Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

We're ready when you are. Vice Chair Palmer. I call order this meeting of September 25th regular commission meeting at 6:32. Welcome everybody. Shall we start with the pledge of allegiance, please? I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you very much. Uh, may I please get a roll call? Yes. Commissioner Marilyn Avalon here. Commissioner Eric Alman present. Commissioner Shelby Goss present. Vice Chair Charles Plamer and I am present. And Chair Devet Muhammad is absent. Do we have any changes to the agenda tonight? Uh, Vice Chair Plamer, there are no changes to the agenda tonight. Perfect. Thank you. Shall we start with any public or presentations? Public comments. Um, Vice Chair Plur, we have no presentations tonight. Wonderful. Uh do we have any public comment which at this time is reserved for members of the public to address the planning commission on items that are not on the agenda and are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the commission. Comments are limited to three minutes. Comments for items on the agenda will be taken when the item is called in open session. Planning commission is prohibited by law for taking any action on matters discussed that are not on the agenda and not averse. Conclusion shall be drawn if the

planning commission does not respond to the public comment at the time. Is there anyone in the room that would like to make public comment? Is there anyone on Zoom that would like to make public comment? There's no public comment at this time. Thank you very much. I think we'll start with um item number one, the consent calendar, the minutes of August 28th, 2025. have a recommendation. I'll move that we adopt the consent calendar. I will second that. Thank you. May I get a roll call? Yes. Commissioner Marilyn Abalon. I. Commissioner Eric Alman. I. Commissioner Shelby Goss. I. Vice Chair Charles Plamer. I moving on to item number two, public hearings for the Crawford Way multif family condominium tentative subdivision map. Looks like our recommendation is to defer this to the November planning commission meeting. Is that correct? Um that's correct. Uh Vice Chair Plameumber and members of the commission. Um the applicant would like a little more time to work with staff on conditions of approval. Do we have a motion to continue this at the next meeting? I'd like to make a motion to continue the Crawford Way multi- family condominium tentative subdivision map to November 20th, 2025. I will second that motion. May I get a roll call, please? Yes. Commissioner Marilyn Avalon, I. Commissioner Eric Alman, I. Commissioner Shelby Goss, I. Vice Chair Charles Plamer. I at this time I need to backtrack just a

second to close public comment. I apologize I didn't do that. Moving on to business item number three, the Napa Valley Transportation Authority active transportation plan overview. Yes. Uh Commissioner, this is uh Patrick Ban. We're very pleased um he is here tonight from the Napa Valley Transportation Authority. Um the Napa Valley Transportation Authority in past years has prepared a countywide bicycle plan and a pedestrian plan and uh done so in a manner um where there's countywide consistency and then individual uh policies for each of the jurisdictions in Napa County. It's a wonderful service and we've adopted them into our general plan as a appendix. And so this um is an update for you to find out where we are. And uh at some point early in 2026, we'll be bringing it back to you as a recommendation uh to amend our general plan to update um both the bicycle and pedestrian plan into this combined active transportation plan. And with that, I'll turn it over to Mr. Band and he can run you through. Thank you, Scott. Thank you very much. Uh so again, Patrick Band with NBTA, the Valley Transportation Authority. And before I get into the presentation, because I know some members may not uh be super familiar with what NBTA is and what we do, um so we are a countywide uh joint powers authority or JPA that has representatives from each jurisdiction on our board. Um and we run in addition to the volume transit system throughout the county. We also do advanced transportation planning both uh in coordination with MTC, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, um and also in coordination with our local jurisdictions. Um we do project deliveries such as the soft junction uh

roundabouts and overpass on 29 and 221. We have in the past helped to deliver segments of the Napa Valley Vine Trail uh and are currently working with the city of American Canyon on a couple projects including the SR29 corridor plan uh which is looking at intersection improvements and other active transportation multimotal improvements along SR29 through the city of we have our hands in a lot of different projects related to both this city and other jurisdictions throughout the county including uh active transportation and that is the work that I So, this is an update on our progress um as Director Cooper mentioned to the countywide active transition plan which brings together a 2016 document, the countywide pedestrian plan, the 2019 document, the countywide bicycle plan into an updated single document that can guide active transportation investments and planning and policy work for the next 20 years. U so I'll go over today a little bit why we do a countywide plan where we are the timeline and project status some of the community engagement that we've done thus far the plan organization how we're structuring the document what some of the goals are and really the meat and potatoes of the document the draft facilities and policies and then we'll get into kind of next steps uh in terms of both this commission's engagement and the plan overall so why do we do a countywide Um, again, as as mentioned, we want to make sure that there's consistency across jurisdictions in how active transportation programming and project delivery is is conducted in a way that's both consistent across the county, but also allows for local discretion and addressing the unique needs of each jurisdiction. We want to make sure that we're planning facilities that represent the best practices that currently exist, not the ones from 2016 because there

