 51.5 acres shown below in Figure 1, Location Map and in (Attachments 4 & 5) submitted an application requesting annexation of the six (6) parcels. The subject parcels currently contain low density single family residential units, limited agricultural uses, and vacant/undeveloped land.
FIGURE 1
Location Map
ATTACHMENT 9
PL23-0143 Big Ranch Road Annexation 3
IV. SITE CONTEXT AND HISTORY
The subject area is located at the northeastern corner of the City of Napa within the Rural Urban Limit (“RUL”), on the west side of Big Ranch Road. It’s entirely within the City’s Sphere of Influence (“SOI”) and is adjacent to the existing City limits along a majority of the south and west sides of the annexation area (see General Plan Land Use Diagram, Attachment 6). For more than 30 years, these parcels have been pre-zoned with a Single- Family Residential zoning designation with varied minimum lot sizes from 5,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet (RS-5, RS-7, RS-10 & RS-20), see Attachment 7 for the existing pre-zoned designations. Properties that have been pre-zoned means they have been given a zoning designation in advance of their annexation into the City limits. Only properties that are within the City’s RUL and SOI which are expected to one day annex to the City are provided pre-zoning designations.
V. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Applicant requests the annexation of the six properties at 2275, 2285, 2305, 2331 Big Ranch Road, 1130 Trower Avenue (only the portion within the City’s RUL and south of the future Trower Avenue Extension) and 1438 Rosewood Lane. To facilitate the annexation, the Applicant also requests a Zoning Ordinance Amendment establishing a Master Plan (MP) Zone District and pre-zoning approximately 66 acres (comprised of the six parcels currently seeking annexation and six additional parcels within the City’s RUL and SOI not currently seeking annexation) to the MP District.
VI. ANALYSIS
A. GENERAL PLAN
The subject parcels are located adjacent to the Vintage Neighborhood, one of twelve established neighborhoods as defined by the General Plan 2040. They are assigned the Medium Density Residential land use designation by the General Plan 2040, which was adopted in 2022 and prescribes a density range of 8 to 18 dwelling units per acre. Prior to that, the subject parcels had a Single -Family Residential land use designation under the General Plan. For more than 30 years, these parcels have been pre -zoned with a Single-Family Residential General Plan designation with densities varying from 0 – 2, 0- 3, 3-6 & 3-4 units per acre. These pre-designations would normally become the General Plan land use designation upon annexation. However, with the adoption of General Plan 2040, which changed their General Plan land use designations from Single-Family Residential to Medium Density Residential, their pre -zoning designations became inconsistent with the General Plan, see zoning discussion below. In addition, the General Plan 2040 requires that a Master Plan (MP) zoning designation be applied to these parcels before they can be developed, which is explained below in the Zoning Amendment discussion.
ATTACHMENT 9
PL23-0143 Big Ranch Road Annexation 4
B. ZONING AMENDMENT
For more than 30 years, the subject parcels (APNS: 038-240-005, 038-240-006, 038-240- 014, 038-240-015, 038-240-020, 038-240-022, 038-240-023, 038-160-023, 038-160-024, 038-160-025, 038 -160-026, 038 -160-029) have been pre -zoned with a Single -Family Residential zoning designation with varied minimum lot sizes from 5,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet (RS-5, RS-7, RS-10 & RS-20), see Attachment 7 for the existing pre- zoned designations. These pre -zoned designations would normally become the zoning designation upon annexation. However, with the adopt ion of the General Plan 2040, which changed their General Plan land use designations from Single -Family Residential to Medium Density Residential, their pre -zoning designations became inconsistent with the General Plan. In addition, the General Plan 2040 requires th at a Master Plan (MP) zoning designation be applied to these parcels before they can be developed, which is explained later in this report.
Under current County zoning, the subject parcels are designated Residential Country (RC) which provides for one dwelling unit per parcel. They also have a sub -designation of Urban Reserve (UR) that acknowledges the parcels are anticipated to annex to the City prior to any substantial residential development. Until annexed to the City, th ese parcels have practically no development potential since all but one (2305 Big Ranch Road), already contains a single dwelling unit. The parcel at 1130 Trower Avenue (Napa Valley Unified School District property) is only partially within the City’s R UL, so annexation would be only for the approximately 2-acre portion within the RUL and south of the future Trower Avenue extension to Big Ranch Road . The portion of this parcel north of Trower Avenue would remain within the County since it will be used for educational farming activities by the school (Vintage Farms). The property owners are seeking annexation with no development proposed at this time. Once annexed, the parcels would then have the potential for development.
But before any new development can occur on these parcels, General Plan Policy LUCD 24-1 requires that a master plan be prepared for the Big Ranch Road area, including the entire approximately 51.5 acres to be annexed as well as the remaining parcels not being annexed but that are within the Big Ranch Road area and the City’s SOI and RUL. The purpose of the future master plan will be to provide guidance for all future development by providing a street plan for a walkable, connected neighborhood, with easy a ccess to the adjacent high school, stores, and amenities on Trancas Street as well as providing for the extension of Trower Avenue to Big Ranch Road. It must also encourage variations in densities and housing types , recognize the existing residential density in the surrounding neighborhood and promote a smooth visual transition to Medium Density development by incrementally increasing building heights and unit types.
