Action in Angwin as specter of development rises
By JAY GOETTING, Register Staff Writer
Angwin residents, who suddenly find themselves at the center of attention for potential development in Napa County, participated in a second meeting this week regarding the future of their quiet community in the hills east of St. Helena.
The answers to their main questions -- how many Angwin acres can be used for development, how many new homes can be accommodated there, and what will they cost -- remain elusive as plans come into focus on two tracks. Pacific Union College is planning to develop some of its sizable holdings in the area to raise money for its university endowment, and the county is mulling zoning changes for the areas as part of its revision of the county general plan.
A Thursday meeting sponsored by Napa County's Conservation, Development and Planning Department brought out twice the number that attended an Angwin Community Council meeting two days earlier, and the sentiment was much the same: Residents want more information on what Pacific Union College wants to do, and a lot of them like the status quo.
As the county continues the multi-year task of updating its general plan, Angwin is one of several lightning rods attracting attention because of its "Urban Bubble," an area roughly drawn by planners, college officials and others as potentially developable when the last plan was being completed nearly a quarter-century ago.
Napa County Planning Director Hillary Gitelman showed attendees several scenarios for the area, three of which retain the bubble in some form -- thus eliminating the need for a Measure J vote in 2008.
Measure J requires a vote of the citizenry if agriculturally zoned land is slated for change, and was put in place to give the voters a say in efforts to develop traditionally rural lands. Two of the five Angwin scenarios presented would trigger it.
The session held in the Fireside Room at the Seventh-day Adventist Church on campus was designed to deal in generalities -- flying at 30,000 feet as Gitelman described it -- as opposed to zeroing in on the details of Angwin's future.
"We need to find issues in common," said John Collins, PUC's vice president of finance. "This is not wineries versus the college."
Collins said developer Triad Communities had been asked to help master plan 885 of the college's 1,890 acres. Much of that would remain forested and in open space, he said.
Residents remained skeptical that PUC and Triad are opening the dialogue with no plans on the table. The occasional outburst of applause from the large group was generally for those opposing college development plans, although Collins himself garnered a nice round following his presentation.
Allen Spence, spokesman for the newly formed Save Rural Angwin group, conceded some small amount of development could be appropriate, but when he asked those opposed to large development plans to stand, a significant majority joined him.
Grower-vintner Volker Eisele said growth in Napa County is not inevitable, citing European communities that actually show decreasing populations as growth is centered in urban areas.
He called PUC plans to bolster its endowment fund by $100 million ridiculous. "They've had 1,200 years to figure out their finances," he said.
Collins said PUC lags behind colleges its size in per-student funding in its endowment, which currently stands at about $20 million.
Lois Ann Battuello asked why developers would even pursue such a venture if there is no political will to build in unincorporated areas. She was answered by Sandy Elles of the Farm Bureau, noting that the advocacy group for the county's farming interests had secured support from all the city councils and the Napa County Board of Supervisors to extend the life of Measure J -- otherwise expiring in 2020 -- and protect agricultural zones.
Elles said development within Angwin is appropriate "within guidelines."
Another Community Council meeting is slated for Aug. 15, with the next general plan session on Aug. 23.
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