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Questioning the premise of the Angwin eco-village
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CommentThe Triad corporation of Seattle has posted on its Web site an elegant presentation of the 380-unit subdivision it proposes for Angwin. It presents it as an eco-village, so beautiful that it will capture national attention.
Napa County planners and supervisors and the taxpayers of Napa County need to keep their eyes wide open on this one.
Napa County planners and supervisors and the taxpayers of Napa County need to keep their eyes wide open on this one.
I will address just two aspects, and others will perceive features which are merely foolish or outright wrong.
First, this whole presentation is based on a fallacy. Triad states that the Angwin eco-village will be in the tradition of the eco-village concept which goes back for centuries. In this concept, people of a certain set of values came together to share much in common. They were philosophically driven together. They were idealistic.
First, this whole presentation is based on a fallacy. Triad states that the Angwin eco-village will be in the tradition of the eco-village concept which goes back for centuries. In this concept, people of a certain set of values came together to share much in common. They were philosophically driven together. They were idealistic.
The people who buy the houses in the Triad subdivision will not share common philosophies. They will buy here, in this particular place, simply because they need a house close to the college or the hospital or the culinary institute, because they are looking for a second home or because they are retired. They will not be hippies.
The eco-village will feature electric vehicles running up and down the hill to the big city of St. Helena on a “frequent” schedule. Does anyone out there believe that PUC students, who are enjoying their first automobile, will give it up and ride the bus so that they can enjoy an hour between classes at the coffee shop? Does anyone believe that the retired guy who has bought a $700,000 house in the eco-village will give up his Lexus to share a seat on the bus?
The eco-village will feature electric vehicles running up and down the hill to the big city of St. Helena on a “frequent” schedule. Does anyone out there believe that PUC students, who are enjoying their first automobile, will give it up and ride the bus so that they can enjoy an hour between classes at the coffee shop? Does anyone believe that the retired guy who has bought a $700,000 house in the eco-village will give up his Lexus to share a seat on the bus?
There are places where this concept has worked, usually in urban settings. But it will not work for this location so remote from almost everything.
Second, let’s look at the concept of Local Preference Housing. The Web site describes a program of rewarding people who can find jobs close by with discounts from their homeowners assessment. (First off, Triad cites the assessment at $7,200 for someone buying a $750,000 house. But $7,200 is nearly as much as the county property tax. Does that not raise an eyebrow?) The new eco-village resident who finds work in local Angwin or Deer Park would be forgiven 90 percent of his or her assessment of $7,200. Now you tell me, how many workers here earn enough to buy a $750,000 house? Certainly not college faculty and hospital workers. So, like the electric bus idea above, this is another one of those ideas which sound so grand but are unrealistic.
There is no question but that the eco-village concept is idealistic, a bit socialistic, perhaps, in its requirements that residents share much in common. Or, share the common cost in their homeowner dues. But it fails on all of the real considerations that concern Napa County planners, supervisors and taxpayers.
First, it would be built on prime agricultural soils that have been farmed for nearly 100 years. Development on such land is against all county General Plan policy.
Second, it would increase the population of Angwin by 43.5 percent and it does not take a rocket scientist to know that some of those impacts would be very negative.
Third, it would turn the rural setting for this village into a housing development in the very heart of Angwin. Why should all Angwin property owners be asked to give that up for the benefit of the two guys who own Triad corporation in Seattle?
On some locations, the eco-village would be a thrilling possibility. On this remote site, it would be an environmental disaster.
(Cronk lives in Angwin.)
Second, let’s look at the concept of Local Preference Housing. The Web site describes a program of rewarding people who can find jobs close by with discounts from their homeowners assessment. (First off, Triad cites the assessment at $7,200 for someone buying a $750,000 house. But $7,200 is nearly as much as the county property tax. Does that not raise an eyebrow?) The new eco-village resident who finds work in local Angwin or Deer Park would be forgiven 90 percent of his or her assessment of $7,200. Now you tell me, how many workers here earn enough to buy a $750,000 house? Certainly not college faculty and hospital workers. So, like the electric bus idea above, this is another one of those ideas which sound so grand but are unrealistic.
