Letter to the Editor – Town of Yountville responds, defending Commons outreach, seeks continued public input
To the Editor,
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to respond to the press release you published today (Feb.10). We welcome the opportunity to provide context.
The town of Yountville has been focused on getting workforce housing right from the start. Since the Yountville Elementary School closed in 2020, reuse of the property has been the town’s top priority. The town purchased the property in 2024 with planning discussions beginning shortly after, nearly two years ago. The town welcomes the collaboration and enthusiasm from local employers and the many others who have been engaged and provided input over these past two years. These discussions continue and all input is valued by the entire Yountville team.
Voters spoke in 2018 with the passage of Measure S with over 74% of voters in favor. This measure raised the Transient Occupancy Tax by 1% and dedicated all revenues from the tax to programs and services related to affordable and workforce housing. The town is required to spend these funds on these items. As Mayor Margie Mohler explains, “When we purchased the former elementary school property, we began turning that voter commitment into reality.”
Over the past two years, residents and businesses have been invited to 23 publicized public meetings open to the public. These meetings were held to gather input on every aspect of the project, including unit types, site planning and community amenities. These meetings have been open, publicly noticed and designed to encourage broad participation. All town employers have been welcomed at any or all of these meetings, and the town welcomes it now, too.
The unit mix has not been decided. It is among the key questions still being actively studied. On Friday, Feb. 13, the town will publish documents presenting options to the Town Council that include unit type mix scenarios and the results of a formal workforce demographics analysis being prepared by BAE (Bay Area Economics). The employers quoted in the press release have participated in focus groups conducted by BAE, and we welcome additional data from any employer that can be considered as BAE completes its research.
As a preview, staff anticipates outlining three potential phases of approximately 40 homes each, with clear decision points between phases where the project can change. This phased approach was designed specifically to allow the town to learn from each phase and adjust-including unit mix, design and scale-based on real performance data and current workforce needs.
On Tuesday, Feb. 17, the town will hold another public meeting to discuss these issues. This will be a study session where the community and Town Council can ask questions in an open forum. The project team will not be seeking formal direction at that meeting. This will lead to a March Town Council meeting where staff will ask for direction on how to move forward. All local employers, businesses, and all others are welcome and encouraged to attend.
The current vision includes expanded parks and local amenities along with 120 rental homes. The town’s CEQA analysis allows up to 150 units. By maintaining ownership and control over the project, the town can maintain control of the scope of the projects, which might otherwise be lost if a private developer were to undertake the project. This ensures a project that reflects the community’s vision without sacrificing the community’s priorities. The first phase of the project may include approximately 40 units with different unit types and sizes, so the town can ensure the project meets workforce needs.
The town currently has a largely commuting workforce of approximately 3,000. While 40, or even 150 homes, won’t solve all of the challenges faced by this reality, it will help and the Town Council is committed to collaborating with the community on this.
Calling for a pause on a project with 23 public meetings and counting and an active workforce study, with unit mix decisions still underway, is premature and not reflective of the hard work and community input the town has received over the past two years. The process is working as intended-transparently, methodically and with multiple direction and decision points ahead. We encourage anyone with data, ideas, or concerns to bring them to the Feb. 17 study session. The town will be, and is, ready to continue its discussion with the community.
Building workforce housing is hard anywhere. In a community like Yountville, the town chose to take the harder road by controlling the property and leading a process that engaged the community and developed plans under the watchful public eye. After 23 public meetings and with key decisions like unit mix still being actively studied, we believe the responsible path is to continue the transparent process that has brought us here, not to pause it. The town will continue to listen to the community as funding and phasing decisions are made by elected officials in line with established priorities, adopted plans, and voter mandates.
Brad Raulston
Yountville Town Manager
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