Report says Napa County has 9,700-home deficit (2024)

Napa County and its five cities need 9,700 new housing units — more than exist in American Canyon — just to make up for what should have been built since 2000, according to a new study.

Generation Housing compiled the Napa Valley Housing Needs Assessment for Napa County. It based its figure on how many new homes the county needed over that time period to maintain historic population growth.

But can Napa County even think about adding 9,700 housing units, slightly more than the 2020 U.S. Census says exist in St. Helena, Calistoga and Yountville combined? The county is known for slow growth and preserving the agricultural lands of its world-famous wine country.

Here's another way to look at the magnitude of the Generation Housing challenge — California is mandating the county and cities make room for 3,844 homes over eight years. And local officials called that number a heavy lift when first announced a few years ago.

Treat the state mandate as a minimum, advised Generation Housing.

“Fortunately, opportunities for development abound, as evidenced by the review of each jurisdiction’s site inventory,” the report said.

View strong agricultural preservation boundaries not as an obstacle to growth, but as guidance. When facing a housing crisis, the best way out is up, the Generation Housing report states.

The report mentioned such potential city of Napa housing sites as the shuttered Harvest Middle School, land at CrossWalk Community Church on First Street, a lot at 725 Coombs St. and a parking lot at 1752 Third St.

Jennifer Palmer, the county's housing and homeless services director, said part of the demand could be met by constructing housing units that allow people to downsize. That would free up more three-bedroom homes for families.

The Generation Housing study calls attention to the housing mismatch. It said 3,000 large-bedroom units are occupied by one-person households. If available, they would alleviate overcrowding among lower wage earners.

Napa County's housing situation has created missing parts of the population. Fewer young adults are forming households and fewer renters are transitioning to home ownership. Fewer lower-earning and working households live here, the study said.

On Tuesday, the Napa County Board of Supervisors discussed the report. The mention of a 9,700-home deficit caused sticker shock.

"The 9,700 — I don't know where we would put them," said Supervisor Anne Cottrell.

Supervisor Ryan Gregory agreed, mentioning the growth boundaries around some cities. He called the lack of space "the elephant in the room."

Cottrell also mentioned the challenge building housing units, only to have them become second homes.

Rex Stults spoke during public comments. He is with the Napa Valley Vintners and also on the Generation Housing board of directors.

"I'm just hoping we do something with all of this stuff," Stults told supervisors. "We've got a lot of good data."

Among the next steps mentioned is presenting the information to local cities.

"Napa Valley’s housing needs are urgent and unique," the Generation Housing study said. "The valley not only needs to correct for decades of low housing production, but to do so in the wake of skyrocketing housing demand driven by the growth of its strong winemaking and hospitality industries."

Apart from the Generation Housing presentation, Supervisor Belia Ramos talked about an overseas housing study trip she took to Vienna in July in her role as president of the Association of Bay Area Governments.

"In Vienna, housing is viewed as a human right. That is absolutely the starting point for everything," Ramos said.

She talked about the types of housing available, from government housing to limited-profit housing, and rent controls that started after World War I. Housing programs are funded by a 1% salary tax, with employees and employers each paying half. The government banks land for future housing, sometimes several decades in advance of construction.

Ramos made no proposals for Napa County or the Bay Area, but gave her report for the board's information.