American Canyon is poised to annex another 87 acres of unincorporated land just to the north after a unanimous vote by Napa County’s Local Agency Formation Commission this month.
The soon-to-be annexed area includes Paoli Loop, an exit off state Highway 29, and its offshoot Watson Lane, which is home to a dozen families who have lived on the backcountry road for generations, eluding city limits until now.
The approval from the Local Agency Formation Commission, otherwise known as LAFCO, is the first step to annexing 360 acres into the newest and fastest-growing city in Napa County, and the sixth time the city has expanded its limits since incorporating in 1992.
The second property standing by for annexation is a 281-acre grassy expanse just north of Watson Lane called the Hess/Laird Affected Territory, which was recently rezoned for industry and will likely be reviewed by LAFCO later this year.
County officials bill the 87-acre annexation as progress. Supervisor Belia Ramos, an American Canyon resident, called the recent vote “a milestone for American Canyon and Napa County.”
City leaders say the impetus for annexation is a long-awaited alternative route from Highway 29 called the Eastside Connector. The new roadway would link Highway 29 to landlocked parts of the city’s eastside by way of Newell Drive to the east and South Kelly Road to the north.
While the LAFCO vote is a crucial step, funding for the Eastside Connector is still up in the air. The road has been in the planning phase for decades, and American Canyon residents and developers are restless.
“These annexations pave the way for the alternative route to come to fruition.”
— Jason Holley, American Canyon city manager
City Manager Jason Holley told the City Council in an April 21 meeting that “there isn’t a specific date in line” for the Eastside Connector’s buildout.
But, he said, “these annexations pave the way for the alternative route to come to fruition.”
Arguments and alternative plans on the annexation
The city’s moves to expand has its challengers: Watson Lane residents opposed to losing a rural way of life to city rules and Terrence “Terry” McGrath, developer of the 1,250-unit housing complex called Watson Ranch just south of the proposed annexation.
McGrath has said publicly that the Eastside Connector will likely take more than 10 years to build, making it hard to fill units in the new development. He even sued the city over the delay last October.
At the April 21 City Council meeting, Skyler Sanders, an attorney for McGrath, said the expansion skirted legal requirements to put city limit changes to a vote by residents.
In the meantime, McGrath has drafted a measure proposing his own road extension that doesn’t require annexation: Measure M, which calls for connecting sleepy Watson Lane to Marcus Road, an unfinished street on the edge of Watson Ranch.
McGrath hired signature gatherers, many of them American Canyon residents, who collected thousands of signatures in only a few weeks backing the measure, which is now in a 30-day review period by American Canyon City Council before being placed on the ballot in November.
The connected road would give Highway 29 commuters another route from the notoriously congested highway to the city’s eastside, possibly bringing hundreds more cars a day through Watson Lane.
Watson Lane residents caught in the middle
Caught in the middle are the families on Watson Lane, who have lived for generations on the half-mile rural backroad. They’re torn between a developer measure that could change the character of their street, and becoming part of the rapidly expanding city next door, which could bring its own issues.
The dilemma, said Jessica Sanders, a cattle rancher and third-generation resident of her home on Watson Lane, “is the biggest thing my family was afraid of for decades.”
“If we got annexed in, we’d be dealing with a whole new set of challenges,” said Jessica Sanders, whose family has been opposed to annexation for decades.
According to Jessica Sanders, several property owners on the street plan to oppose the vote. Objectors on Watson Lane have until Aug. 3 to formally protest the approval, and are currently being sent the paperwork to do so, confirmed LAFCO Executive Officer Brendon Freeman.
Residents would have the freedom to develop their properties as they please, and get access to some city amenities. But would Jessica Sanders be able to keep her animals? Would a neighbor sell their land and build a warehouse, bringing heavy industry next door?
“You can flatten every square inch and put concrete or cement or houses. But if there’s no quality of life, then is that progress?”
— Jessica Sanders, Watson Lane resident in American Canyon
“You can flatten every square inch and put concrete or cement or houses,” said Jessica Sanders. But if there’s no quality of life, then is that progress?”
But, she said, becoming part of American Canyon could be the only way to protect the area from McGrath’s measure.
If the annexation fell through, further delaying the Eastside Connector, Jessica Sanders asked: “Would McGrath say, ‘See, we need this road’? We don’t want to cut off our nose to spite our face.”