A flood-prone Napa property once eyed for a controversial luxury glamping resort is now on the market.
The 12.5-acre site — located west of Silverado Trail between Stonecrest Drive and Hagen Road, along Milliken Creek — is listed for $5.9 million, according to multiple online postings first published Sept. 29. A for-sale sign is also visible from the road. The owner, Parry Mead Murray, did not respond to a request for comment.
The land has been in the Mead family for more than 50 years, but building there has always been a challenge. Much of it lies in a floodplain — an area at high risk of flooding during major storms — which limits what can be developed. Still, the city’s Planning Commission approved plans in 2018 to divide the land into four home lots, a plan that remains valid after several extensions, most recently in July 2024.
The property is better known as the proposed site for The Grange Campground, a high-end glamping resort that AutoCamp, based in Santa Barbara, wanted to build. Civil engineer Jeremy Sill, part of that team, said the housing project never moved in part due to the challenges with flood protections.
Developers first asked the city in 2021 to change the property’s zoning rules to allow more homes. The city’s planning commission rejected that because of the site’s environmental constraints. The following year, the group floated a new idea: pairing a few homes with a luxury campground to make the project more profitable.
By 2024, that idea had turned into a full resort with up to 100 tents, trailers and yurts, along with five permanent buildings. The team said those units could be moved during flood season or if an evacuation was needed.
The plan set off heated debate. Neighbors worried about wildfire risk, traffic and the idea of a commercial business in a residential neighborhood. A change.org petition against the project drew 1,331 signatures. Supporters — including some business owners — argued the resort would bring new visitors and tax revenue to Napa.
After the city’s planning commission recommended approval in October 2024, the City Council voted 2-3 against it in February, then reaffirmed that decision a month later. Council member Mary Luros said the project still felt “like a hotel” and was “too commercial” for the neighborhood.
Opponents, led by Brian Bennett and Justin Newberry, celebrated the outcome online. In an April post, they said AutoCamp had walked away from the plan, though the company hasn’t confirmed that.
For now, the land once pitched for luxury glamping sits quiet again — and up for sale.