“They paved paradise and put up wine warehouses….”

The above line is adapted from an environmental song made famous in the ‘60’s by legendary songwriter and performer Joni Mitchell, who at the time sang, “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”

After two recent contentious and highly divided hearings--one in American Canyon, the second in Napa---David Gilbreth, minority owner of a 157-acre property known as Green Island Vineyard (GIV), has been given the green light to sell the land to the highest bidder for possible industrial development.

[“Putting warehouses or any development near the wetlands would have a devastating effect on existing wildlife which uses this habitat for food and shelter. The wetlands also protects against sea level rise,” Nick Cheranich, Chair of the Napa Sierra Club, commenting at the LAFCO meeting.]

On March 18, the City Council voted 4–1 to adopt Minute Order 2025-07, which authorized the mayor to sign a "Letter of Support" for a request submitted by Gilbreth to the Local Agency Formation Commission of Napa County (LAFCO). The request seeks to expand American Canyon’s Sphere of Influence (SOI) to include Gilbreth’s property on Green Island Road.

Before the City Council meeting, 21 E-comments were sent to the City Council by American Canyon residents and other concerned citizens in opposition to Gilbreth’s request.  Only two were in favor.  That night, public testimony was also overwhelmingly against granting Gilbreth an SOI. 

Representatives from various environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, Green Belt Alliance, the Audubon Society and the Napa County Wilderness Habitat Conservation Committee all spoke against the SOI as did others opposed to Gilbreth’s request, mostly landing on deaf ears.

Mark Joseph, former City Manager and current Vice Mayor, was the only Council member who voted against the SOI, pointing out that voters in 2022 had already rejected Gilbreth’s appeal to the voters (Measure J) to allow him to develop this same parcel of land.

Despite the continued overwhelming public opposition to Gilbreth’s new approach, City Council members David Oro, Brando Cruz, Melissa Lamattina and Mayor Pierre Washington all voted for the SOI.  

At the LAFCO hearing, the Sierra Club, Green Belt Alliance and the Audubon reiterated their opposition to allowing development on the piece of land that abuts the Wetlands on one side.  

The LAFCO vote to support Gilbreth’s request was 3-2.  Voting in favor were Commissioners Kenneth Leary, Belia Ramos and Oro, all residents of American Canyon.  (Oro is an alternate commissioner on the LAFCO Board, but was sitting in place of regular member Beth Painter, who was absent.) 

When asked how Oro was allowed to cast a vote, given his earlier pro-vote on the American Canyon City Council, LAFCO Executive Director Brendon Freeman pointed out that Oro had already taken an oath that he would be impartial in voting on the same issue two weeks later. 

Supervisor Joelle Gallagher and Yountville Mayor Margie Mohler voted against the request. Gallagher noted that allowing for the SOI sent a dangerous precedent to the rest of the County. Essentially she said that if grape growers planted something that doesn’t work, well let’s just put in a warehouse or homes instead.

Peter Rumble, Napa County Farm Bureau CEO, penned a letter opposing the SOI, saying it would set a “dangerous precedent” for county farmland.  The Farm Bureau had also opposed Measure J in 2022.  

Save the Bay and the Greenbelt Alliance also opposed the sphere-of-influence addition and included a letter signed by 190 residents, calling the land an important buffer between urban development and a sensitive shoreline.

“We understand that the vote today is not about developing or not developing this land, but the intentions are clear,” says Zoe Siegel of the Greenbelt Alliance and Joshua Quigley of Save the Bay.

"If the sphere of influence is adjusted, there is a much greater likelihood that this land will be developed."

The Sierra Club Napa Group and Napa Solano Audubon Society urged that the land be preserved with a conservation easement that pays the landowners to forego development rights.

“People throughout the Bay Area regularly visit this area for birding and walking,” says Mark Stephenson, Napa/Solano Audubon Society president. “This recreation needs to be encouraged and promoted as an incentive for tourism for the City of American Canyon.”

After the LAFCO meeting, Gilbreth said the sphere-of-influence decision will lead to discussions with American Canyon, Napa County and responsible environmentalists about what might be done on the property.

American Canyon residents and environmentalists hope that at least some of the 157-acres can be designated as a Conservation Easement and that the City of American Canyon can secure funding for purchasing part or all of the land in question.  

“Currently, there is not a single acre of land in American Canyon that is designated as conservation easement,” says Nick Cheranich, chair of the Napa Group Conservation Committee.

“Putting warehouses or any development near the wetlands would have a devastating affect on existing wildlife which uses this habitat for food and shelter,” Cheranich adds.  

“It’s more than disappointing that Mr. Gilbreth has used the American Canyon City Council to avoid putting this issue on the ballot again while not letting the people of American Canyon vote on this as they did in 2022,” laments Scott Thomason, American Canyon resident and Sierra Club Napa Group treasurer.