The championship golf course proposed for Pope Valley may have suffered its final defeat Tuesday. The Napa County Board of Supervisors rejected the controversial Lake Luciana golf course in a 3-2 vote, upholding a previous decision by the Napa County Planning Commission to deny the project. Tuesday’s vote could mark the end of a hard-fought battle over Lake Luciana unless developers challenge the decision, a move they say they will consider in the days ahead.

The Lake Luciana proposal —  which would feature an 18-hole championship golf course, three swimming pools, a lakeside clubhouse and 17 neighboring luxury homes — set off furious debate among Pope Valley neighbors, members of the county’s environmental and slow-growth groups and others who wanted to see the county approve a potentially revenue-producing project.

The supervisors’ chambers had the look of a community divided Tuesday. On one side of the room, Lake Luciana supporters wore stickers claiming, “I love Luciana.”. On the other, opponents displayed buttons challenging supervisors to “Save Pope Valley.” Hundreds of other residents came to the meeting and spilled into extra rooms in the county administration building and Napa City Hall.

“This is one of those situations where people have been very passionate on both sides,” Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht acknowledged.

Despite the occasional audience outburst, Tuesday’s hearing moved relatively quickly with supervisors allowing only 20 minutes of testimony from each side.

Attorney Kevin Teague, who spoke on behalf of developers, slammed the planning commission’s decision to reject the project, accusing commissioners of twisting the words of the county General Plan to conform to their own beliefs.

“The commission didn’t follow the rules, they just made things up,” Teague argued, noting that the General Plan allows for recreational uses on agricultural land if the project meets specific requirements outlined under a separate zoning ordinance.

He said the commission applied standards more appropriate for land located in the county’s strictly guarded Agricultural Preserve, while Lake Luciana is less prohibitively zoned as agricultural watershed.

Opponents of Lake Luciana, meanwhile, argued that nothing is more important to the county than the protection of agriculture.

“Napa County is noted for grapes,” said winemaker Warren Winiarski. “That’s our life and that should not be put at hazard. … We have a natural resource here. We should treasure it accordingly.”

Pope Valley resident Gary Dowling called agriculture “the highest and best use” of Napa County land, and claimed that golf “belongs in a more urban area than Pope Valley.”

A majority of supervisors agreed, with slow-growth advocates Diane Dillon, Brad Wagenknecht and Keith Caldwell voting against the Lake Luciana proposal. Supervisors Mark Luce and Bill Dodd voted in favor of the project.

Dillon, who represents the district that includes Pope Valley, came down hardest on Lake Luciana. She claimed that the project — with its swimming pools and restaurant — looks more like a country club than a golf course.

“I’m a golfer and I love to play golf … but kiddie pools are not an accessory use that I see at most of the golf courses I go to,” she said.

“The bottom line,” Dillon said, “is I don’t think we can get there under our rules and our General Plan.”

Dodd countered that the preservationists’ “‘sky is falling’ mentality … is not supported by the facts.”

“Golf, more than anything else, in my mind, has been compatible (with agriculture) all across the world,” he said. “I’d rather hit a golf ball out into a hay field or a vineyard than hit it into a condo.”

Further, Dodd said, “In this economic day and age … it just seems wrong not to be considering the economic benefits of this.”

Dodd and Luce tried to get the project passed with plans for the swimming pool and restaurant removed. But the rest of the board remained firmly opposed to the project.

“I’m glad that the supervisors who voted to uphold the planning commission’s decision recognized that this decision was about a lot more than just a golf course in Pope Valley,” said Sally Kimsey, a Pope Valley resident and one of the most vocal critics of Lake Luciana. “It’s about the agricultural protections in this county.”

Developers say they aren’t ready to roll over just yet.

“We’re going to meet with our attorneys and counsel to discuss what the next steps are,” developer William Criswell said. Asked if developers will sue the county, he responded, “We’re going to discuss everything.”

Teague added that developers would consider whether to place an initiative before Napa County residents on Lake Luciana.

Said Criswell, “What (the supervisors) are going to find out is that they’ve misjudged the will of the people in Napa County.”