About
The Tour

Since the early 1990s, the small town of Yountville (population 3,000) has pivoted to embrace wine tourism. The town’s transformation in the years since has been remarkable. Today, Yountville has an absolute bonanza of top-quality tasting rooms, restaurants, hotels and inns – and the world has noticed. The town is a magnet for visitors from around the globe. How did this happen?

Our
Plan

We’ll make a full-day excursion to Wine Country to find out. We’ll talk to a local vintner and hear from the Town Manager about the various contributors to Yountville’s success, including the role of Napa County’s agricultural preservation as well as the Town’s General Plan, and how it has allowed the Town to invest in high-quality public facilities, recreation and the arts.

You Should Know

On the way to Yountville, visitors will get the added experiences
of a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge

Transportation

We’ll make a full-day excursion to Wine Country to find out. We’ll talk to a local vintner and hear from the Town Manager about the various contributors to Yountville’s success, including the role of Napa County’s agricultural preservation as well as the Town’s General Plan, and how it has allowed the Town to invest in high-quality public facilities, recreation and the arts.

Charter Bus

Get instant quote for charter bus rental

Walking

On the way to Yountville, visitors will get the added experiences of a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and through the Napa Valley’s distinct viticultural areas, and a lunch stop at the Oxbow Public Market in Napa, with a brief visit to that city’s innovative public open-space/flood-control area along the Napa River.

Conference
Tour

Exciting tours will be included as part of the 2018 New Partners for Mann™ Conference. Tours will be scheduled on the mornings of Wednesday – January 31, Thursday – February 1, and on in the afternoon of Saturday – February 3.

Other Tours

Tour 2 – Transforming Downtown San Jose

Track: TransportationDowntown San Jose is experiencing a building boom, with at least 20 active high-rise residential and office development projects and plans for millions more square feet in the works. The proposed 6-8 million sq.-ft. Google transit-oriented development at Diridon Station and the planned arrival of BART, along with Caltrain electrification and high-speed rail, will dramatically change the character of Downtown San Jose, adding tens of thousands of new employees and commuters and expanding the downtown workforce by about 50%.How can this unprecedented level of public and private investment be coordinated to create equitable growth? City staff and agency partners will discuss the Diridon Station planning effort, and then participants will take a look at recent projects in the Downtown. Participants will take Caltrain to San Jose and then ride light rail to reach the downtown area for a walking tour of recent infill projects.Transportation: CalTrain, LRT, Walking | Refreshments: Lunch and light refreshments will be provided. | Cost: $75

Tour 3 – Reuse, Refuel, and Revitalize

Since the “Wild West” of the 1980’s, Emeryville has evolved as a leader in “4-E’s” – equitable environment, education and economy – that can be demonstrated by the stops and sights along this tour. The first site is the AC Transit Fuel Cell Station, which provides hydrogen fuel produced from natural gas and via solar electrolysis for clean energy buses and personal fuel-cell cars. Participants will also visit the Emeryville Center of Community Life, a first-of-a-kind partnership between a city and school district to deliver education and community services, including dental and medical services, recreation, public art and a one-of-a-kind play structure – on a brownfield site! The revitalized site is now Doyle-Hollis Park, now a popular park for all ages, was designed for and by the community, and met strict bay-friendly design guidelines.EmeryStation, a mixed-use, transit-oriented development, came about through the partnership of transit providers, developers, environmental regulators, the property owner and the city to reuse a former “mothballed” site. Another brownfield site, the Emeryville Public Market is now on its third-generation of redevelopment and is the first LEED-Neighborhood project in the country.Along the tour route, we will also view the Emeryville Greenway (a brownfield rail-to-trail connection of regional trails), the Park Avenue Historic district (home to Pixar Studio), Bay Street (a mixed-use street shopping area), retrofitted industrial to commercial/mixed-use/residential, and the many mixed-income housing developments and public art supported by the city. (Public art walking maps will be provided to all participants.)Transportation: BART, Emeryville Shuttle- Sponsored by the City of Emeryville, Walking | Refreshments: Light refreshments will be provided | Cost: $25

