AutoCamp Napa Proposal DENIED

We’ve been covering the news of AutoCamp Napa, The Grange, for a few months. Now, it looks like the AutoCamp Napa Proposal has been DENIED. Let’s have a look at the issues in Napa and why residents are opposed to AutoCamp Napa – but businesses are not.

AutoCamp Napa Proposal

We’ve learned far more details since our previous updates about the proposed AutoCamp Napa, The Grange.

First, AutoCamp has actually published a website dedicated to why they feel AutoCamp Napa would be beneficial to the community – and why they selected that location. We have covered opposition of two Grand Canyon properties that AutoCamp has proposed along with similar opposition in Sedona, AZ. That opposition was successful.

To our knowledge, AutoCamp did not create websites with their arguments for either Grand Canyon or Sedona. That they have created this site for Napa indicates they may be working harder to obtain community “buy-in”. In fact, they have included a “support” page with guidance on how/where to write letters – or to simply add your name to their letter to the Napa City Council.

AutoCamp has been working for two years on trying to get this project approved:

Over the past two years, the proposed project has completed a thorough review by the City of Napa, including the creation of a CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) document that studies all the impacts of the project. On October 17, 2024, the City of Napa Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the project to the City Council.

https://www.thegrangecampground.com/

You can read all 158 pages of that document.
Summary: nothing was found to have “Potentially Significant Impact.” However, there were some topics that were categorized as “Less Than Significant with Mitigation Incorporated,” particularly on page 38 for Biological Resources. What does this mean? “The analysis concludes that it would not cause substantial adverse change to the environment with the inclusion of mitigation agreed upon by the applicant.” (See page 20).

AutoCamp Napa Proposal Project Highlights

AutoCamp features four “Project Highlights”. You can read what AutoCamp has to say, and here is our take on it:

• “Light on the Land” – In an attempt to address concerns about the environmental impact, AutoCamp points out they will use permeable surfaces and that 5 buildings will be permanent. The remaining – a number not stated – are “non-permanent” and can be moved. Why would you move them? Flooding. Think, sadly, AutoCamp Asheville.
• “A Bike Path for All” – meaning, it’s not just for AutoCamp guests. AutoCamp is appealing to safety and the eco-conscience of locals by adding a safer bike trail than currently exists – and it will lead into downtown. This would very much appeal to locals.
• “Respecting Native Species” – it’s clear AutoCamp had received significant push-back on their former plans to remove much of the current vegetation. Now, the new plan is an 86% improvement over the previous plan. WOW…86%?! We don’t know the previous plans, but they sound quite severe.
• “A Space for Community” – WHAT?! AutoCamp is going to be “open to the public” and “a space for non-profits”. Which is it? The public, as in ALL the public, or a space for non-profits to have events? Free events? Paid events? Please note, we have been to 5 of the 6 currently open AutoCamp locations. Every location had a gated entrance to the property that required a gate code. This proposition of “open to the public” is a huge departure from the AutoCamp model and an indication of how hard they are fighting for approval with this compromise. Of course, the details of

Property Map

AutoCamp has published a site map on the thegrangecampground.com:

We did the counting for you – as of this map, there appear to be 79 Airstreams and cabins combined based on the depiction of the units. Note the 3 to the left, below, are the majority of the units on the map. These appear to be their custom 31′ Airstreams (not-so-newsflash: they are nothing like an Airstream you can buy – for better and worse). The larger 2 units appear to be what were formerly called X Suites but are now called Cabins. Or – perhaps there is another surprise coming, as there was with the Airstream Bambi (which is small) at the AutoCamp Asheville location.

AutoCamp Napa Proposal: “Affordable”

We couldn’t help but note that one of the features that AutoCamp is touting on the thegrangecampground.com is that it will be “affordable” in comparison to hotels. We found this noteworthy because one of the main criticisms we hear and read about, with regards to AutoCamp, is that it is expensive. Give it a search.

In fact, AutoCamp had a very attractive promotion late in 2024 promoting that they were offering a steep discount because they seemed to be aware that pricing might be an issue.