have been a lot changes both at the state law level but also fedally best practices or guidance. Um whether it comes to daylighting with new bills that were passed in the state of California in the last year, new types of bike facilities like class four separated protected bikeways um the ability to use share roads to designate different types of bike facilities. We also want to make sure that projects are still eligible for funding. That's a big part of this planning effort, making sure that we're identifying where future projects might go. that are eligible for either competitive or programmatic funding that comes from federal, state, or regional entities like the Metropolitan Transportation Commission or the City of American Canadian can apply for uh through grant processes. And we also want to make sure we're being really transparent with the public and the community about what our expectations are for the future network of active transportation. Where are these corridors going to be? What might they look like? Who are they designed for? Whether it's the more aggressive kind of recreational cyclist who might be going out and doing 80 mile bike ride or you know kids and families who want to walk to school or down to the coffee shop or the grocery store etc. So a lot of different things go into this planning process. Uh we kicked off this plan uh last fall and working with our consultant GHD for the last year. Um right now we're in that uh recommendations development uh phase where we've done a lot of community outreach engagement. We've collected existing conditions data looking at where are the existing pipe facilities where are the existing sidewalks countywide including in draft facility maps and draft policies for public review which will be available in the next couple of days actually. We hope to complete this plan towards the end of the year in January. That will go be adopted by the NTA board

of directors and then go to each jurisdiction for evaluation possible amendment adoption. So there's a lot of pieces that I already have discussed that go into this process. As I as I said, you know, we completed mapping of existing assessments. We've also developed a treatment toolkit, kind of again a best practices guide for jurisdictions as well as the public to understand what is our menu of options when it comes to what can we do on our roadways to make them safer, make them better connected, reduce the potential for collisions and even separate different types of active transportation modes. Making sure that if you do have a large number of, you know, fastmoving bicyclists, maybe separating them from pedestrians or and families that are walking at a lower slower pace that may need a little bit of horizontal separation on a class one pathway. And then coming up, we're doing a final round of engagement. We'll do a future demand assessment. What is this plan going to look like and how does it align with how we expect our cities to grow in the next 20 to 30 years and then come up with a draft plan. Lots of work going on. Um we've done open house events uh in Napa College last February. We did event in April. We've done a number of popup events including at the street here in American Canyon as well as at a number of school events. We did a career fair event at Canada American Middle School which was really fun talking to kids about, you know, how far you feel comfortable walking on a sidewalk versus along Highway 29 where there aren't sidewalks the whole way versus on a separated pathway that might have trees and lighting and and be really conducive to safe connected travel. And that kind of feedback really informs the types of facilities that we want to recommend. We had online engagement through an interactive map which you can see on the screen there with people putting pins on

maps to identify locations where they had either question that they wanted to ask or recommendation they want to make. And we had a survey that went out uh this past uh June that had nearly 200 responses asking people again about what do they want to get out of the active transportation network. Do they use walking and biking as a mode of transportation currently? transit rider do they have challenges getting from the bus or getting to the bus to the destination they want to get to develop a vision statement for this plan really working so I'm just going to highlight a couple things here so active transportation friendly communities connected comfortable all ages and abilities that term all ages and abilities really central to the network that we want to develop over the next 20 years we want to have it be safe convenient and enjoyable access for everybody whether you're commuting, it's a nonwork trip, it's a recreational trip and all of that to promote a high quality of life. So the plan itself is going to be divided into chapters and each jurisdiction will have an individual chapter that's focused just on that. And so that's when we get back to again that countywide consistency but but local discretion and local guidance. We've been working very closely with um the community development department and public works to both shape recommendations and guidance and policies to make sure that they really reflect the spirit of what is all about and that can be a little bit different than the city of Napa or we'll have a set of policies at the countywide level and then have room for local jurisdictions cities to create their own policies that support local priorities that may be a little bit different or have different emphasis from the countywide set of policies and you see that happening for example in the way that let's say uh daylighting is

