Napa council denies winery water hookup

The city of Napa wont be providing a water hookup to an Upvalley winery on Rutherford Road after City Councilman Scott Sedgley balked at the request, saying it would create a bad precedent for growth management.

Elizabeth Spencer Winery asked to be connected to the citys water system for fire suppression purposes. Its current hookup with the city of St. Helena doesnt have enough capacity to provide the water flow needed for a sprinkler system.

The City Council debated the request for more than an hour Tuesday, before a vote needing four-fifths of the council failed. City Councilwoman Juliana Inman recused herself from voting, and a motion to allow the hookup failed 3-1, with Sedgley dissenting.

The City Council then voted to rescind that motion, allowing the current application to stay active, so Elizabeth Spencer wont have to pay to submit a new request.

Elizabeth Spencers request could come back if Sedgley removed his opposition, Inman decided not to recuse herself, or the citys water policies changed.

Sedgley feared a setting a precedent by granting the request, saying other wineries in the unincorporated could follow suit in hooking up to the city system to fulfill a county requirement that they install sprinkler systems.

I see the city receiving more of these requests in the future, Sedgley said. Water is king. The industry is booming.

City staff didnt share Sedgleys viewpoint, asserting that Elizabeth Spencer already sits on a city water main running from Lake Hennessey, the citys main reservoir, into city limits.

Joy Eldredge, general manager of the citys Water Department, said that the winery will continue to use St. Helena water for domestic use, and would only connect with Napa water in the event of a fire, or to test its sprinkler system.

Beaulieu Vineyard and Inglenook have done a similar thing in the past 15 years, as has the Gordon Huether Studio + Gallery on Monticello Road and a vineyard near Big Ranch Road and Trancas Street, Eldredge said.

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Napa council denies winery water hookup