SIgn the Yountville Hill Petition
on the web at: https://sodacanyonroad.org/forum.php?p=167
Mary Ann Moffitt | May 6, 2014

[letter sent to the Yountville Hill Community and to Glenn]

Hello everyone,

Just touching base to let you know what is happening with regard to the YHW project. We continue to work on analyzing traffic impacts, viewshed and wastewater disposal issues, etc., in preparation for the June 18 Planning Commission hearing. A second front page article in the April 24 issue of the Yountville Sun talked about growing opposition to the project as proposed and several letters to the editor have been published. Bill Hocker of Napa wrote an excellent one. More letters are needed to keep this project in front of the public before the next Planning Commission meeting.

As you probably know, we are circulating a petition asking the County not to grant any exemptions or variances to the project and that the developers be required to follow the same rules and regulations that everyone else in the County is held to. A website is up and running that provides information on the project and the ability to sign the petition electronically: http://www.yountville-hill-neighbors.org/. We encourage you to forward the link to anyone you think might be interested in signing the petition. We have more than 200 hardcopy & electronic signatures so far our goal is 500 by the June 18 Planning Commission meeting. We are not limiting the petition to neighbors of the project. Any resident of Napa County, whether they are in unincorporated areas or the cities of Yountville, Napa, St. Helena & Calistoga should be concerned about the precedents this project will set, so please forward it to as many people as possible!

Two other important items of interest:
- There will be another candidates' forum at 5:30 tomorrow, Monday, May 5, at the Rutherford Grange, featuring District 3 Supervisory candidates Diane Dillon and Lewis Chilten. We hope they will discuss (again) this project by name and where they stand on its impact on the County's Ag Preserve and the Winery Definition Ordinance.

- The Planning Commission will discuss the 300' notification radius for projects in rural unincorporated areas at its Wednesday, May 5, meeting. Here is a link to the agenda. The YHW is a prime example of why the current 300' distance is not adequate to notify neighbors about projects that will have significant impacts on the areas in which they are proposed. It would be great to attend if you possibly can and show there is both an interest in and a need for expanding the notification radius.

I'll pass along any additional information that comes from either Eric Sklar or County staff. But don't forget the neighbors' meeting at Dominus Estate at 10 a.m. on Monday, June 9, to discuss our overall strategy for addressing the Planning Commission on the 18th. I'll send out another reminder closer to the date.

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