What to look for in 2009

Soscol Gateway: In 2009 the City of Napa Public Works Department and the Redevelopment Agency will begin designing a major drainage facility in the Soscol area to relieve the overland flow that sheets through the area. Funding for this work is generated by the recently created Soscol Gateway Redevelopment Project Area.

Gasser Project: Due to reductions in water surface elevations resulting from the Napa River Flood Protection Project, southern portions of the Gasser Project are likely to be reclassified on FEMA’s flood maps in late 2009. In the months ahead, the City will work closely with the Gasser Foundation, which is looking ahead to developing this southern portion.

As the project moves forward, the Gasser Project will be required to complete the final design of the Gasser Drive extension, the bridge spanning Tulocay Creek on Gasser Drive, and the alignment of Gasser Drive with Soscol and Silverado Trail. The construction of those improvements will be triggered when Gasser begins constructing the north portion of their master plan area.

New private projects: The Ritz-Carlton Napa Valley project continues to move forward, but at a slower pace than anticipated, due in large part to the economic slowdown. Other projects that will be in some stage of development in 2009 include the proposed St. Regis hotel at Stanly Ranch, a proposed hotel on Soscol Avenue near Tulocay Creek, and a new retail development on Trancas Street at California Boulevard, across from Bel Aire Plaza.

Parks Master Plan: Currently underway is the Parks and Recreation Facilities Master Plan process. The Master Plan will address how the City should acquire and develop parks and open spaces in the future. The plan will also make recommendations about enhancing and expanding recreation opportunities in the community including both organized programs and casual recreation. The City seeks extensive public input during this planning process. Check the project Web site at www.napaparksmasterplan.org regularly to learn more about the project and find out about upcoming opportunities to participate.

Downtown Specific Plan: Beginning early in the New Year, the Downtown Specific Plan is a long-term planning project where citizen involvement is needed. The planning will focus on issues critical to success for the future of Downtown Napa - land use, parking, infrastructure, design and economic analysis. This Specific Plan comes are a time when the Downtown is in a period of transition and presents the opportunity for City planners to work with community input and outline what is wanted and needed for the downtown of the future. Outreach efforts will be underway soon to open up dialogue among the many stakeholders and begin shaping a new vision. The Specific Plan process will take 12 to 18 months to complete.

Heritage Napa: The City and Redevelopment Agency are partnering to update the City’s Historic Resources Inventory through a multi-faceted process.

A firm specializing in historic architecture has been hired to help update the current inventory, and to develop tools for future historic surveys, as well as to prioritize future survey areas. In 2009, an intensive level historic survey will be conducted in the new Soscol Gateway Redevelopment Project Area, and residential neighborhoods near the Napa Valley Expo will be evaluated to see if they meet the criteria for a historic district. More information on the Heritage Napa project is available at www.cityofnapa.org from the Quick Links menu.

Economic Development Department campaign: The program will focus on identifying local marketing opportunities and developing a public relations campaign to reach residents, encouraging them to “shop locally” and draw business patrons from surrounding areas.

The public relations and marketing campaign will raise local and regional consumer awareness about retail, dining, entertainment and recreational opportunities in Napa, and will aim to increase patronage of retail businesses throughout the city. It will also strategically target retailers to available space.

This program will require an in-depth analysis of the city's consumer trade areas, including sales leakage, consumer demographics and psychographics of residents and visitors, and identification of desirable retailers and services expanding in comparable markets and matching them with available properties in our trade area.

As the city continues to evolve retail will develop geared to meet the needs of residents — such as a department store to replace Mervyns  — while at the same time finding specialty retail that will fill many of the city’s older spaces in the downtown area.

For more information on these topics or other City projects and activities, contact Barry Martin, Community Outreach Coordinator, at bmartin@cityofnapa.org, or by calling 258-7843, or by mail to PO Box 660, Napa, CA 94559-0660.

Napa City Update provides information from Napa city officials about on-going projects of public interest. The column appears on the first Tuesday of each month. All information is from the City of Napa.