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2008 Marks the 40th Anniversary of the Napa Valley Agricultural Preserve
Napa County was ahead of its time when, in 1968, it passed the first agricultural preservation zoning ordinance of any county in a metropolitan area in America. The Napa Valley Agricultural Preserve, designed to protect the Napa Valley, was established in 1968 by the Napa County Board of Supervisors and the Napa County Planning Commission. Many residents of the Valley today feel that the creation of the Preserve was one of the most important actions taken by the Board in the thirty-six years that followed. During that period the basic theme of the Preserve, "agriculture is the highest and best use of the land", was expanded into the county's General Plan and all of the related land use regulation ordinances. There were a series of events that led to the success of the Preserve which demonstrate how far we've come today in preserving the Napa Valley.
1968 » Napa Valley Agricultural Preserve Ordinance passed
1975 » City of Napa adopted a new General Plan that reduced the target population from 150,000 in 1990 to 75,000 people in 2000 and established a Rural Urban Limit to designate a geographical line to define future development
1976 » County of Napa adopted a new General Plan that for the first time identified agriculture to be the primary use of unincorporated county lands
1980 » Measure A passed which limited the growth of the unincorporated area to a 1% increase each year
1990 » Winery Definition Ordinance passed which requires all new wineries and all expansions of existing wineries to use 75% Napa Valley grapes
1990 » Measure J passed requiring a vote of the citizens to change the zoning designation of any agricultural property in the county. This initiative is valid through the year 2020.
The Napa Valley Grapegrowers will be collaborating with other industry groups in 2008 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Napa Valley Ag Preserve. Please stay tuned to our website for current information about upcoming events and programs!