The Price of Planning Ahead Why Yountville had to understand the cost of the whole Commons before deciding what part it could actually build.Brendan KellyJun 14, 2026ShareAn essay explaining why the Town had to understand the full cost of the Commons before deciding what part it could responsibly build first. The roughly $91 million estimate was not a spending plan, but a full-buildout framework for a seven-acre public site. The real near-term question was whether Yountville could begin with a first phase of about 40 homes. The essay shows how a long-term planning estimate was mistaken for an immediate bill, and how the repeal ended a transparent public process without solving the Town’s housing need, Measure S obligations, or state housing requirements.