There is no question but that the eco-village concept is idealistic, a bit socialistic, perhaps, in its requirements that residents share much in common. Or, share the common cost in their homeowner dues. But it fails on all of the real considerations that concern Napa County planners, supervisors and taxpayers.
First, it would be built on prime agricultural soils that have been farmed for nearly 100 years. Development on such land is against all county General Plan policy.
Second, it would increase the population of Angwin by 43.5 percent and it does not take a rocket scientist to know that some of those impacts would be very negative.
Third, it would turn the rural setting for this village into a housing development in the very heart of Angwin. Why should all Angwin property owners be asked to give that up for the benefit of the two guys who own Triad corporation in Seattle?
On some locations, the eco-village would be a thrilling possibility. On this remote site, it would be an environmental disaster.
(Cronk lives in Angwin.)
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Cadence wrote on Aug 10, 2008 7:24 AM:
However, the business of Napa County - after wine - is now untrammeled growth with zero regard for how it affects existing residents. Homeownership for all!
Where will junior Angwinites live? They may have to (gasp) move away! NIMBY!
Traffic congestion will be a non-event cuz all these folks will travel on eco-friendly electric shuttles and water taxis and bicycles!
Their water needs will be met by miracles!
Their taxes and development fees will pay for public services and then some!
Oh yeah, the county might be SUED if you don't participate!
If you don't like change, Mr. Cronk, oh well. Might be time for you to get out of the way of the dismal new order and hush or move.
Napa voters, and I suspect a lot of Angwin, happily threw my end of the county to the dogs. No need to stop the county's ruination at Salvador Avenue, not in my book, anyway.
Grow, Angwin, grow! "
napablogger wrote on Aug 10, 2008 9:11 AM:
200 units would be on the big field as you come into town. The rest would be scattered throughout the neighborhood.
It is no different than many developments throughout Napa, except that it is small and much more eco friendly.
I think Angwin will be a lot nicer and more of a community after it is done. "
Sickothis wrote on Aug 10, 2008 10:03 AM:
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 10, 2008 12:55 PM:
It doesn't make sense building dense housing in an area with an elevation of 1800 feet, surrounded on all sides by steep mountains dropping all the way down to the valley floor. There are only a few roads into Angwin and they are steep.
The only reason Ellen White built a college here was because she desired the isolation. She did not welcome the influence of outsiders. The area was not an appropriate location for a college to begin with, except for a very limited purpose of maintaining isolation. There's a reason PUC is now developing satellite campuses in more appropriate locations. This is not an appropriate location to transform a college from rural to urban. "
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 10, 2008 1:11 PM:
I also resent a decrease in assessments for those who work here and purchase these homes, if that's even a possibility. This is an unfair burden on existing county residents who must pay their fair share of taxes. I don't think that's going to be a very popular idea, obligating county taxpayers to subsidize taxes on high priced homes. I suppose all of the improvements for schools and roads and other services which assessments contribute to will be passed onto Angwin residents in one form or another? Who came up with this idea? "
kkjp wrote on Aug 11, 2008 10:45 AM:
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 11, 2008 3:07 PM:
Just the idea of "Local Preference Housing" troubles me. I really do not like the idea of using "preference" when it comes to housing. There are so many discriminatory angles with "preferential" housing, I cannot even begin to address all of them here.
For one thing, the college typically gives "preferential" hiring practices to those who practice their religion. The employment application for the hospital, at one point not very long ago, had a way of determining whether you were a member of their religion by asking if you would donate a certain percentage of your wages to the church.
What if both the college and the hospital create a hidden agenda from this point onward of refraining from hiring locals who are not part of their religion, selectively hiring only those whom they want living and working in the Angwin area?
Regarding the preferential homeowner association assessments, will they also include those who work in the winery industry down in the valley? What will the radius be? And if EVERYONE who purchases these homes has reduced fees, what impact will it have on how these units are maintained? Oh, what's to stop someone who lives here from setting up a bogus online "work from home"scheme to gain a preferential reduction in fees? Who's going to police it?