implemented. So daylighting is moving cars back from the corners of those intersections so that there's room for pedestrians to be visible and there's even room to kind of narrow down that intersection so pedestrians are crossing a crosswalk that they're more visible to vehicles they have a shorter distance where they're in the roadway. So daylighting or curb extensions things like that that may be app in some neighborhoods and not others. Um, it may make a lot of sense in more urbanized areas, but you know, in Rford or Oakville where you don't have a lot of population, pedestrians, that may make less sense. So, we really want to make sure there's flexibility for each jurisdiction to kind of shape the plan as it makes sense to them. And once we get that piece out of the way, we're also looking at best practices. Um and again wanting to focus on those goals, safety, equity, connectivity, sustainability. We also want to make sure that we're building out a network that we can maintain long term. So looking at how do we ensure that we're setting standards so that we don't just build new pathways and then let them fall into disrepair. But there are programs or policy in place that support ensuring that those facilities, whether they're a bike lane along the side of the street or separated pathway, maintained and then looking at data and this is something we've been really working hard

Commissioners, do you have any questions? So, my question is a little bit off the beaten path and and for better or worse, it doesn't really directly deal with the active transportation piece. that is the focus here but it's really for my own curiosity and it to kind of understand a little bit more as to how NVTA thinks about certain things. So you had mentioned a little bit without kind of getting into specifics, but commuters and the need to that it's really that last mile issue, right, is is how it's generally referred to. How do you get to the station, whatever the station may be, from home? And one of the crazy ideas that that I've heard over the last few years, and I just wanted to see if if it's even come up at all as a thought, is sort of the concept of like a public Whimo where you've got these, you know, driverless vehicles that the the community owns. So anybody can call it up, can hop in and can get taken that last mile in the morning and dropped off in the evening. And if they're solarbased vehicles, they can sit in the sun and charge all day long so that they're ready and they can, you know, kind of be an on call. Has any thoughts of anything crazy like that been discussed and what's the status? Yeah, so a couple things on that. One is

transit system loop that runs in the mornings and evenings loop but then during the rest of the day that call website.org So that is one example. The other example is program. It's not directly related to that but I'll get to how it is in a second. So this is an incentive program where we provide financial incentives to individuals to take alternative transpid program So that works provides $250 every month to eligible either or in Walmart or even city hall five people let's bus. So we'll provide $250 to cover the cost of that in addition to $500 already.

There's been a lot of ideas thrown around over the last years. I can't speak directly to what the future from our general understanding needs of all the residents want to use them. number of a bit more in the next 10 years are San Francisco personally family. Thank you. I I appre I really appreciate it. Um because it's just something it it's one of the big issues. I'm a remote employee so it doesn't impact me but there are a ton of people who are impacted and end up driving because of that issue. of the last mile. It's it's easier to drive 10 miles and get from here to wherever they need to go than it is to and more, you know, it's quicker, etc., even with traffic, than it is to have to do the one mile to then take transit for the remaining nine. So, thank you. Hey um one, thanks so much for that presentation. Um it seems like the plan is

very clearly well thought out. Um and um seems very realistic in addressing the needs of Napa County specifically like you said being um a lot of like suburban areas opposed to dense city centers. Um, I did have a question about um the outreach. Um, I know you said there was a survey a couple months ago um and also that interactive map for um people to make suggestions or ask questions. Um I personally saw both of those um and contributed to both of them. Um yeah, but I also consider myself someone who's relatively um aware of planning decisions and transit specifically. Um I know that public outreach is hard. Uh those seem like relatively low numbers for response rates um for it being countywide. Um, and I was curious one, I guess, what the strategies were to um, make those resources known to people and what might be planned in the next year or two as things keep moving along to try and get even more engagement. Sure. Yeah.

Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. And that makes sense that the individual pieces there will be outreach for those specific components as well. That makes sense. And I appreciate you mentioning also all of the comments you've received at the events that weren't necessarily captured here in the numbers. Um, yeah, I agree that it's local jurisdictions like it's a joint effort to try and uh engage people. And you know, I I understand this seems to a lot of people like it might be more niche like active transportation. What does that mean? I don't ride a bike. What do I care? But in a city like American Canyon, I think the issue of sidewalk connectivity alone is something that will impact everyone. So I hope that we're able to really boost engagement for that. So thank you so much. Commissioner Avalon, did you have a question? Hi Patrick. I wanted to say also thank you for the comprehensive plan and how well you described and explained it all. I wanted to say um I really appreciated the park about having safe and effective travel to and fro and how you emphasize the importance of maintenance like we build something we want to make sure that we're continually maintaining it. My question is a little bit simple it's not as complex but in the initial packet I you know for the opportunity for grants I would it it's more of a wonder have the other cities also adopted you know Napa St. Helina and Kalisoga because we're we're part of that network. Um I'm wondering have they also provided their feedback and have they adopted the plan? And then my second question is how does this really cool plan connect with the vine trail? So, uh,

Thank you, commissioners. Any other questions? Um, I have a question by the way. Thank you for the presentation. That was really helpful and I too have attended a couple of the seminars and find it really fascinating and interesting to see the connectivity that's happening uh up and down the up and down the county. Um, can you uh help me understand what an example of an unclassified path is? Yeah, sure. Thank you.

