Kevin Gardiner was part of a multidisciplinary consultant team to prepare a comprehensive Specific Plan for Downtown Napa, California. The Plan was developed to guide the City’s long-term vision for a more inclusive, economically resilient, and vibrant downtown core. Building upon Napa’s historic character and regional prominence, the Specific Plan established a clear framework for land use, mobility, public realm enhancements, and redevelopment opportunities. It included detailed policies, design guidelines, and development standards to shape both public investments and private infill projects, strengthening downtown’s role as the cultural and commercial heart of the community.

Kevin Gardiner played a central role in crafting the zoning standards and design guidelines, developing a hybrid regulatory framework that integrated traditional zoning controls with form-based code elements. This approach provided clarity and predictability for developers while elevating expectations for building form, streetscape quality, and pedestrian experience. The standards addressed building massing, frontage conditions, public realm interface, parking strategies, and transitions to adjacent neighborhoods, ensuring that new development reinforced downtown Napa’s character and walkability. The Specific Plan provided the City with an implementable regulatory structure that has guided reinvestment, mixed-use development, and high-quality urban design in the years since its adoption.

Results

• Helped establish a comprehensive land use, mobility, and public realm framework to support a more inclusive and vibrant downtown core.

• Developed zoning standards and detailed design guidelines using a hybrid approach that combined traditional zoning with form-based code elements.

• Crafted building form, frontage, and streetscape standards to strengthen walkability, reinforce historic character, and guide high-quality infill development.

• Created a predictable and implementable regulatory framework to steer long-term public and private investment in Downtown Napa.