Entitlement of the Angwin Ecovillage will permit the introduction to Angwin of a locally serving Village Square commercial center which will address a number of needs of the college and surrounding community. For one, the Square will feature a much-needed full service grocery store of 18,000 square feet carrying organic food from the Angwin Agricultural Conservancy. For another, locally serving hardware, pharmacy, art/office, computers, dry cleaners, post office, credit union, a café/bakery, sandwich deli, and various dining and other retail shops will significantly reduce single destination trips into St. Helena, about seven miles away.
Further, the Village Square will include several social equity uses that are important to all of Angwin, such as a new Teen/Community Center, a new Sheriff’s Office substation, a one-acre Village Green for public gatherings, events and a weekly farmer’s market, and a transportation resource center to aid all Angwin residents and college faculty, staff, and students with options available to avoid the need to use their automobiles when excellent alternatives are readily available. The Village Square will also provide adequate space for professional local services such as a medical clinic, dentist’s office, real estate office, and legal services. For visitors to the college and Angwin in general, a small 20 room inn is proposed.
What Makes It Work
As conventional retail generally requires a large population consumer base from which to draw, the Village Square is being designed as a compact, traditional locally serving retail and services center of not more than approximately 70,000 square feet. Below is a preliminary site plan of the Village Square and space allocations for individual users. Unlike conventional commercial retail centers, however, the Village Square will function as a locally serving center not dependent upon big box retailers seeking to capture a much larger regional market share. This can be accomplished through the innovative approach of placing covenants on retail goods and services space for lease. These covenants would be permanent with respect to controlling the use of certain spaces [e.g., the dentist’s office must remain a dentist’s office, etc.]. In essence, reducing residents’ Vehicle Miles Traveled and greenhouse gas emissions by preserving locally serving retail should result in community-based support for local goods and services providers.
The Social Equity Component
Sustainable development demands that the public realm and a community’s social services needs be addressed in balance with economic and environmental needs. The Angwin Ecovillage responds aggressively to social equity by incorporating facilities that address many desires put forth by the existing Angwin community. For example, Angwin residents have asked the development to provide a high quality multi-purpose facility that can serve as a Teen Center as well as a Community Center. The Ecovillage has responded by including a 2,500 square foot facility within the Village Square that will accommodate the Teen Center program as well as provide a venue for community social events and meetings.
The development will also provide a new Sheriff’s Office substation of 1,500 square feet sited within the Village Square in a prominent location facing Howell Mountain Road. About 10,000 square feet of space in the Village Square is devoted to a medical clinic, credit union, and post office complex, which provide important services to the Angwin community. And all of these ground floor spaces (and others in the Village Square) have second floor residential condominiums and apartments in a mix of affordable and market rate units.
The Community Resource and Transportation Center will be located directly in the most accessible location in the Village Square to facilitate awareness of and convenient access to a variety of alternative transportation options.
Finally, the project will fill a heretofore unmet need by providing a focal point for community life, a one acre, beautifully landscaped Village Green. The Village Green will be the heart of the village of Angwin, a gathering place for friends and neighbors to come together to visit, relax and celebrate life’s special occasions.
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