As previously mentioned, the parcels are currently pre -zoned for Single -Family Residential designations. Napa Municipal Code Chapter 17.26 (Master Plan District, General) provides that a master plan zoning designation can be applied to properties in advance of the adoption of a property-specific master plan as an alert that a formal master plan will be required prior to any new development. Therefore, it’s recommended that the entire Big Ranch Road area, as defined by the General Plan 2040, be pre-zoned “Master Plan (MP).”
ATTACHMENT 9
PL23-0143 Big Ranch Road Annexation 5
C. ANNEXATION
California Government Code (CGC) Section 56000, “the Cortese -Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000” (the “Act”) establishes procedures for local government changes of organization, including city incorporations and annexations. The unincorporated area that is within the City’s RUL and SOI contains 12 separate parcels.
One of the parcels (1130 Trower Avenue; APN: 038 -240-020) is owned by Napa Valley Unified School District and is intended for use by their Vintage Farm. Most of this par cel is outside the City’s RUL and therefore, can only seek annexation of the approximately 2 acres that is within the RUL and south of the future extension of Trower Avenue. Another parcel (2321 Big Ranch Road; APN: 038-240-006) is not proposed for annexation as the property owner has expressed no desire to annex. But this parcel’s exclusion from annexation would not create a new County Island since it would not be surrounded on all four sides by City property. However, the five other property owners that d eclined annexation (2295 Big Ranch Rd, 1382, 1383, 1390 & 1391 Rosewood Lane; APN’s: 038- 240-015, 038 -160-024, 038 -160-025, 038 -160-023 & 038 -160-026) would create two County islands (as identified by red highlighted parcels in Attachment 8). Therefore, the annexation application as proposed would create two new islands: one consisting of the property at 2295 Big Ranch Road and another containing four properties: 1382, 1383, 1390 and 1391 Rosewood Lane.
Section 56744 of the Act prohibits a Local Agency Formation Commission from approving an annexation that creates new islands unless the Commission finds that (a) disapproval of the application would be detrimental to the orderly development of the community, and (b) that the island enclosed by the annexation is so located that it cannot reasonably be annexed to another city or incorporated as a new city.
In City Staff’s preliminary meetings with LAFCO Staff, LAFCO Staff indicated they would recommend that the LAFCO Commission make the necessary findings to approve the proposed application should the City determine that disapproval of the annexation due to the creation of new islands would be detrimental to the orderly development of the community. As the City is near full build-out with very little vacant residentially zoned land left within the City Limits, the inability to annex the approximately 60 acres of unincorporated land that is within the City’s SOI and RUL would be detrimental to the orderly development of the City. The annexation of the subject properties is vital to the City’s ability to comply with the State’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). The remaining unincorporated area that would be enclosed by the annexation is so located that it could not be reasonably annexed to another city and could not be incorporated as a new city. Therefore, City Staff recommends that the Planning Commission recommend that the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing Staff to submit an application requesting that LAFCO initiate annexation proceedings for the six (6) parcels located at 2275, 2285, 2305, 2331 Big Ranch Road, 1130 Trower Avenue (only the portion within the RUL and south of the future Trower Avenue extension) and at 1438 Rosewood Lane.
ATTACHMENT 9
PL23-0143 Big Ranch Road Annexation 6
VII. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission recommend that the City Council determine that the potential environmental effects from the actions authorized by this resolution were adequately analyzed in that certain City of Napa General Plan Update Final EIR (SCH #2021010255) certified by the City Council on September 20, 2022 (the “2040 General Plan EIR”) and, pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 20183.3 and Sections 15183 and 15168 of the CEQA Guidelines, no additional environmental review is required for the Project because the Project is consistent with the development density and use characteristics established by the 2040 General Plan and there are no potentially significant environmental effects that (1) are peculiar to the Project or the Site, (2) were not analyzed as significant effects in the 204 0 General Plan EIR, (3) are potentially significant off-site impacts and cumulative impacts which were not discussed in the 2040 General Plan EIR, or (4) are previously identified significant effects which, as a result of substantial new information which was not known at the time the 2040 General Plan EIR was certified, are determined to have a more severe adverse impact than discussed in the 2040 General Plan EIR. These findings are set forth in greater detail, accompanied by the substantial evidence in support thereof, in the Section 15183 Consistency Analysis prepared for this Project and included as Attachment 3.
Based on this analysis, there is no substantial change introduced by the project that involves new significant impacts; there are no substantial changes to the circumstances which the project is being undertaken that involves new significant impacts; and t here is no new information of substantial importance that shows the project will have a significant effect. As no new effects could occur and no new mitigation measures are required for the project, the annexation is within the scope of the EIR for the Cit y of Napa General Plan, and pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15168(c)(2), no new environmental document is required.
VIII. REQUIRED FINDINGS
Approval of the Zoning Amendment for the Project is subject to the required findings established in NMC Section 17.66.080, Zoning Amendments. These findings are provided in the draft ordinance attached to this Staff Report (see Attachment 2, Draft Ordinance).
IX. PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice that this application was received was provided by the City on January 24, 2024, and n otice of the scheduled public hearing was provided September 6, 2024, by US Postal Service to all property owners within a 500 -foot radius of the subject property.
Notice of the public hearing was also published in the Napa Valley Register on September 7, 2024, and provided to people previously requesting notice on the matter at the same time notice was provided to the newspaper for publication.
X. PUBLIC COMMENT
A comment was received form a nearby property owner, which is included as Attachment
9. ATTACHMENT 9