Oh, thank you. That's that's helpful to understand. It's such a small ones if you can stay on the slide too. It's such a small number relative to the to to the mileage that's being developed beyond that. Um my second question for you is I I I imagine every jurisdiction is going to um once it's adopted or as it's adopted um decide safety issues for each mile of corridor that's happening down there. What about the unincorporated Napa County which tends to be and looks to be the largest portion of that? What kind of safety measures are are being implemented or thought out for it particularly maybe less so in the daytime but at night time? Yeah.

Thank you for that explanation and thanks for that update. Uh, commissioners, any other questions? Do we have any public comment? Is there anyone in the room that would like to comment on this item? There's no public comment. Is there anybody online? No. We'll close public comment. Thank you so much for your presentation. Well received. Thank you. Moving on to item number four, American Canyon's RSAP regional shoreline adoption plan overview. Director Cooper. All right. Well, good evening, planning commission, members of the public. Cooper, community development director, and pleased to um give you a little brief introduction for uh a very important plan that's recently come to the forefront of uh a lot of the efforts that we'll be undertaking in the next 10 years or so. Um and uh it does come with a very large price tag. So what I've got for you just to give you an introduction um slides that come directly from the Bay uh Conservation and Development Commission, BCDC. Um, and give you a little bit of an update. And then very pleased tonight we have the assistant public works director, Norm Woods, and he's going to talk about his

efforts um to apply for a grant so that um we can start getting our arms around some of the adapt needs associated with climate change and sea level. So, um we've been hearing about sea level rise for those that have been paying attention for quite a few years. Um and now we're we're going to do something about it. Um and so it's it's really something that affects uh communities all over the world where um and Bay Area of course is is no exception. There have been some estimates uh on what the effects are to adapt to rising sea level. For those of you who maybe have driven on Highway 37, areas of that now are becoming inundated and if you're an avid bicyclist, I guess that doesn't defer you. You'll still ride your bike, but who would prefer to do that? Um the BCDC has been around I think since the 60s uh very very influential important in the Bay Area's development and so this is really in their wheelhouse and so they're have created uh guidelines now for every community to be working on a plan to adapt to sea level rise and they have a lot of support uh that they're providing the communities funding and guidance um a lot of information. So, we really appreciate that. Um, state government also is involved. There's a Senate bill that requires sea level adaptation plans. So, this is all kind of working in concert with one another.

Um, and so the plans for adapting to sea level rise has been integrated into some of the regional plans for the Bay Area. Um, the association of Bay government. So we have our regional governments are talking to one another and so it's really tied into our other regional agency for the Bay Area. So it's kind of good that they're coordinating here. Um and so as part of the one bay vision which is part of the AE refers to sea level rise and working on how we transform our lifestyles to adapt to our coastline in we don't like to live near the coast so conflict there um there are mentioned there are guidelines it's a very thick book a lot of information and so as you can see here there's quite a few areas in which the guidelines cover to prepare for a adaptation plan go through the ball you can see that there's a lot of that will need to be created in order to get our arms around the effects of sea level rise. Um within the plan it calls for sub regional plans and um to me that sort of peaked what what is a sub region for a region or the Bay Area region. Um and so we really kind of dug into that because it affects do we do it alone if possible or do we pair with county. Is it multiple counties? What is it? And so, um, I did find a slide from another BCDC presentation that answered my question. And the answer, all of the above.

So, um, I think what the recognition is within the Bay Area, you'll probably have natural partners who might pair up. Um, that BCDC itself doesn't understand who they are. But but as the guidelines come out and as you look at where you are on the bay and how much Bayront you have versus maybe other neighbors and partners, there are probably natural partnerships that evolve from that. Um and so the sub region can be as small as a single jurisdiction such as American Canyon, but there is no limitation to pairing up with a county of Napa maybe Napa County canyon so there there isn't a limitation so it's I think it's really a matter of of each what circumstance works for each area and that can define as a sub region what is necessary regardless of how many partners or your geographic area you do have to comply with the guidelines which is very detailed uh the information that's needed. So our role will be uh need to submit a notice of intent to BCDC to uh let them know what the area who are our partners if any for our sub region. Um and then we create the plans and we have until 2034. So I know that doesn't that may seem like a lot of time to some people but it's remarkable how quickly these things happen. And so it is a big I think it really recognizes the amount of information uh the process to really put this together.

