The executive director of an agency responsible for approving land annexations in Napa County has been placed on paid administrative leave amid a massive expansion effort in American Canyon, county officials confirmed on Tuesday.
Brendon Freeman, who joined Napa’s Local Agency Formation Commission 18 years ago, was placed on leave following a performance evaluation by Napa LAFCO commissioners at an Aug. 27 closed session meeting. Freeman became the organization’s executive director in 2015.
Freeman’s leave comes just ahead of a protest hearing scheduled for Friday regarding the annexation of around 87 acres just north of the city of American Canyon, dubbed Paoli Loop/Watson Lane Reorganization. It’s the first in a larger effort to annex some 360 acres into the city.
A protest hearing is required when an area poised for annexation has landowners and registered voters living on it.
At the hearing, commissioners, who approved the annexation in June, will review written protests to the annexation. A few things could happen — if 50% or more of the dozen landowners and registered voters in the annexation area oppose becoming part of American Canyon, the annexation is thrown out. If more than 25% protest, an election must be called. If fewer than 25% protest, the annexation moves ahead.
It’s unclear how Friday’s hearing will proceed without the executive director — who is the only staffer required to be physically present at a protest hearing, according to his own statement at LAFCO’s June 1 meeting.
On Tuesday, LAFCO Commission Chair Beth Painter said Friday’s meeting would proceed as planned, but did not specify if Freeman will attend.
LAFCOs were founded in the 1960s to rein in urban sprawl around the state. Any move to annex unincorporated county land into a city, whether for industrial or housing development, must be approved by LAFCO before moving forward.
Residents wonder what happens next
Freeman’s absence has left Jessica Sanders, a third-generation Watson Lane resident, a little concerned, she said in an interview on Tuesday. Sanders and a handful of her neighbors have been considering filing protests against the annexation plan.
Sanders said she and others are open to annexation but they believe the process has been rushed so they plan to submit letters of protest at or before Friday’s meeting.
“It was June when we found out about the annexation,” she said. “I don’t feel like I have enough time to find an attorney.”
She and some of her neighbors worry that bringing their rural lives into American Canyon may take away the independence enjoyed by Watson Lane residents for generations.
“No one here wants to be the problem child of American Canyon. We’re not opposing annexation — we just want more time.”
Jessica Sanders, Watson Lane resident
People along Watson Lane received a pre-annexation agreement from the city of American Canyon a few weeks ago. The contract allows some protections for their properties, said Sanders, allowing residents to continue to operate heavy machinery and keep horses and farm animals.
But the agreement only applies if Sanders doesn’t protest the annexation. And residents will still have to pay for sewer access.
“No one here wants to be the problem child of American Canyon,” said Sanders, who is struggling to find a lawyer to review the document. “We’re not opposing annexation — we just want more time.”