Calistoga planning commission pauses review of 17‑lot Grant Street subdivision after neighbors raise design, drainage and fire concerns

The Calistoga Planning Commission on March 26 voted to continue the public hearing on a tentative map and design‑review application for a 17‑lot residential subdivision at 2400 Grant Street to the commission meeting of May 28.

Commissioners said the continuance would give the developer and community more time to work on design and technical questions after several neighbors and consultants challenged the project’s environmental analysis, site design and impacts on nearby properties.

Staff presented the application as a preliminary filing received Oct. 23, 2023, under SB 330 (commonly referenced as the Housing Accountability Act), which requires review against objective, written development standards in effect on the filing date. Planning staff told commissioners the project proposes 17 single‑family homes on a 17.97‑acre site with a central open space that would retain a vineyard and include a single‑story clubhouse. Staff concluded the proposal meets the objective standards in the municipal code and recommended approval with conditions, while noting that the commission must weigh testimony at the public hearing.

Neighbors and retained consultants pressed several substantive concerns during the public hearing. Rick Tooker of Tooker Planning Studio, retained by neighbors, said the project relies on an addendum to the 2008 Vineyard Oaks initial study and mitigated negative declaration and urged a more thorough, updated environmental analysis. Dennis Sutro, who lives on Mora Avenue, asked the commission for a 60‑day continuance so neighbors could review documents they received only a few days…