Not to mention what will likely be a high cost to have technical consultants evaluate this very scientific nature of an issue. So 204 and it doesn't mean we can't be early. So, I'm not sure what early feels like, but but you know, perhaps we could aim for that. Um, and so there are a lot of resources that BCDC has. And there is funding support and and pretty much with that, I'm going to turn this over to our our friend here, Norm Woods, and he can talk about how he is already started to a grant application, the first of its nature in Napa County. Once again, American Canyon at the forefront. Um, and if you have any questions, um, we have these very nice people from BCDC who will be glad to answer your questions. I always laugh at me tonight. Um, good evening, public works director. This is a real brief over the OPC uh sea level rise application that we're putting in right here. So there's only a couple slides here. This would be significant application pages long.

So all elements that he showed in slides earlier they have to be addressed and certain time frames. So uh the SLR adaption plan the path that we're currently on right now the application has not been submitted yet there's a couple of paths that we could have taken we have just recently today had some conversations we're going to be in a possible collaboration with the county of we do have our application ready everything doesn't flow as fast as we want. There's a certain time period that goes along these applications before December 19th. We want to make sure that we're on time for that. These grant monies are highly competitive as well. So the earlier you get in, the most likely you are Okay, our application is for the city of American is in this third draft right now. We're going to try to put that to side as we go to collaborate with the county which hopefully will be sometime in the next couple weeks um working uh with the coastal quest consultants. I've been doing that for the last month or so to work on the various uh drafts of this application that go forward. Um as slides earlier um it's a through number out aspect to these applications. So you have to spell all that out. The terms of which you have to ask for

is $1,000 currently. Ours is above or almost at $600,000 which asking for the initial application. All it does sets us up for the effort that come later on. So it being a 24 month application period should we get awarded that money come next year. So we actually have our application and our early assocation, but we would satisfy the the regulatory as the um Senate bill that they're asking for, but the additional efforts in regards to the construction cost. That would be something else that would be another problem. How do we actually address the actually know how to address it? But the funding for those efforts would be the next step we have to take. Fair to say that if you're the first one to get the adopted plan that you be also in line for grant funding to build Well, first in I think it's going to come down because I know Eric and I found out today initially we thought that being alone would be good, but we found out today we've been misinformed that actually going with a group that we'd have a better chance of doing it. So grouping with the county and with the city that we have a better chance and we're pretty far down the road already with our application. We just have to merge some of our uh school works together and we should be able to submit an application which I'm hopeful for before the end of October because in November the application period gets a

little bit more competitive after then. So the fact that we're early is very much unless we're question. Wonderful. Thank you, Mr. Woods, for that presentation. That's that's helpful. Don't leave yet. I I know there's going to be questions. Commissioners, questions. Commissioner Goss. Hey. Uh, thank you. Yeah, that's really good to know. Um, glad the city's on it, trying to be early with all of this. Um, so just to make sure I understand what you're saying, um, the grant that we're applying for is for state funds for this, right? It's is it's through the state of California. OBC, the Ocean Protection Council SB1 grant program. Okay. Yeah. It ranges from I think 250 to $830,000 to be able to get this first piece toward satisfy the legislation that was passed SB272. It's a lot of numbers. It doesn't satisfy that that Senate bill. Therefore, we'd be in compliance with all that. Okay. Um, and it sounds like some there have been some recent changes in the approach. Very recent. As recent as today, Eric and I were Eric and I were on a meeting that some more information. But this is good news. It's it's not bad news since we're already down the road. It's a pivot that we're able to make relatively easy. Great. Yeah. And it sounds like so the strategy right now is to apply with the county of and city of Napa and but if

