The Napa City Council recently voted unanimously to approve an eight-home infill subdivision project planned for part of Capitola Drive in southeast Napa, despite concerns from area neighbors about impacts the project may bring.

The project, proposed by Chris Russell of MP Capitola Investor LLC, is set to replace a single-family home and filled-in swimming pool with eight homes. It will also add a street extension connecting northern and southern portions of Capitola Drive to each other, as well as a private street.

Area neighbors raised various concerns at the June 16 meeting about the project and the city’s review of it, including about traffic, parking availability, construction noise, environmental impacts and storm drainage in the area. Some residents also noted the project is being proposed at the same time as a similar development on an adjacent lot.

Resident Chris Gowdy said in an emailed public comment parking in the area was “severely overburdened” because of an increase in the construction of smaller, secondary dwellings, which he said had also added to traffic issues in the area.

Councilmember Mary Luros said she understood the concerns about parking, but noted that’s a concern in every neighborhood. The project also exceeds the city’s parking requirements, Luros said.

“I think this is a pretty strong infill project,” Luros added. “It’s a build out of one of the last undeveloped parcels in that already urbanized subdivision area.”

Luros also said the Capitola Drive extension will generally benefit the neighborhood’s traffic flow. She said she used to live in the immediate area, and always believed the extension would eventually happen.

There did seem to be a genuine concern about the developer not following rules, Luros said. But Molly Rattigan, the city’s development director, clarified the applicant and the person who had been caretaker for the property — and, for example, used it as a parking lot for BottleRock Napa Valley this year until the city responded — are different people.

Associate city planner Paul O’Neil noted that construction would need to occur under city code requirements, including that it can only take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If the neighbors have issues during construction, he said, they can contact the city’s building division, and the issue would then likely go to the city’s planning department or code enforcement.

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