Saint Helena council upholds permit for private Andrea Bocelli dinner at Monte Olivos Estate

The Saint Helena City Council on June 10 voted unanimously to uphold the Planning Commission's conditional approval of a temporary use permit allowing a private Andrea Bocelli dinner and entertainment event at the Monte Olivos Estate, 2500 Spring Mountain Road, on June 20, 2025.

Senior planner Jackie O'Neil told the council the permit (TUP 25-005) would allow a maximum attendance of 600 guests, site activity from roughly 4:30 p.m. with a hard stop at 10 p.m., and live entertainment ending at 9:30 p.m. “Staff is recommending that the council determines that the project is exempt from the requirements of CEQA and uphold and approve the resolution upholding the planning commission's approval of TUP 25-005,” O'Neil said.

The permit was originally approved by the Planning Commission on May 20; an appeal filed May 22 suspended that approval while the City Council considered the matter de novo. Councilmember Aaron Barrick moved to adopt the staff recommendation; the council voted yes (Barrick, Spatarotto, Vice Mayor Deasy and Mayor Doreen), and the permit was approved.

City staff, the applicant and public safety officials described a set of conditions and mitigation measures the council relied on in making its decision. The event will use parking at Charles Krug Winery with shuttle transport to the estate; the applicant's operations plan calls for staggered arrivals beginning about 4:30 p.m. and two return waves at about 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. O'Neil said on-site parking at the estate is limited to essential personnel and vendors would be on-site from Wednesday through the Monday following the event.

Applicant representative Andrew Clements, identifying himself as representing 100x Hospitality, said the event pairs a seated, family-style dinner with intermittent music and that the musical program is a string quartet and vocal performance rather than amplified rock. “We are the producers and promoters of the Bocelli weekend in Napa event,” Clements said, adding that sprinter vans and minibuses will be used for transport to improve maneuverability on the private driveway.

Public safety officials described on-site preparations. Napa emergency responders and private medical providers will be staged: RockMed and AMR will provide on-site paramedic and ambulance services, and the applicant said a dedicated EMT location will be staffed for the event. Fire and police inspected the route and staging areas in advance. Fire official Hartley said he and others surveyed the route and found “plenty — there’s adequate spaces for the vehicles that are gonna be going up there,” and noted pullouts along Bieber Road to allow local access during event traffic.

Police Chief Sorensen emphasized the roadway geometry: “No. That is not a two-way road, and it has bulb outs or pull outs,” and said staging and traffic flagging would be used to support one-way traffic flow for event ingress and egress. He and Lieutenant Tharp participated in on-site checks and confirmed locations for vehicle staging and turnaround.

Staff and the applicant submitted a peer-reviewed sound study. O'Neil said the police department issued a noise permit that allows a slight exceedance of city standards during the event but that modeled levels would not exceed limits after 10 p.m.; the applicants committed to an on-site sound monitor at the property perimeter. The applicant said the performance is broken into several short (about five-minute) segments and is dominated by acoustic instruments.

Several neighbors and written commenters raised concerns about traffic, noise and potential future events at the site. Michael Haley, who submitted two written comments, thanked staff for the work and said the level of mitigation required “sounds like we got what we wanted.” Carrie Thatcher, who said she lives on Bieber Road, told the council she was not opposed to the single event but criticized earlier public-notice and communication and said repeated large events were the source of neighbor concerns.

The property owner’s counsel also addressed future use, telling the council that the owner will not host the other previously advertised public philanthropic events at the property going forward and that future uses would be family-related affairs.

O'Neil told the council the event is categorically exempt from CEQA under Guideline section 15304 for minor temporary uses of land and reiterated conditions the Planning Commission imposed, including on-site police and fire staging, traffic flaggers along Bieber Road, on-site security, medical staffing, a traffic management plan, and pre-event inspections by building and fire staff. She said staff will work with the city attorney to strengthen the city's temporary use permit ordinance in the future.

The council’s action was limited to the appeal record: it upheld the Planning Commission approval with the conditions on which staff and public safety had briefed the council. Councilmembers and staff emphasized that approving this TUP did not establish precedent for additional, larger or repeated events at the site and that the council expects applicants and property owners to follow the conditions.

The council did not modify the permit's stated capacity, event timing, or the core mitigation measures; it directed staff to return as needed on enforcement or code amendments related to temporary events. The resolution upholding the Planning Commission approval passed by roll call vote: Barrick — yes; Spatarotto — yes; Vice Mayor Deasy — yes; Mayor Doreen — yes.

The council meeting record includes multiple written public comments and staff materials that the council cited in its deliberations; the council also noted that staff will pursue a zoning amendment to strengthen temporary-event rules at a future date.