Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville proposes sprawling resort at Lake Berryessa in Napa County

Napa County will enter into exclusive negotiations for developing the Steele Canyon resort area by Lake Berryessa into a new resort, the Napa County Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday morning.

The county will work with local developer WhiTim Napa LLC — working with Camp Margaritaville Resorts, the entity that wishes to develop and serve as concessionaire for a resort in the area — on a long-term concessions agreement, according to a staff report.

At the same time, WhiTim will conduct site investigations, environmental studies and other necessary work to determine whether a potential recreational development is feasible.

Margaritaville Resorts is part of Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, a hospitality company named after the late singer-songwriter’s hit song. It manages and franchises a restaurant chain, Buffett-themed retail stores and hotels.

There are currently four Margaritaville resorts in California — in Palm Springs, South Lake Tahoe and two in San Diego — and others in various locations in the U.S. and across the globe.

According to a 2021 development concept submitted to the county, the Margaritaville resort was proposed to include:

• 175 one-bedroom cottages with decks.
• 150 one-bedroom bungalow cottages with decks and private courtyards.
• 100 two-bedroom bungalow cottages with decks and private courtyards.
• 80 recreational vehicle sites, along with 20 “deluxe” sites.
• On-site housing for 40 employees.
• A security substation for the resort and for use by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office.
• A clubhouse, retail store and wine cave.
• A resort-style swimming pool with a waterslide.
• A fishing pier with 50 boat slips, canoes and paddle boards.
• Courts for pickleball, corn hole, volleyball and other sports.
• A park for kids and an enclosed dog park.

The county took over the redevelopment of resort areas in Lake Berryessa in 2020. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was previously unsuccessful at multiple redevelopment efforts and agreed to allow Napa County to take the lead on redevelopment that year.

The county subsequently formed an exclusive negotiation agreement with Sun Communities to redevelop all three resort areas — Spanish Flat, Steele Canyon and Monticello Shores — in October 2021. But the company withdrew from the project in June after finding the cost of development was unfeasible.

Camp Margaritaville Resorts had the second-place proposal, and the company was still interested in figuring out an agreement for the Steele Canyon area, according to the staff report. But the exclusive negotiation agreement doesn’t commit the company or the county to the project.

“The County hopes that the private investment associated with a long-term concession agreement will improve recreational opportunities for residents and visitors, provide new employment opportunities, and possibly become an anchor for revitalization of the Lake Berryessa community,” the staff report says.

Still, several public commenters said they took issue with the development proposal.

Berryessa Highlands resident Carol Kunze, for example, said that Napa County’s general plan has long considered Lake Berryessa a nature-based destination, as opposed to urban recreation. But the proposal, she said, appeared to be more akin to urban recreation, and the resort wouldn’t serve to promote nature-based recreation around the lake itself.

“The issue that I find that sort of hits me in the face, that indicates it’s urban, is the density,” Kunze said. “They’re looking for 565 dwelling units, including the units for employees. And that just doesn’t seem like nature-based recreation to me.”

Board chair Belia Ramos said the negotiations would include talk about what the resort development would actually include.

Board member Alfredo Pedroza, who represents the Berryessa area, noted that whether or not the county makes a deal is to be determined. Though, he said, he had a hard time accepting that the county was rushing into a decision given that county conversations about developing the resorts in the area had been going on publicly for years.

“When I look at the proposal I see an ability to recreate with nature, to experience it,” Pedroza said. “I don’t see mass-scale development, I don’t see seven-story hotels. So I think we have to make sure we’re being true, we’re not using scare tactics here. Because this is a community that has been asking us about this for multiple years.”

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