City Council Cover Page

TITLE

Hess/Laird Territory Special Study Pre-Zoning

RECOMMENDATION

Waive first reading, read by title only, and adopt an Ordinance to approve Special Study Pre-Zoning for the Hess/Laird Territory consistent with the General Plan (American Canyon Municipal Code Chapter 19.50).

CONTACT

Brent Cooper, AICP, Community Development Director

Matthew Summers, City Attorney

BACKGROUND & ANALYSIS

The Hess/Laird property consists of approximately 281 acres and is located outside the City limits in unincorporated Napa County, east of State Route 29 and north of Watson Lane. In March 2026, the property owners initiated an application with the Napa County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to annex their property into the City of American Canyon (Assessor Parcel Numbers 057-090-065 and 057-090-066). A location map of the Hess/Laird property is included as Attachment 2.

The properties surrounding the Hess/Laird territory include:

North: Unincorporated Napa County Commercial and Agriculture/Open Space lands
South: Watson Lane and vacant land adjacent to Paoli Loop
East: Agricultural and rural lands within unincorporated Napa County
West: State Route 29 and Light Industrial properties within American Canyon

The General Plan contemplates annexation of the Hess/Laird property into the City limits. General Plan Land Use Element Policy LU-11.5 states: "Meet and confer with Napa County and LAFCO to amend the City’s Sphere of Influence to include the “Hess and Laird” Properties and other properties at the direction of the City Council." Earlier administrative and financial actions associated with the Hess/Laird properties were approved by the City Council on April 21, 2026. These include a property tax sharing agreement and an urban limit line and regional housing needs allocation agreement with Napa County, governing the property tax sharing and regional housing needs allocation transfers that would occur if and when the proposed Hess Laird annexation is approved and if and when the City's urban limit line is amended by a General Plan amendment to include the Hess Laird Affected Territory.

The City and County approvals of the property tax sharing agreement and urban limit line and regional housing needs allocation agreement are approval of pre-annexation ministerial administrative and financial actions that do not themselves constitute a change to the urban limit line or approval of the proposed annexation of the Hess Laird Affected Territory.

The County previously approved an Industrial zoning designation for the property. However, as part of the annexation process, California law and LAFCO procedures require the City to establish zoning regulations for the property that would take effect upon LAFCO approval of the annexation. Per California law, the zoning must be consistent with the City's General Plan.

General Plan Consistency

The General Plan designates the property as Special Study which is defined as a designation on certain parcels that may be needed for future urban growth, but for which appropriate land use designations have yet to be determined. To maintain consistency with the General Plan, staff recommends that the territory be pre-zoned with the corresponding Special Study (SS) zoning district. A copy of the General Plan land use map, showing the Special Study designation on this property and property in Napa County west of Highway 29 is included as Attachment 3.

During the July 30 Planning Commission meeting, staff pointed out that the General Plan land use map does not depict all property owned by the Hess/Laird applicants. The intent with the General Plan was to depict all the property owned by the Hess/Laird applicants, but incomplete information at the time prevented an accurate map (see General Plan map, Attachment 3). As shown with a comparison graphic Attachment 4, there is a small property located at the upper left corner, north of North Kelley Road and upper right corner missing from the General Plan map. These properties are included in the pre-zoning because the General Plan intent was intended to include all the Hess/Laird property.

The American Canyon Municipal Code Chapter 19.50 describes the SS zoning district as:

Allow properties to be zoned or pre-zoned until the City has completed appropriate planning studies to determine the types and intensities of land uses through an amendment of the City’s General Plan.
Allow agricultural, grazing, open space, and public uses within the district as interim uses.

A map depicting Special Study zoning on the Hess/Laird property is included as Attachment 1, Exhibit A. A copy of the Special Study zoning regulations is included as Attachment 1, Exhibit B

Napa Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan

The proposed pre-zoning is consistent with the Napa Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan (NALUCP). The affected territory is located within Compatibility Zones D1 and D2, where agricultural, grazing, open space, and public uses are considered “normally compatible.”

The pre-zoning would continue to allow these low-intensity uses and would not introduce uses that would create noise, safety, overflight, or airspace protection concerns. Additionally, the property is located approximately one mile from the Napa Airport runway, and the proposed uses would not create physical, visual, or electronic hazards to aircraft operations. Therefore, the pre-zoning would not affect Napa Airport operations, and referral to the Napa County Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) is not required.

On July 31, 2026, the applicant submitted a voluntary project referral to the ALUC. Consistent with NALUCP Section 2.6.1(c), the ALUC Executive Director issued a finding of consistency with the NALUCP for the version of the project that was referred to the Executive Director. A copy of the consistency determination is included as Attachment 5.

On July 30, 2026, the Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on this application and unanimously recommended approval with no public opposition or comments presented.

COUNCIL PRIORITY PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS
Organizational Effectiveness: "Deliver exemplary government services."

FISCAL IMPACT

Not applicable due to zoning regulations that allow very limited land use potential.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

The Affected Territory Special Study General Plan designation was evaluated in the General Plan Program Environmental Impact Report (Program EIR) (SCH# 2022070038). The implementing Special Study Pre-Zoning, and contemplated LAFCO actions are consistent with the General Plan, is a contemplated "Project Approval" under the Program EIR. Therefore, approval of the Pre-Zoning based on the Certified General Plan Final EIR, which includes the Statement of Overriding Considerations and the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, complies with CEQA. The City Council certified the General Plan Final EIR by adoption of Resolution No. 2025-37 on May 20, 2025. A copy of the addendum is included as Exhibit C to Attachment 1.

COMMUNICATION
Level 0: No Further Public Communication Needed

ATTACHMENTS:
1. Ordinance HLAT PreZoning
2. Hess Laird Location Map
3. Hess Laird General Plan Land Use
4. General Plan Map Correction
5. ALUCP Consistency Determination Hess-Laird Affected Territory Pre-Zoning