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| Bridge Housing got into some legal hot water in Napa. |
Full Story in the Napa County Register: Neighbors file suit over apartment project
June 24, 2012 8:54 pm • CHANTAL M. LOVELL
The Napa City Council has approved three affordable-housing developments in the past year, and as of last week, neighbors have sued over two of them.
Three residents who live near the site of the recently approved Napa Creekside Apartments filed a lawsuit June 15 alleging the city erred in approving the 57-unit development. The San Francisco–based Bridge Housing Corporation, developer of the fully affordable project in the 3700 block of Valle Verde Drive, is also being sued.
Neighbors allege the city violated environmental laws when it approved the project. They contend the development will negatively impact traffic, on-street parking and noise levels, as well as increase area pollution and littering. Such impacts, and the project’s proximity to Salvador Creek, should have triggered a full environmental impact review, neighbors assert.
On May 15, the Napa City Council unanimously approved the project, which had the endorsement of the city’s Planning Commission. The vacated Sunrise Assisted Living facility will be remodeled into apartments and two three-story apartment buildings will be added.
To guarantee that rents would be affordable to low-income families, the city had previously committed $2.3 million in development impact fees and redevelopment housing funds to subsidize Napa Creekside. Napa County pledged $2.9 million.
Based on an initial environmental evaluation, the city said the project would not have a significant impact on the environment.
During the May council hearing, about 20 residents voiced concerns over the developer’s plans.
According to the neighbors’ attorney, Walnut Creek–based Daniel Muller, Napa failed to acknowledge the environmental resources of the area, particularly those found in Salvador Creek.
Plaintiffs Ann Rosen, William McGuire and Monty Preiser say the project lies too close to the waterway, which they claim contains salmon, steelhead and trout. The banks are home to a riparian habitat that would be ruined by children and teenagers from the future apartments making their way through a fence to play in Salvador Creek, the suit alleges.
The complaint also claims the city wrongfully abandoned a portion of Valle Verde Drive that runs into the project. This abandonment amounts to a misuse of public funds, the suit asserts.
The majority of the site is zoned for multi-family development with between 18.5 and 25 units per acre. The density of the project is 19.8 units per acre, according to the city.
All of the one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments will be rented at rates affordable to low- and very-low-income families. In Napa, a family of four making $51,660 annually or less is considered low-income. One making less than $43,050 is considered very low-income.
Kathleen Dreessen, executive director of Napa Valley Community Housing, said lawsuits over affordable housing projects are becoming increasingly more common, adding yet another hurdle to what can already be a five-year process of approval and development.
Last summer, the City Council approved the development of the partially affordable Alexander Crossing project on Silverado Trail. Neighbors promptly responded with a lawsuit that caused the developer to fund an environmental impact report and apply to have a portion of the property rezoned to accommodate apartments.
The Planning Commission narrowly reversed its support of Alexander Crossing earlier this month. The project is set to be considered again by the council during a special meeting on Tuesday.
Dreessen said the new trend of lawsuits is “discouraging” given the “great need” that exists in Napa for housing affordable to those who work in hospitality and other service-oriented industries. Community Housing has more than 250 people on its waitlist who qualify for affordable housing.
“I think it’s thinly veiled NIMBYism,” she said of the suits, referring to the phrase “not in my backyard.”
The lawsuit says the neighbors support affordable housing and if the developer had reduced the size of the project, something residents requested during the hearings, the case would have been avoided. Muller said he is working with the neighbors to find what size development they would support.
Bridge Housing President and CEO Cynthia Parker said the group had just received the lawsuit and is in the process of reviewing it.
“Bridge Housing is committed to this project and the community, and we will continue to work with the neighbors and the community to ensure that this much-needed development moves forward in a timely fashion,” she said via email.
11) Comments
"Noise, litter "? Give me a break. Those who already live in the designed area are no different. Other than their (most likely) "white privileged" mentality. Cities are growing larger everyday in this world. For example, the area that those 20 people live on was once a undeveloped block. If they want to have cute quiet living quarters than move to the country side. Napa is growing. Get used it or move to Lake Berryessa .