A former school near Lake Berryessa could see new life as a visitor destination, with nine small lodging units and a barn for events.
The Pridmore family owns the old Capell Valley Elementary School campus on 5 acres along Capell Valley Road about a mile northwest of Moskowite Corner, in rural Napa County south of Lake Berryessa. Cameron Pridmore said developing this property would provide money to help with taxes and upkeep on the family ranch.
His great-great grandfather bought the Capell Valley ranch in the 1920s and ran a dairy. Today, the ranch no longer has a dairy and is open space, he said.
“We’re land-rich but not monetarily wealthy,” Pridmore told the Planning Commission on Wednesday. “We had to come up with sort of a game plan of how we’re going to be able to still keep our ranch without having to develop it.”
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Given they don’t want to put vineyards and a winery on the ranch, the Pridmores turned to the dormant school site as a possible moneymaker. Pridmore said there’s boat storage on one side and a fire station on the other, so developing the site makes sense.
The Planning Commission recommended the Board of Supervisors make the necessary general plan and zoning changes and issue the use permit so the plan can move forward.
One proposed step is having the county change the old school site's designation from agriculture and open space to allow commercial uses. Such a switch would be a rarity in a county that stresses preserving agriculture.
“It should not be a signal to anyone that the county of Napa is going in the direction of converting agricultural lands to other uses,” Planning Commission chair Dave Whitmer said. “This has a historic precedence that’s already been set.”
The county designated the land "limited urban" in 1975 and then rural residential in 1982, with the 2008 general plan making the change to agricultural, county officials said.
Measure P states that Napa County land in most cases cannot be changed from agricultural designations without a vote of the people. But because the Pridmore land was zoned rural residential when Measure P took effect in September 2007, no ballot measure would be needed in this case.
Under the Pridmores' proposal, the Capell Valley schoolhouse would remain, as would other structures. They would be used for guest check-in and communal guest space, a county report said.
A small barn would be built for community gatherings and private events. There might be up to six events annually with a maximum of 150 people and 12 events with a maximum of 60 people, the report said.
The Pridmore family has a long history with the 5-acre property. In 1958, it donated the land in 1958 for use as the Capell Valley school.
Having taught pupils for about a century in a building across the street, the school reopened in 1963 at its new location provided by the Pridmores.
Capell Valley was basically a one-room schoolhouse operation. The Napa Register reported in 1974 that 17 students attended. One teacher taught them all, from first grade to sixth — and she herself had once attended the Capell Valley school.
“Pridmore is the ubiquitous name in Capell Valley,” reporter Kevin Courtney wrote five decades ago. “They live here in such numbers that once the school was two-thirds Pridmore. As new blood slowly enters the valley, such as families moving into the nearby trailer park, Pridmore strength has been diluted to 41% of the school.”
At its peak, the school had up to 90 students and a combination of five teachers, assistants and groundkeepers, the Pridmore application said.
In 2010, the Napa Valley Unified School District decided to close Capell Valley and two other elementary schools to save money. Six years later, the district sold the campus back to the Pridmores for $325,000.
Cameron Pridmore brought the idea of having small lodges there to the Board of Supervisors in August 2017. Supervisors agreed to initiate a general plan change, with a public hearing before the Planning Commission and the board again to follow.
Since then, the Pridmores have prepared an application for a use permit and the designation changes, doing such things as a groundwater study and biological assessment.
“We’re actually very excited to finally get this project in front of you. It’s been a long road,” Pridmore told the Planning Commission on Wednesday.