Are We Missing the Mark?: The Mismatch Between State Mandates and St. Helena’s Reality

I can’t help but feel like we are watching a shipwreck in slow motion.

State housing mandates were intended to create less restrictive ways to build more homes across income brackets. But when I look at how those policies are playing out in St. Helena, they miss the mark — and risk making things worse.

RHNA requires jurisdictions to plan for housing at several income levels (moderate, low, very low). To meet those targets developers are often required to include minimum percentages of lower-income units in market projects. That conceptually makes sense. In practice, however, it means developers must build many more market-rate units to make a project pencil out — so for every subsidized unit added, multiple market units follow.

That becomes a problem here. St. Helena already has a surplus of unsold market-rate homes. We are a resort-destination with a large second-home market; many properties sit empty much of the year. That translates into fewer year-round residents to support local businesses and the civic life that sustains a community. The “hollowing out” of the middle class is real: high costs push working families out while speculative, high-end units proliferate.

Developers describe the new, RHNA-driven market units as selling in the low millions. Those townhomes and condos — small units with no private yards and HOA fees (and rising utility costs) — are unlikely to attract the families and first-time buyers we need. Meanwhile, nearby single-family homes with yards and no HOA are selling for less and sitting on the market. In other words, the market is not signaling a housing shortage at the price points being produced.

Our General Plan sets principles to protect St. Helena’s character: preserve our rural/agricultural history, open space, and sense of place. Flooding the town with dense market developments to meet RHNA targets risks straining aging infrastructure, altering neighborhood character, and failing to deliver truly affordable housing for locals.

We also face public-safety and infrastructure constraints that the state’s one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t address. For example, our valley has only two primary evacuation routes. Building to the RHNA targets without assessing occupant loads and evacuation capacity could create life-safety hazards during wildfire evacuations. Existing calculations in building codes are based on occupant loads; we need a similar study for town-level infrastructure and evacuation capacity before we add significant new population.

Here’s a practical alternative — a way to meet RHNA goals while protecting community character and delivering real affordability:

• Support local nonprofit builders. Prioritize funding and technical support for Our Town St. Helena and similar nonprofits whose mission is to build deeply affordable homes for local families. These organizations can deliver units targeted to those who actually work and live here.
• Track and redirect housing impact fees. Napa County’s Housing Impact Fee increase (effective January 16, 2026) could be a funding source if collection and distribution are transparent. Request that the Board of Supervisors report how HIF revenues will be allocated and explore directing a portion to Our Town St. Helena for local projects.
• Maximize ADUs where permitted. Count accessory dwelling units in compliance with HCD guidance toward RHNA where appropriate. ADUs can add affordable, smaller units without requiring large new developments or heavy infrastructure expansion.
• Assess infrastructure and evacuation capacity. Commission a study to determine how much additional population our roads, utilities, and emergency egress routes can safely and sustainably support — and identify what upgrades would be required to accommodate more housing.
• Plan holistically. Any housing strategy for St. Helena must integrate land use, transportation, fire safety, water, and community character. Departments should collaborate and engage residents to target resources to the most effective solutions.

State mandates intend to expand housing opportunities. But for a small, high-AMI, resort-adjacent town like St. Helena the blunt instrument of market-heavy RHNA compliance can be counterproductive. We can course-correct — but it will take political will, transparent funding decisions, and community collaboration. The iceberg is not inevitable; with targeted local action we can steer away from it and deliver housing that truly serves our community.

Michelle Liu Covell

“These views are my own and are expressed in a personal capacity. They do not represent the positions or views of any board, commission, organization, or role I serve.”