Unfortunately, that deal was not all we hoped it would be. So, time will tell how “affordable” AutoCamp will be in comparison to Napa hotels. It’s all relative, after all.

AutoCamp Napa Proposal: The Opposition

So, that was the “pro” from AutoCamp. Let’s now look at the opposition from the neighbors at BadforNapa: Residents Against Glamping Establishment. Note that the acronym for their tagline is RAGE.

While not the very first item on the page, this banner of photos clearly lays out the topics of opposition:

• traffic
• loud parties
• burning wood/environmental concerns
• wildfires
• accidents
• flooding on the road
• more fires/parties
• and the one of greatest interest: a flooded Airstream and truck

That image was taken from a WLOS.com photo gallery of the flooding from Hurricane Helene in the Asheville area. As we covered, AutoCamp Asheville’s already late opening was sadly pushed back a full year due to the horrific flooding during Hurricane Helene.

AutoCamp Napa, The Grange, is situated on the Millicken River.

However, what happened at the AutoCamp Asheville property addresses the exact concern that the RAGE group poses: the Airstreams and Cabins are all on wheels with license plates – at every AutoCamp property. In fact, the Airstreams and Cabins were all moved out of the flooded area before the flooding began. Yes, there was damage to the property. There was likely infrastructure damage such as to the roadways and electric system. However, there was not the environmental damage that would have ensued had up to 80 Airstreams and Cabins been torn apart and ended up in the river.

As for traffic and accidents, we are not familiar with this roadway or the traffic on it. We can share that we have never encountered traffic issues at any of the AutoCamp locations we have visited: Cape Cod (twice in summer, notorious for summer traffic), Catskills, Joshua Tree, Russian River, or Zion. The parking lot at Russian River was small, but that is the first AutoCamp property by years, and they clearly have changed their parking lot setup (including adding Tesla chargers) at all the other locations.

One neighbor expressed concern about the movement of the Airstreams and Cabins and the traffic they would create in the event of an impending flood:

“The property floods periodically anytime we have a really rainy season,” she said. “It floods and that means that the mobile units that they have, have to be moved out and it’s a two-lane major highway.”

ABC7news.com

Keep in mind, the Airstreams and Cabins are several feet off the ground – on the chassis of the trailer. They would be able to stay in place in the event of some flooding up to a few feet.

As for loud parties, we have not experienced that at any AutoCamp location. In fact, each campsite only has 4 seats at a table. The units are really ideal for 2 adults and maybe 1 – 2 small children on a futon in the very small living area. In other words – it is couples-oriented and young family-oriented.

We have never seen a “party” at AutoCamp. We have seen many corporate events. In fact, AutoCamp has a dedicated space at each location – one of the permanent buildings – dedicated to corporate retreats and meetings.

Additionally, there are a good number of AutoCamp weddings and engagement parties. Again, there is a dedicated building – the same as the one for the corporate retreats. However, these events tend to be on the smaller side – not hundreds of people.

Fire is a concern at every campground. We were once driving near Jasper, Alberta, and we thought there was a major fire. Instead, it was a campground with an indescribable amount of fire pits and smoke. We have never experienced that at AutoCamp. Most of them require compressed firewood. Some have Solo Stoves or similar. The firewood there is expensive – $20 a sack. People do not seem to bring in their own wood. It’s certainly discouraged. Remember, this is glamping. Most people want the convenience of texting to have firewood dropped via golf cart at their pit. These are not hardcore backwoods hikers.

Conclusion: AutoCamp Napa Proposal Take . . . 3?

Our take: AutoCamp will make further accommodations and apply again. They will again reduce the number of campsites. Perhaps they will remove firepits altogether. They will likely make the points about the elevation of the campers and cabins. Maybe they will also put a limit on the size of the corporate/party space.

AutoCampReviews and News is independent of AutoCamp. We understand the concerns of the local citizens. As we mentioned, we do not know this roadway or the land that the property sits on. However, we do know the AutoCamp experience.The Napa Chamber of Commerce and local businesses have been in favor of the project, but it’s clear the neighbors have not. We hope this works out for the best – whatever that might be.

If it’s built, we will come. We’d love to re-visit AutoCamp Russian River, so very nearby.

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