that timeline doesn't work for whatever reason, American Canyon is ready to go alone if need be. Yes. Okay. Yeah. I just wanted to make sure I understood that. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Gus. Commissioner Avalon. Hi, D. I just I have a simple question for you. Um first I want to compliment you. This is fabulous. I I I love how we are planning ahead and how that was emphasized multiple times that we're planning ahead. How's Napa doing? Are they going to be able to like keep up with us because we thought we were getting ready to rock and roll and submit and get that SB1 application in. So my question is is I guess one of collaboration, right? Because we're you know our city benefits their city and you know we're we're all in this together. So I I guess my question is one of collaboration. How how are we and can you still submit early way early? Yeah, I think we're in a good position. Erica is a big part of this process too as well. So she's been assisting. So the fact that n it looks like Napa actually up their game because I think at first we were not overly we were not overly but now that they it looked like they put their foot on the gas and that collaboration is what we're actually looking for and what we were very happy with and that's what came out of today's now was like hey let's rock and roll and when they kind of put that forward that's where we went because As Brent said, the longer you wait on these funds, the you know, the odds are there's going to be more competitiveness for it. And since we're so close to being able to submit, we should be able to win these funds and we're excited about that. Just a follow-up question on that because that's one of my questions is um we're talking about grouping uh the application with the city of Napa or the county of Napa for the funds. Is that potentially both?

Both. And then so we're talking about grant fund application, but what about the adaptation piece? Is that something we are beholden to if we um go in as a group effort or we do have to also beholden to the adaptation portion as a group as well versus an individual jurisdiction? I think part of what makes this work is our scope of work so similar and that the discussions we had today uh where those scope of work were similar although city American Canyon with the work that we've already done or going to integate those pieces into an overall package of scope for work. So the city of American Cany's interest regards to our particular shoreline and our particular interest will be looked at as part of that too. So we do have a technical team that supports us on that to make sure those pieces are integrated together. So yeah, the city of American Canyon will make sure that our Yeah, I think that's an important delineation to make sure that we're doing as a city is that we have uh I won't use the word unique, but I'll say distinct shoreline that's vastly different than Up Valley and you know the work that's being done here by other foundations and other uh work and that's collaborated with the city as well. I think it's important that we have our own identity when we're uh adopting the adaptation for this regulatory system. So, the grant funding, that's great. I just want to make sure that the city uh we all know that we're distinct in our own right. So, that's good to hear. Thank you, Commissioner Alman. Thank you. Um, so the the big question I've got, and I think Brent sort of was trying to allude to it. Um the grants at this point are for planning, but at some point there's going to need to be work done, construction. What is the thoughts, plans, etc. and and

specifically does being early for and and getting a planning grant put us in pole position as it were for any future construction grants that may be forthcoming department but I would tell you this the Senate bills that are unfunded that get passed to us are significant because they are something that continuously keeps happening And small agencies like us are saying, "Hey, you know, these are unfunded bills, but the construction dollars [Laughter] to answer that question is hopefully we were told that that this will be kind of the first draft of our urban restoration plan, for example, AA bond funding. It set us a perfect position to now get a implementation grant to start the design for many phases which we have that going on this fall which will hopefully put us on the next implementation. We were told in the original technical assistance which was also a grant that that we're getting us free assistance to write an application um for the sea level rise is that this will get us the first in line for the implementation of either individual projects or more. And back to the question you asked before about jurisdictional, you know, our our plan for our jurisdiction. I see this as a countywide plan similar to the active transportation plan we just heard about where each jurisdiction is going to have their own needs being met for their specific shoreline. So, and also distinction would be that city of Napa is not required to do a plan only the county of Napa and the city of American Canyon because of our unique differences. But it's recommended that city of Napa join. But if we can bring free money, I see grant money. apply for it, someone else will. And if we get

that, that forward because it's not now unfunded. It's now funded and we're being able to do our plan else. Yes. Which which loops in with what you were just mentioning, but you know, as as I look at shorelines in the area, um you mentioned city of Napa doesn't. Is that because Napa really isn't bayfronted? It is just riverfronted. Um and and so with that in mind, Solano County, our neighbors to the south and east have bayfronting. Have we explored or is it worth exploring anything in terms of working with them? Whether it be countywide, whether it be particularly city of Benicia who has um a decent government uh unlike city of Valleo which is a nightmare. Um, so I mean that that's kind of my question is is any thoughts in terms of doing anything either now or down the road? I mean because I don't know where they may be in terms of ready to move and if we're ready to move, we do not want to delay. That's obvious. But I don't know what future opportunities, but it may make sense in terms of some of the work needed. It may be very similar. So to answer the first part, we did think about if countywide didn't work that perhaps it' be a bridge with our neighbors. We are very neighbor in the bay sense and the shoreline aspect. So that was an order that has been discussed. You know, is there a regional

