Bubble battlelines

Sides square off, again, over PUC eco-village plans

By DAVID RYAN
Register Staff Writer

Cars passing the Yountville Community Hall Wednesday were treated to a sight only residents of the mountain community of Angwin could offer: Dueling protests over whether land in and around the mountain community and its cornerstone — Pacific Union College — should remain in a so-called urban bubble.

Yountville was the chosen site for part two of a public meeting over how the county’s new General Plan should cover Angwin. An Aug. 15 filled the Napa County Board of Supervisors chambers to overflowing.

The bubble in question is a oval-shaped line drawn on a planning map that defines the area considered potentially appropriate for urban development. But Wednesday there were bubbles on signs, bubbles blown over the street by a member of the community group called Save Rural Angwin and bubbles on the minds of the speakers who later filled the hall.

County planners are considering redrawing the bubble so that it more accurately reflects existing land uses in Angwin. PUC officials — who separately are proposing creation of an Angwin “Eco-village” with 380 environmentally friendly homes, a village green and increased commercial activity — would prefer to see the bubble left as it is. Opponents of PUC’s planned Eco-village, mainly members of a group called Save Rural Angwin, would like to see the bubble wiped out or reduced in size.

For months, the General Plan update process has been used to argue both sides. On Wednesday, PUC supporters turned out in force, composing nearly two-thirds of the 200 or so people who filled the hall.

One was Ethiopian immigrant and PUC faculty member Abdul Worku, who told the story of his family losing its farm to a communist government. He did not want Napa County government to take land use rights away from PUC.

“When I came to this country and found out it considers private property rights sacred ... I was delighted,” he said.

David Lowenstein, a retired Oregon State Trooper and native Angwinite, urged the commission to let the bubble be.

“The college property that lies within the bubble was theirs to develop any time,” he said.

College officials say they want to create the Eco-village to support the school’s endowment and long-term financial stability.

Save Rural Angwin supporters hammered home points about the Eco-village project — too much traffic, change and dwindling water resources — that were brought up at the Aug. 15 meeting.

“Our water table is apparently lower now than it has ever been,” said E.G. Blackburn, another Angwin resident who supports Save Rural Angwin.

“Can we concentrate more people in a rural area where the roads and the infrastructure can’t accommodate it?” asked Gail Hamilton, an Angwin resident.

But the Eco-village proposal is not before the Napa County Planning Commission. It will come before the county when an environmental impact report is completed, perhaps next year.

Wednesday’s meeting was designed to address only the urban bubble, but the two issues have become intertwined as controversy has arisen over the college’s plans.

In all, some 74 speakers over the course of the two meetings told the commission what they thought about the future of Angwin, causing two commissioners — Heather Phillips and Rich Jager — to ask for more time to absorb all comments before offering their opinions.

Other commissioners gave glimpses of their views, agreeing that whatever changes are made, PUC should have a chance to have its development proposal considered on its own merits.

Commissioner Terry Scott said taking land away from PUC through zoning changes would be wrong.

“To some degree it would be immoral to do that and it could be illegal to do that,” he said.

At the same time Planning Commissioners Scott, Bob Fiddaman and Jim King said the community needed to come together for some sort of compromise.

“I do not believe I have seen a proposal that takes into account everyone in that community,” King said, later adding Napa County Supervisor Diane Dillon could take a leadership role and organize a community group that could forge some sort of compromise.

Fiddaman brushed aside PUC supporters’ criticism that some Save Rural Angwin speakers were from places outside Angwin.

“This is a countywide issue,” he said. “It’s not about college endowments. It’s not project specific.”

Scott said both sides cared about the same water, traffic and fire danger issues in different ways.

“I think there’s a lot more commonality than both sides realize,” he said.

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