It's a tale of two potential developments.

Two proposed land use moves could add up to 4,200 homes near or within the city of Napa in coming years, but reaction among community groups is so far divided on each one.

On the east side of the Napa River, there is the Napa Pipe property proposal, a now grungy 152 acres of industrial land that developer Keith Rogal dreams of transforming into a community of 3,200 dwellings, as well as restaurants, shops and a hotel.

Rogal touts Napa Pipe, located in the county just off Kaiser Road, as a smart-growth location that could help solve the county's existing housing problems. Napa workers who now commute from other counties could get off the road and live in condominiums in a place with local-serving businesses and restaurants on a beautified Napa River waterfront.

Rogal has said the county could provide police and fire service with options to build new stations on the property and a new school could be built on the property -- if studies show there is a need.

On the west side of the Napa River, 142 acres of land the city is looking to annex could one day host up to 1,000 homes near Foster Road. Much of the land is owned by the Ghisletta family, an old Napa name with real estate interests in different parts of the county.

The Napa Valley Horsemen's Association, which owns a parcel next to the Ghisletta family's, would be allowed to proceed with its equestrian operations on part of the land, while the rest of property might be split between residences and a corporate park near Golden Gate Drive.

A more detailed proposal is yet to come from the Ghisletta camp.

Each potential development has its organized detractors. Napa's Get a Grip on Growth is openly skeptical of the Napa Pipe proposal, while the members of Save Foster Road are trying to stop the potential Ghisletta development. Yet each group offers qualified support of the opposite development.

Get a Grip on Growth members say Napa Pipe is just too big -- with potentially as many residents as the cities Upvalley.

"You're in essence creating a city in a pocket of industrial land," said Eve Kahn, leader of Get a Grip on Growth.

That's exactly why Save Foster Road thinks Napa Pipe is the better potential development.

"Industrial uses are rarely ever attractive," said Craig Isham, a Save Foster Road representative. "The houses replacing the industrial would be a much better appearance for the city."

Meanwhile, Get a Grip on Growth has offered qualified support for the Ghisletta annexation. They say the positive points are that the land, unlike Napa Pipe, is already inside the city's rural urban limit line, near Snow School and existing roads.

"It's been designated for many, many years to be targeted for residential and the family has chosen to leave it as it is for a very long time," Kahn said. "That doesn't mean that we won't challenge some aspects when the project comes forward."

Get a Grip on Growth has worked with the Ghisletta family on other projects, most notably opposing some aspects of the Carneros Inn, Rogal's earlier Napa Valley development.

Kahn said Ghisletta patriarch Joe Ghisletta called her about six months ago to talk about going forward with the annexation request, and the two came to an understanding: Get a Grip had no problem with the annexation request as it stands, but reserved the right to offer constructive criticism about some aspects of the development plan when it's fleshed out.

"As I understand it they don't have a plan just yet, but they want to begin the process," Kahn said.

Meanwhile, Save Foster Road is unabashed in its bid to try and defeat high-density development on what is now a country road leading south out of town.

"A development of 800 to 1,000 homes on 140 acres is very, very high density," Isham said. "It's not consistent with the neighborhood at all."

At the same time, the environmental group Friends of the Napa River is supporting the Napa Pipe proposal, said group spokesman Bernhard Krevet, because it would beautify the river and connect a proposed trail from American Canyon to Napa.

"We have expressed this several times during meetings with the developer and architects," he said. "We are absolutely delighted to see some of the ideas that we have seen to improve the river and some of the amenities at the Napa Pipe site."

Krevet said his group has talked with county officials about exploring other places in the area that could serve to hold rainwater that washes down from the hills to the Napa River. Flood waters are a concern for the Napa Pipe site, which will be raised above flood levels if completed.

Krevet is confident a solution can be found, and Napa Pipe could go forward, perhaps transforming some dry docks into harbors for kayaks and small watercraft.

"The idea of having a waterfront that's interesting, that's interactive -- it sounds like something that would be very exciting," he said.