For the second time in five months, neighborhood objections to a three-story affordable housing project on Coombsville Road found a sympathetic ear at the city of Napa Planning Commission.

Commissioners again sided with neighbors who said the proposed three-story building is too tall and 30 apartments too dense for a one-acre parcel near their one-story homes.

Commission Chair Michelle Benvenuto took the developer, Napa Valley Community Housing, to task for not being willing to shrink the number of units.

“It’s so obvious that this project does not fit the neighborhood,” said Benvenuto, who favored a two-story cap as residents had requested.

“The neighbors feel a three-story monster is being crammed down their throat” ... and they’re right, Commissioner Gordon Huether said.

The city’s planning department had endorsed the project, saying it met the city’s zoning, general plan and design guidelines. A state law written to promote affordable housing basically requires Napa to approve it , said Scott Klingbeil, the city’s senior planner.

Several commissioners said they didn’t want to be pressured by state law into approving a project. “I don’t like to make a decision with a gun at my head,” Huether said.

The commission voted 3-1 to continue the Fairview Heights project for 30 days so that neighbors and Napa Valley Community Housing can try again to settle their differences.

Kathleen Dreessen, Napa Valley Community Housing’s executive director, said her agency didn’t have much room for compromise. The project is financially feasible only with 30 units, she said after the vote.

In February, the commission rejected the project. Napa Valley Community Housing appealed to the City Council, then changed course and asked for a commission rehearing.

In the intervening months, Napa Valley Community Housing lowered the roof line from 38 feet to 34 feet and reduced the bulk of the building slightly by eliminating some bedrooms.

Benvenuto said the problem is that the housing non-profit paid too much for the property at 535 Coombsville Road, then asked the neighborhood to live with their mistake.

“We screwed up and now we’re going to sue you,” said Benvenuto, alluding to the pressure on the city to comply with state affordable housing dictates.

In opposing the project, Commissioner Arthur Roosa said he favored evoutionary change in neighborhoods. This project, he said, would be a “revolutionary” change.

Commissioner Michael Basayne voted against the delay, saying the need for affordable housing is compelling. “I’m not going to challenge state law on this one,” he said.

According to Klingbeil, the law requires Napa to approve the project if it meets city standards and does not adversely affect public health and safety.

California has a serious shortage of housing that lower-income workers can afford, he explained. This project, estimated to cost $12 million to $15 million, would be 100 percent affordable because of city, county and state subsidies.

Lance Burris, a neighborhood activist, accused city staff of bias in contending that state law requires approval. The city is “cherry picking” the requirements it must abide by in order to give the project the green light, he said.

Project manager Rebecca Boult said the effect of a 30-day continuation would be to delay the project a year. Applications for essential state subsidies are due Aug. 15, a deadline that now cannot be met, she said.

More than 100 people crowded the Napa City Council Chambers for the Fairview Heights hearing, which lasted three hours. The majority were neighbors who criticized the size of the apartment building and the worsening effect it would have on traffic.

The 1.1-acre site is located opposite Tulocay Cemetery, bordering several single-family houses, a neighborhood commercial center and Fairview Park.

The project architect said the property was ideal for three stories of multi-family housing because it was mostly buffered from residential neighbors.

Neighbors strenuously objected. They presented a model showing the proposed apartments dwarfing their homes like a cruise ship among dinghies.

The project would have neighborhood support if only Napa Valley Community Housing would lop off the third story, residents said.

The project had its defenders. Napa needs to concentrate housing if it is to protect surrounding open space, several speakers for environmental organizations said.

“We can’t protect agriculture unless we can compromise to live closer to one another,” said Ginny Simms, representing the Greenbelt Alliance.

“If you allow wineries and hotels, you have to allow people (a place) to live,” said Msgr. John Brenkle of St. Helena Catholic Church.

A parade of neighbors told of how bad traffic is on Coombsville Road and at the “Five Points” intersection with Silverado Trail.

Motorists already cut through their residential streets to avoid traffic backups, they said.

A traffic consultant conceded that the Coombsville/Silverado intersection was operating at the worst level, an F rating, but said the project would only add an additional 10 to 15 vehicles to evening rush hour.

Even though he supports the housing project, Commissioner Basayne agreed that “the traffic situation is abhorrent and a threat to that neighborhood.”

Jacques LaRochelle, the city’s assistant public works director, said it could be some years before the city and Caltrans work out an improvement plan for the Coombsville/Silverado intersection.

A short-term improvement is on the horizon. The city hopes to extend Saratoga Drive from Terrace Drive to Silverado Trail, south of Coombsville Road, within two years. This should siphon off traffic from Coombsville, LaRochelle said.

The city has committed $250,000 from its affordable housing fund for the Fairview Heights project, while the county put up $1.3 million toward the property purchase, officials from Napa Valley Community Housing said.