Town of Yountville
Staff Report
6550 Yount Street
Yountville, CA 94599
Agenda Item #: 4A
Yountville Town Council Staff Report
DATE: February 17, 2026
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Brad Raulston, Town Manager
PREPARED BY: Brad Raulston, Town Manager
RECOMMENDATION
Receive report on Yountville Commons phasing and funding information.
DISCUSSION/BACKGROUND
The three attachments demonstrate the phasing and funding strategy that Town Council will consider and provide direction to the project team in March. The project team includes Matt Kowta, the President of BAE Urban Economics, Melissa Shick, Managing Director of KNN Public Finance, Brendan Kelly, Principal at Kelly + Morgan Architecture and Planning, Sean Grinnell Principal at Pound Management, and Town staff.
Attachment 1 is the Yountville Commons economic report including a profile of the Yountville workforce, existing housing conditions study, and preliminary financial feasibility analysis with 2 pro-forma scenarios.
Attachment 2 is an updated report from KNN Public Finance regarding bonding capacity and future financing options for the Yountville Commons.
Attachment 3 is updated site plans from Kelly + Morgan that include construction phase alternative and unit mix scenarios correlated with the BAE Urban Economics report.
Based on the workforce profile and housing market assessment, including input on employee housing needs from key local employers, Yountville exhibits a pronounced mismatch between local wages and the cost and availability of housing. Nearly half of Yountville workers earn under $50,000 annually, and a substantial share of households in hospitality, restaurant, and retail sectors fall within low-income categories, making market-rate housing unattainable. Collectively, the data and employer feedback point to strong, sustained unmet demand for studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom, rental workforce housing units priced below prevailing market rents.
The preliminary rent assumptions analyzed indicate that targeting monthly rents roughly in the range of $1,500– $2,000 for studios, $1,700–$2,400 for one-bedroom units, and $2,000–$2,800 for junior two-bedroom units across two affordability tiers strikes a reasonable balance between affordability goals and cash flow needs. The lower tier rents are generally affordable to low-income worker households while the upper tier rents are near the upper limit for low-income households, while remaining below market alternatives in Napa Valley. Structuring rents across two tiers, one that is more deeply affordable and one closer to, but still below market, can broaden demand, reduce vacancy risk, and maximize net operating income. This approach improves the project’s capacity to support debt service and later phases of development without undermining the primary objective of housing local workers who are currently priced out of the Yountville market.
Proposed Phase 1 construction focuses on the northeast quadrant of the site, encompassing Parcels 10 through 15, and the Village Center (Parcel 12A) as Add Alt 1, an additive alternative that is analyzed separately. The proposed Yountville Fit swimming pool is shown as Add Alt 2 with an estimated cost of $3 million.
The proposed Phase 1 site plan shows a range of unit types and configurations from a minimum of approximately 30 units (Scenario 2) across five buildings with more 2 bedroom units, to the Design Build RFP unit mix basis of 40 units (Scenario 1), and up to 68 units across seven buildings that include Ori System configurations that weren’t analyzed in the pro-forma. The Village Center (Parcel 12A) as Add Alt 1 includes up to 14 studio units and is analyzed separately. All options maintain 130 on-site parking spaces for Phase 1, regardless of the unit count selected.
The proposed phasing and funding of the project are all subject to change based on feedback from the community and direction from the Town Council.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Exempt per California Environmental Act (CEQA) Guideline, Section 15061(b)(3).
FISCAL IMPACT
Is there a Fiscal Impact? No
Is it Currently Budgeted? N/A
Where is it Budgeted? N/A
Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? Discretionary
Is there a Staff Resource Impact? No
ATTACHMENTS
1. BAE Urban Economics - Yountville Commons Financial Analysis
2. KNN Public Finance - Preliminary Funding and Financing Report
3. Kelly + Morgan Architecture and Planning - Updated Site Plans