aspect to this if possible? Right now we're initiating with the county hopefully countywide plan, but that's not to say we can't partner with them in the future. There's also individual jurisdictional sub regions of your slide sanitation is on the shorine. They're a different entity. We have waste management authority who has a landfill that's not closed along our same jurisdiction. So there there's multiple facets going on along the shoreline as we all Thank you. Got it. Thank you, Commissioner Alman. I have a few questions. Um, regarding the Senate bill, is BCDC the only governing body to provide guidelines for adaptation? I know I know that they're the most I know they're the ones who step forward to help with the technical expertise. I know that that's been very critical to getting this application to this point right here. So if there are agencies that haven't stepped up to the point with financial okay and that's really my question go ahead director Cooper if you wanted to add to that um the BCDC guidelines are really authorized by state law and so um following their guidelines and ensuring our plan complies with that would the path to get uh what may be in the future state funding for the big money to actually build things and adapt. But your point's well taken. There may be tools and tips and things that make its way into an adaptation plan that fulfills the guidelines. That's I think your point.

Well, no, actually I'm I'm leading to another question and and a point, but thank you for that. Um the reason I'm asking is because you know I I we manage vineyards and we have to deal with certifications for CCOF or for deer and they're restrictive let's say and so I I just want to understand whatever governing body that we decide to use as a guidelines isn't so restrictive in the process that it limits our ability to adapt not just in adaptation for what's happening with the guidelines but that we really fully understand the scope of by which we're being adhered to. You just reminded me as part of the application that uh assistant director Woods has put together, the guidelines require as a technical advisory committee formed of not only our community, this community advisory committee, there's will also be a technical committee required of our partners, fish, wildlife, water kind of the Bay Area regulatory agencies that all come together within BCDC. So there is a requirement as part of the process that we have these different community engagement advisory group as well as the technical regulatory advisory group that has to meet discuss otherwise it can't get right we can't implement anything if we can't thank you again I I I'm I'm excited for this I think don't get me wrong I think it's a great movement for for the city for the state especially since we all live on the water side I just you know I've been in the business my industry long enough where we see that the adaptation of certain certific ifications becomes very restrictive and thus limiting to what you can and can't do uh going forward and that also brings into what commissioner Alman was saying about costs right if the limitations or restrictions are too prohibitive or too restrictive then the cost can be much higher than we anticipate at the time so um moving forward I just want to make sure that we've exhausted or looked at any any additional bodies that might provide guidelines that still allow us

to apply for grants and still be in compliance for uh the adaptation of of this policy Thank you. And vice chair, if I could add, the SP272 process does also involve the state level ocean protection council as an additional entity working with BCDC to put together the guidelines that we'll be working planning up against and working with. The other thing I will note is SP 272 also makes it clear that agencies that receive approval of their adaptation plan are first in line for available state grant funding. Now, the big point there is available state grants, obviously, but at least it puts us ahead of those who can't get their act together. No, thank you for the clarification. Again, I just simply wanted to raise a point about where we're uh headed towards. Again, I think it's phenomenal, but I wanted to make sure that the guidelines that we're adopting are ones that are going to benefit us the most. Sure. Commissioner Goss, sorry, you made me think of another question. So, I guess to I know there are a lot of a lot of state agencies that kind of all have slightly overlapping jurisdictions or overlapping uh perspectives. You know, they all each have their distinct purpose, but sometimes it gets a little blurry who's in charge of what or more than one person's in charge of something. Um so I guess my to try and clarify my understanding. So BCDC, just for anyone who's not aware, is localized to the bay, but is a state agency in and of itself. Um, so they're providing these guidelines. And so I guess when you mention like the California Department of Fish and Wildlife or the State Water Board or regional water boards, that would be more in like a like a project approval sense like permit approvals or would

they play a more active role in kind of defining what they want the shoreline to look like or protections to look like? In fact, go back to the that happened when we did the wetland restoration planning. We had an advisory commission that that included fish and wildlife and it didn't have the fisheries or regional water quality control board in it per se, but they were included as part of it in the process because the San Francisco Bay authority is that regulatory, right? That's the agency that oversees that grant program, but it was similar because they're tied with state water. So, the answer is they're supposed to help us with the pitfalls, making sure we don't get talking about whatever we're is something that can actually happen and be implemented without crazy mitigation requirements. As you know from your job that you get these you get hung up on regulatory requirements but you have to do something but it's going to be cost prohibited because of all the impacts the environment during the construction phase. So that's where you have to bring in Brit which is the very original technical group and um it's that's requiring this regulatory branch of an advisor to make sure that we don't have any pitfalls and missteps in our planning process because you have to come all together right impact everyone in your base right yeah no thank you it's yeah understanding how all of the different pieces come together can be a bit confusing um so I I appreciate you clarifying that commissioner. Any other questions? No. Thank you very much. Are we have any public comment? Is there anyone in the room? And we don't have anyone online. Thank you again for the presentation. Appreciate it. Well received. Vice Chair, could you please close