"Preferential" reduction of fees, in this particular situation, is grounds for a discriminatory lawsuit due to the very nature of this community. Just a forewarning, I don't think it's wise going there. "
Jasper wrote on Aug 11, 2008 9:35 PM:
kkjp has correctly explained. The reported $7200 would not be an assessment for property taxes. It would be equivalent to a Homeowners dues, necessary to run the ecovillage – electric vehicles, gardens, infrastructure, blah, blah. So if you are an old duffer who does not garden, you would still be expected to help support those costs, and if you chose to drive your own car to St. Helena you would stiff have to contribute to the electric bus operations.
Now can you imagine the first meeting of the Homeowners Association when this clicks? Bedlam!
As for providing affordable housing for PUC faculty and staff, bear in mind that the Local Preference Housing program would only be offered to 50% of the anticipated households. Triad envisions that 50% of its 380 units would not qualify because they would be second homes and retired folks, not workers
This is the ugly secret in the Triad scheme. The highly touted "ecovillage" would include only 59 affordable housing units out of the 380 total. That doesn’t look very good compared to the 80 affordables in the 190 units SRA is supporting.
But it would be solar heated. Whoopee! "
Econut wrote on Aug 12, 2008 9:43 AM:
Jasper wrote on Aug 12, 2008 10:02 AM:
Please read Cronk's article again. The problem is not all the good things about an eco-village, but about its location which is miles from work and shopping and the environmental cost and dollars and cents cost to residents and Napa County taxpayers
You like "quaint?" When you increase the population by 43% and convert the open space in the heart of Angwin into a subdivision, "quaint" just goes away. "
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 12, 2008 11:44 AM:
Additionally, those clustered homes could be sitting ducks during a firestorm. We are surrounded by thousands upon thousands of forestland acres. It's really dumb allowing sardine type housing to be built in an area like this.
The existing grocery store will be reduced in size, probably catering more to those heading to Berryessa on a weekend than our local population. Undoubtedly, people will have to drive down the hill for their grocery needs because a smaller deli style store is not going to be sufficient. Our carbon footprint will be larger, even with the addition of solar panels. "
kkjp wrote on Aug 12, 2008 12:39 PM:
Econut wrote on Aug 12, 2008 1:03 PM:
According to the website the renovated grocery store would be 18,000 square feet, hardly a "smaller deli style store," and more efficient.
If PUC cannot afford to keep its land assets and is prevented from building the ecovillage, do SRA supporters prefer it all to be sold to vintners? Some of us suspect that is exactly what many of you are hoping for.
Which is more ecofriendly, vineyards or ecovillages? I think we already have enough of one, not enough of the other. "
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 12, 2008 1:24 PM:
Question: Is 18,000 sq. ft. an absolute certainty? Is Sunshine Market MORE than just interested? I would hate to see us sold on the idea of a "Sunshine Market" only to see it replaced by some convenience market wanting to cater to those traveling over the hill to Berryessa. "
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 12, 2008 1:51 PM:
I am not wholeheartedly opposed to changes in Angwin. I do not object to a remodeling of the downtown area. I do not object to 200 homes being constructed to provide housing for the local workforce; although workforce housing should be maintained as rental units. These units should be tucked away, out of sight from the downtown area.
If PUC wants to truly increase the value of the campus real estate for whatever future purposes it's destined for, they need to exercise caution in what they turn the downtown area into. Neither students nor potential tourists will desire being in a place that appears urbanized. No one is going to drive up to Angwin, see a sprawl of housing laid out in front of them and say "oh how beautiful". It's in the best interest of the college, first and foremost, to maintain the beauty of the area. If students want an urban setting, they will remain in the city. If the campus becomes a future resort, it's going to be quite a detractor seeing clustered housing all over the place. Do you see clustered housing around Meadowood or Auberge? How desirable do you think those places would be to tourists if they were surrounded by crowded housing? Careful what you do. "
PUC Prof wrote on Aug 12, 2008 2:34 PM:
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 12, 2008 6:26 PM:
Just in case PUC must relocate in the future, they need to consider other uses for their campus. If they destroy the natural beauty at the entrance to the village, they will destroy some of the potential uses for their campus. They will destroy, along with it, the value of the campus. Like I said, they need to be thinking of this now rather than later. "
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 12, 2008 7:58 PM:
Does the college plan to put some of its lands into the "Land Trust"? How easy is it for land to slip out of a trust? Trusts can be set up for different types of land uses as well. How are the 1444 acres permanently preserved? Regarding the agricultural preserve, what's to stop that area from being used for water demanding crops like grapes? A better use might be drought tolerant olive trees. I know many people up here who's wells no longer produce sufficient amounts of water due to a drop in the water table.
