Foster Clark
My family has lived in Napa since 1846; I was born here and have resided in the county for most of my life. I care a lot about Napa and its future. That is why I would like to express my support for Napa Pipe, and why it’s the right project for our community.
Located on an already-paved infill property and close to thousands of jobs, Napa Pipe offers a true sustainable solution to our county’s housing needs. This project will provide the right type of homes, including more affordable homes for Napa’s workforce, helping reduce the current commuter traffic that we all like to complain about.
I commend the Greenbelt Alliance for recently endorsing this project, and by doing so, continuing to protect the agricultural land and greenbelts throughout our beautiful county.
I’ve read some of the recent rhetoric in the paper, and it’s clear that those who oppose Napa Pipe have their own agenda in mind, or have been influenced by those who do. That’s because the reuse of Napa Pipe as a mixed-use neighborhood phased over the next decade will stop the continued development of agricultural land. With Napa Pipe as an option, developers of vineyards and other ag land will no longer be able to replace vineyards and turn them into urban sprawl. That’s why they are doing everything to stop Napa Pipe.
The fact still remains that the state has mandated our county provide homes. We have continually failed to meet this mandate, resulting in expensive lawsuits that we cannot afford. This has also resulted in worsened commuter traffic with about 21,000 commuting into Napa each day for work, and again driving out because they cannot afford to live in Napa. Napa Pipe allows us to provide affordable homes on a site within a few miles of 30,000 jobs.
Napa Pipe is already paved, has ample water, and has breathtaking views of the green hillsides, making it an ideal mixed-use neighborhood. The current industrial site is no longer viable, not useful to us and is really only an eyesore at the gateway of Napa.
If we were to build an industrial park on the site now, it would create more traffic than the proposal use for Napa Pipe. It would add to the commuter traffic issue we face. And worse, it would leave developers to convert our agricultural land to homes.
Napa Pipe is a great opportunity that we should embrace.
Foster Clark / Napa
This article was originally published in the Napa Valley Register.
