Yountville leaders shelve workforce housing project criticized by French Laundry chef, others

The Yountville Town Council this week unanimously voted to pass a referendum against a planned workforce housing project, undoing changes to zoning they approved earlier this year and effectively pausing the project from moving forward.

But while the project won't be happening any time soon, council members said at the meeting Tuesday, June 2, that community discussions about such a project and how to shape it will continue.

"We'll work together as one community to define and design housing for those who work in our town and make it the special place it is for visitors and residents alike," Council member Robin McKee-Cant said at the meeting.

The referendum effort emerged after prominent business owners including French Laundry owner and chef Thomas Keller pushed back against the workforce housing project planned at Yountville Commons - the former site of the Yountville Elementary School - arguing that financial and other details needed to be clarified and more outreach needed to be done.

That citizen referendum emerged in March, and sought to reverse the council's vote a month earlier that set the stage for project planning. In February, the council moved to rezone the property and approved a tentative subdivision map dividing it into 18 parcels. But major aspects of the project - including size, unit mix and financing - hadn't yet been figured out.

Once the referendum received enough valid signatures from local voters - about 200 were needed, representing at least 10% of Yountville voters - the project was effectively paused and the council was faced with either approving the changes outright or sending the question to voters.

At the Tuesday meeting, council members said there's a need to restart the conversation around the project, and that undoing the earlier decision would create an opportunity for discussion.

Council member Pam Reeves said the council wasn't ready to proceed with a workforce housing project in February or now, but discussions about it and the future of the town will need to keep happening going forward.

"Since we were never going to rush on this project, it will not be detrimental to repeal the zoning at this time," Reeves said. "But we must continue discussing and planning for the future of this town. We may differ in our opinions about housing and the future, but we must be able to review facts, discuss options and come to decisions based on a shared understanding."

McKee-Cant noted the council members hadn't been able to discuss the project much yet, given that it largely existed in a hypothetical state that only began to take some form at a Feb. 17 meeting. That's when when potential options, such as a first phase of about 40 units at an estimated cost of about $25.6 million, first emerged.

"Finally, this council will have the opportunity to weigh in beyond the 30,000-foot hypothetical view we all peeked at in February," McKee-Cant said. "Going forward, council members will have the benefit of discussing aspects of the project in detail, and we'll get to hear the public on issues as well, so we can talk and work together."

You can reach Staff Writer Edward Booth at 707-521-5281 or edward.booth@pressdemocrat.com.

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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 6:40 PM.