Friends of the Napa River Comments on proposed Ritz-Carlton Hotel

City of Napa Planning Commission


MP08-002 Ritz Carlton Napa Valley








Dear Planning Commissioners,


Friends of the Napa River are very interested to ensure that developments along


the Napa River meet the high expectations on quality and design that the citizens


of Napa County are entitled to when they voted for the Flood Control Project


with its “Living River Principles.” After ongoing and comprehensive reviews of


the plans presented, we believe that the proposed Ritz Carlton Napa Valley has


the best chance ever to fulfill these expectations for the site.


We are impressed by the choice of top architects for the design, the quality of


materials to be used, and the interesting, interactive river interface proposed.


We appreciate the constructive responses by the developer to our questions and


suggestions, e.g. the design of the river trail that would initially dead end to the


north and has now an elegant loop back to the alleys of the hotel plaza. We find


that many of the concerns listed in our summary letter of June 17 have been


addressed as shown in the staff report. From our environmental perspective, this


includes incorporation of “green” building and sustainability features into the


project as well as “shared parking” and promotion of “green practices,” like


incentives for employees to carpool or use public transportation. We trust that


the developer will follow best management practices and mitigation measures


for biological resources and hydrology and to protect water quality described in


the “Environmental Review” section.


We are aware of continuing challenges to the developer, e.g. from the US


Department of Fish & Game and the Napa County Flood Control District with


the Army Corps of Engineers, to create a functioning and aesthetically superior


river interface. We offer our constructive comments throughout the project. We


are also challenging the City of Napa to come up with a preliminary design of


the future Silverado Trail east side interaction with the hotel on the west.


Citizens deserve to see the hotel development in context with the City plans.


The Ritz Carlton will be the third hotel on the oxbow section of the river and has


the chance to be a genuine gem to the city and its citizens providing business


opportunities, quality design and an appealing river interface for the citizens.


We ask the Planning Commission to approve the project for submission to City


Council.








Sincerely


Bernhard Krevet, President, Friends of the Napa River

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