Napa Regional Housing Need Numbers Cut by 75%

A Napa Register article (11/17/06) claims the county's regional housing needs numbers will be reduced by 75% for the next (2009-2016) planning period!! Here's the article:

Sunday, November 19, 2006 12:37 AM PST
A Bay Area planning agency has once again decided the unincorporated part of Napa County may need more housing -- lush vineyards, local agricultural protection laws and lack of sewer pipes be damned.

But this time, the Association of Bay Area Governments is backing off of aggressive demands for housing in the unincorporated county. This is welcome news for planning officials and others who have long lamented that state housing demands don't take into account the agricultural feel of the county.

This year, a change in state guidelines, so-called smart growth concepts and lobbying by rural counties have made an impression on ABAG, bringing about a preliminary 500 housing unit demand for the unincorporated county -- about one-quarter of what the state ordered in 2000.

The final state demands for housing in Napa County won't be given until 2008 -- after the association receives a number from the state Department of Housing and Community Development -- but a committee sponsored by the association, made up of elected officials from throughout the Bay Area, has managed to fashion a way of doling out housing responsibilities that leave rural, off-the-mass-transportation-grid counties like Napa in a better place than more urban areas next to ferry links and BART stations.

Ken Kirkey, interim planning director at ABAG, said the he believes the new formula is more fair.

"They've been looking at a wide range of issues to come up with a methodology that is consistent with local land use plans and policies, with regional growth policies and (with) state policies," he said.

Local politicians participated in the effort and favor the preliminary shift in requirements.

"The city and the county worked together on this effort," said Napa County Supervisor Diane Dillon. "We sat down together (and) wrote a letter to (association) staff. When we went to the next meeting the (association) staff commented on how remarkable it was to get a letter with both of our letterheads on it."

Housing demands are especially challenging for the county, which in the past has had to contract with the cities to take on part of the state pressure placed on it. Napa Valley cities can zone for housing complete with things like hookups to urban water and sewer utilities, while the unincorporated county is more set up for agricultural practices than suburban subdivisions.

Not to mention that time after time, voters in Napa County have affirmed agricultural protections that keep housing growth within city limits.

"We've talked to (the association) numerous times about our concerns to try and protect agricultural housing, particularly unincorporated areas because we're not set up to handle housing," said Supervisor Mark Luce. " ... But the proof was in the pudding when their numbers were lower. We haven't protested too loudly given our concerns. If the state decides to go another way or things go south we've created a record to take this to the Legislature."

In October, Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, unsuccessfully tried to get Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign a bill that would have forced the association to consider local land use policies when it works with the state to dole out housing demands.

Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill because a 2004 state law allows regional planning agencies to consider local land use laws, and the governor wanted to see how that would affect the 2008 regional housing demands.

So far, it's been positive.

"It's good news for the citizens of Napa," Luce said