As you may have read in the Napa Valley Register, FRIENDS expressed written and oral concerns to the Napa City Planning Commission in July regarding the proposed First & Oxbow Hotel project. We did not believe that it was Friends’ role to opine on the hotel proposal itself, but we were concerned about its relation to the River and to the Oxbow area.
In the 2018 Oxbow study by the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the first recommendation was headed Focus on the River, and we were concerned that the project failed to do that.
The ULI recommended aligning sight lines and corridors to open onto the River, and also to foster direct connections to the River for pedestrians and others. We did note that the proponents offered to provide some limited access from First Street to the River. We were concerned, however, that there was no cohesive plan for public access along the River from the south of First Street to Soscol Avenue.
“The River should be treated as a community amenity rather than as a backyard. To foster connections, the city should look for opportunities to connect publicly accessible streets, trails, and open spaces to the River….and the River trail and River-edge landscape should be extended, maintained, and improved to the maximum extent possible.” (ULI Study)
Further, we saw no mention in the City’s staff report of the array of features contemplated for the River’s edge in the Flood Project GDM: four-foot flood wall, maintenance road, and recreation trail. Land should be dedicated by the project to these future improvements, and we suggested that riverside projects like this either include the required flood wall or pay into a fund to finance its future construction. We strongly urged the City to require that this area and the rest of the Oxbow District provide public access not only to trail walkers but also to paddle board users, kayakers, and the like. The Oxbow area to the north provides an excellent example.
We urged the Planning Commission to hold this project and future Oxbow District applications to fully take into account the ULI-TAP Oxbow report to City Council January 2019 and its recommendations.
As our members know, Friends has a reputation for working collaboratively, whenever possible, with developers, City and County officials, and others who wish to consider projects along the Napa River or its various tributaries. For example, Francie Winnen, our Board Secretary, participated in the ULI’s Oxbow discussions and planning sessions in 2018. Friends worked with the City of Napa on planning for the former Cinedome area adjacent to the Oxbow Commons, in an effort to ensure appropriate connection to the Commons. Friends also worked closely with the Ritz Hotel proponents on crafting the interface between the River and the hotel site, ensuring public access along the River.
We intend to meet with City staff and City Council members in the next month to express our concerns about the Oxbow area and its relationship to the River. We will, as always, offer to work to craft solutions that are mutually beneficial to the community, the developer, and to the River.
For more on the ULI-TAP Oxbow study, please see https://www.cityofnapa.org/797/Oxbow-District
