Letter to the Editor – ‘Yountville… You are breaking my heart’ amid rising tensions
Dear Editor,
I love Yountville. Loved it when we used to go to Frankie, Johnnie & Luigi with the kids before we lived here, loved it when in 2001, we were able to buy a little cottage on Monroe Street as a vacation home and loved it even more when we decided to live here full time, bought an old house on Jefferson Street, tore it down and built our permanent home in Yountville.
While, as I have gotten older, I am more inclined to mind my own business, I am no stranger to conflict and to fight for what I believe in.
I was very happy when the powers that be decided to buy the Yountville Elementary School (YES) school property for housing, be it for workforce employees, low income, or just regular folk who like to live in a safe, friendly and welcoming town.
I was prepared to talk at the January 13 Town Council meeting. I had practiced my speech, not to exceed the five minute allowance since, to be honest, I tend to talk a lot. Previously, I had attended some of the dinner meetings and had an idea of what was proposed. I was against the size of the planned unit sizes and vehemently against the limited parking scenario.
But as I was sitting at that meeting and listening, I realized, they were not at a point of deciding anything about the actual buildings. While much had been discussed and that expensive replica of what the buildings might look like was staring us in the face, all the vote was going to be, was for the zoning and the entitlements. The zoning is needed. No housing can be built there unless that zoning is changed.
And the entitlement? From my experience of owning properties that have been zoned for development and housing, you always go for the highest number of units and the highest stories. That does not mean you are ever going to build that number of units or go as high as allowed, but it does mean you can get the most money for your asset. And it also means that you know what the State of California mandates as far as housing and that when push comes to shove, you will not be penalized.
So, while I left that meeting without speaking and while I knew that the vote had not been unanimous, I was not prepared for what happened next.
A referendum was created, signatures were gathered, and now we have entered a new era in the history of Yountville. Hopefully, everyone that has signed that referendum knew what they signed. Hopefully, the media will stop distorting what some of the more famous citizens of Yountville have said and are saying. And hopefully we will start to trust or at least believe that our elected officials, who collectively have lived in Yountville for over 120 years, do have our best interests in mind.
I was not going to send this letter to the paper, although I had started it a couple of weeks ago. And I had truly decided to walk away from all that was happening and just enjoy living in the town that I love.
But then, a friend sent me the video of the March 17 meeting that I had purposely decided not to attend.
Yountville, what is happening to you? You are breaking my heart. The anger, the backroom giggles, the ignoring of the voice of the speaker who was presenting some facts about housing in California? When did we become so mean, such bullies? When did our egos win the fight against our souls and our hearts?
This letter is not about the Commons or about unit sizes or parking, not about employers or employees, not about surveys, or about who is right or who is wrong. It is about a town that is three miles long, that has hospitality dogs that welcome strangers, and neighbors who put out each others’ garbage cans on Sunday nights. It is about crab feeds, and senior bingo, it is about smiles when you walk into the Community Center to pick up a bag of popcorn on Wednesdays. It is about seeing friends at the Chamber of Commerce Mixers, impromptu gatherings at the pits at R+D, and about making sure no one eats Thanksgiving dinner alone. It is joking about living in NoYo versus living in SoYo and which is better, and some even arguing that there is also a MidYo.
Sorry, this letter got longer than expected. I learned a long time ago that when writing something important to say it in two or three paragraphs or the reader’s attention will drift. Hopefully yours did not.
In closing, if you want to talk, discuss, agree or argue, you know where to find me.
Iren Aslanian Jenny
Yountville
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