public comment? I will now close public comment. Moving on to management and staff oral reports. Well, thank you, Director Cooper. Since I'm here, I might as well just stay here and just give you a quick overview of some of the highlights happening in the community department. Um, we are uh working very closely with the uh Richmond American Homes. They purchased 33 of the 35 blocks at Canyon Estates. And um just last week, we had a a meeting uh between Richmond American and one of the two property owners just to bring them up to speed. Here's what's happening. Here's what's going on. Answer their questions. Um the other property owner has has had prior conversations with Richmond American. So, um feel really good about being able to have those two individuals who own property there um have a chance to really understand what what Richmond American has in mind, where they're going and so making sure that nobody is left out and we're communicating. Um we uh we have quite a few uh projects, you know, we had a burst of entitlements for the planning commission. You were working over time. uh the last couple of years and a lot of those projects are now uh under construction. So, I won't go through all of them, but you've probably driven around town and seen them. Uh they're they're all they're all out there still doing construction. Um I can't give you one bright spot. Um is uh the home to sweets hotel has a new project manager. Um this person seems very diligent. you had a

meeting with them, filling in on history. Um, and this time they're they're uploading uh and paying attention to uh revisions that have been approved for their project. Um, and so they're they really look like they're getting things organized, working better so they can finish off the project. So, and and they've got some landscaping installed, so things are looking a little nicer as well on the property. So, really glad to see that. It's been a while. I think we're all very happy to see it. Is there an estimated date at this point? Um I am not able to provide one at this point. There were quite a few um uh construction activities that didn't have benefit of the permit that we need to make sure are addressed. And so I'm not altogether sure because between inspections new things are found. So we're really hoping that behavior ends and things can get cleaned up and organized and done. Um some of the city initiative projects coming up this fall. Um we'll be uh bringing to the city council an update to the California building code. Um this is done in the state of California every three years and so it's adopted statewide uh in the summer uh this year and then it's up to each jurisdiction to adopt the state law. U there are a few local amendments um that the city typically adopts along with the uh to modify the state law state building code. Um there are new state laws now that limit further what cities can adopt as an amendment. So American Canyon

hasn't had a practice of doing much amendment to the code. So I don't think this these changes are going to affect us. But it's states sort of clamping down further and further on on local authority to to regulate building codes. So it's largely going to be a repeat of the state law which tend to do any that's coming up this fall. It's an ordinance. So there'll be a first reading uh the city council in beginning schedule has it in November um and then a second reading later in November. so that it can be in effect on January 1st when it becomes effective statewide. Um, another another initiate initiative that we're really proud of is updating our uh software we use for building code enforcement planning. Um, it's going to really enhance our customer experience where you can log on and see the status in real time where your project is in and be able to communicate. Um, we're going to be doing a multi-ep department because open gov is also being implemented in other departments as well for their respective services. We'll be doing a presentation the city council in December. So, you want to tune in for that to give you a quick overview kind of how how it's working. We plan to be doing a a soft opening for building uh later on in perhaps late October, early November. And it is already in effect for code enforcement and uh planning application. So if anybody has an entitlement application, you can go on there and it's it's already laid out. And the same is true if you have a code compliance issue.

I'm not encouraging people to file up, but it is there for you if you're if you do that. Um, also coming up uh in October next month uh is Citizens Academy. So really excited about that. I know many of you many of you in the room in the audience are members uh and have graduated from citizens academy and uh it's really great to be able to meet people and spread the word about the peculiar things that we do. And so we're looking forward to that. The October 15th is community development day. So each um group that is in the citizens academy gets to meet a different department each once a week or once a month once a week or so. And so our our day is October 15th that I think that's pretty much my uh my update for you. I just one other item. Um as we all remember the city council adopted the general plan in in May. Um document itself was a red line and there were a few comments. Um we are we have uh modified to account for all the red lines and things and and kind of getting the document or camera ready. And so we'll be bringing that council in some form to just sort of here it is. Uh we we have accommodated all of your comments and here are the red lines all cleaned up a nice document so that we can probably post it on our website and then soon amend it as we might have with the transportation plan and and other exciting things that are in the works. So my update for you today.

Thank you so much, Director Cooper. Appreciate it. Commissioners have any questions. Thank you, Director Cooper. Are there any commissioner items this evening? Okay. Well, in that case, meeting is adjourned at 8:52 p.m. Sorry, 7:52 p.m. Thank you. I saw.