Some of the areas defined as "previously developed" onthe website map are not necessarily areas developed with structures. I think one of the areas is presently a football field, hardly what you can call "previously developed". This seems somewhat deceptive.
I do like the layout of the retail center. I think that the additions of certain businesses will be an asset to the community, especially Sunshine Market, a pharmacy and a small hotel. I'm actually receptive to the idea of a small hotel within the retail area. Does anyone know if Sunshine Market has committed to moving here? I'm a little concerned about what "House E's around the retail center will look like. Are they on top of the retail center?
I feel strongly about the presence of a green barrier behind the tennis courts (will they remain?) to shield those entering Angwin from viewing structures.
Is any rental housing going to be developed for PUC's workforce? If staff, for economic reasons, are unable to purchase homes in the area, where are they going to live? "
interested wrote on Aug 12, 2008 10:27 PM:
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 13, 2008 1:54 PM:
How do we really know that the new retail center will contain our beloved "Sunshine Market", which people in this area are really connected to. How do we know that this isn't all "lure" followed by "bait and switch"? Anyone who is growing older and plans on retiring in this community will be drawn to a pharmacy, deli, restaurant, coffee shop, and of course, "Sunshine Market". How many of us wouldn't appreciate a small hotel in the retail center to help with the overflow of visitors during holidays? These are lures but are they real?
What if these businesses cannot succeed because the student and local population are too low to support them? What happens to the vacant retail space? Will the hotel become "boarding" space? Will "Sunshine Market" be replaced by a smaller convenience store? I'm just not convinced that Angwin is capable of attracting enough students or visitors to support such a retail center.
It looks enticing on paper, but people need to be aware when visiting the website PUC just sent out in mailers; what you see is not necessarily what you will get. The image of this community will be downgraded because the appearance at the entrance and alongside Howell Mountain Road will primarily be imposing structures minus any sense of nature. The fluff on the website photos are not necessarily accurate representations. "
Jasper wrote on Aug 13, 2008 5:05 PM:
Here's a homework assignment for you. You say that many of the housing units (the 380) will be replacement of existing houses. My understanding is that the 380 is quite apart from the 110 units the college is replacing. Check it out for your own satisfaction and share with us. "
sleepless wrote on Aug 13, 2008 5:53 PM:
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 14, 2008 3:08 PM:
By nature, a coffee shop in Angwin is going to have some troubles attracting enough customers. The SDA community tends to stay away from caffeine for example. If the Adventists, oops I mean hospital and college employees, are given preferential treatment in purchasing these homes, you will probably not have many coffee drinking customers. I'm just being truthful with you. Some of these homeowners, however, will be vacationers but won't be working or living full time in Angwin. They will undoubtedly be here on weekends. And you could capture the Berryessa boaters who want to wake up before skiing! But operating a coffee shop just on weekends is probably not going to be sufficient.
The Pope Valley homes will probably also be purchased by vacationers. I just wonder if they are going to drive all the way up to Angwin for coffee unless there's some other reason to be here, such as shopping at Sunshine Market. But under these circumstances I doubt Sunshine market will want to make any commitments either.
I suspect that PUC/Triad are going to face a difficult time attracting commercial tenants up here, even with approval of both the Angwin and Pope Valley developments. The only reason we don't look like a ghost town right now is because the college is operating the existing market, at a loss I might add. The commercial center might have a chance of thriving if a health resort was developed in Angwin. Put in a bunch of ugly houses and they won't want to come here either! "
sleepless wrote on Aug 15, 2008 8:44 AM:
vocal-de-local wrote on Aug 15, 2008 1:55 PM:
You're correct in your analysis that the community has lightened up about caffeine use; evident by it's presence in the local market and gas station. I heard that the college now has a coffee shop on campus as well. But there's still a stigma of sorts, mostly held by the old timers who scrutinize it's use. I do believe that there's a strong market, primarily with younger college students. The college has damaged it's reputation, possibly beyond repair. I'm not sure that the student market will remain strong as a result.
Good luck on your ventures. "