Tour 4 – Green Infrastructure at Work in the San Francisco Bay

Join representatives from the East Bay Regional Parks District, WRT Planning & Design and the National Recreation and Park Association for this dynamic and highly informative tour of two historic park sites for a first-hand look at these newly restored natural systems. The tour will highlight green-infrastructure best practices and the environmental and social benefits of green-infrastructure installations at both sites. Participants will enjoy a sneak preview of perhaps one of the most iconic new parks in the San Francisco Bay Area – Gateway Park.

First on the tour will be Lake Merritt Park, the first protected wildlife refuge in America and an acclaimed urban estuary in the heart of Oakland. Lake Merritt has received more than $50 million in renovations and green infrastructure installations to restore the natural hydrological features and enhance water quality. Participants will visit the restored historic boathouse (LEED Gold) and a new 12th-Street park expansion where the removal of culverts has resulted in substantial water-quality improvements and improved water flow between Lake Merritt and the Oakland Estuary. We will hear from consultants and City staff who will talk about the process and lessons learned.

Participants will also visit the Dotson Family Marsh, recently restored 150 acres of tidal wetlands located along the North Richmond Shoreline in a historically African-American community with a long legacy of environmental advocacy. The project, managed by the regional parks district, was designed to allow rising sea levels to migrate inland with important species’ habitat that also buffers the people living nearby. It includes public-access facilities that connect the marsh to the Point Pinole Regional Shoreline and close a key gap in the San Francisco Bay Trail. Tour participants will also hear from the National Recreation and Park Association about how to design green infrastructure with a focus on providing equity benefits. Complimentary copies of their newly released “Resource Guide for Green Infrastructure for Parks and Public Lands” will be available for participants.

Transportation: Charter Bus, Walking | Refreshments: Light refreshments will be provided | Cost: $49

Tour 5 – Downtown San Francisco Transbay Transit Center

Track: TransportationDowntown San Jose is experiencing a building boom, with at least 20 active high-rise residential and office development projects and plans for millions more square feet in the works. The proposed 6-8 million sq.-ft. Google transit-oriented development at Diridon Station and the planned arrival of BART, along with Caltrain electrification and high-speed rail, will dramatically change the character of Downtown San Jose, adding tens of thousands of new employees and commuters and expanding the downtown workforce by about 50%.How can this unprecedented level of public and private investment be coordinated to create equitable growth? City staff and agency partners will discuss the Diridon Station planning effort, and then participants will take a look at recent projects in the Downtown. Participants will take Caltrain to San Jose and then ride light rail to reach the downtown area for a walking tour of recent infill projects.Transportation: CalTrain, LRT, Walking | Refreshments: Lunch and light refreshments will be provided. | Cost: $75

Tour 6 – Pathways to Wellness in Richmond, Ca

Since the “Wild West” of the 1980’s, Emeryville has evolved as a leader in “4-E’s” – equitable environment, education and economy – that can be demonstrated by the stops and sights along this tour. The first site is the AC Transit Fuel Cell Station, which provides hydrogen fuel produced from natural gas and via solar electrolysis for clean energy buses and personal fuel-cell cars. Participants will also visit the Emeryville Center of Community Life, a first-of-a-kind partnership between a city and school district to deliver education and community services, including dental and medical services, recreation, public art and a one-of-a-kind play structure – on a brownfield site! The revitalized site is now Doyle-Hollis Park, now a popular park for all ages, was designed for and by the community, and met strict bay-friendly design guidelines.EmeryStation, a mixed-use, transit-oriented development, came about through the partnership of transit providers, developers, environmental regulators, the property owner and the city to reuse a former “mothballed” site. Another brownfield site, the Emeryville Public Market is now on its third-generation of redevelopment and is the first LEED-Neighborhood project in the country.Along the tour route, we will also view the Emeryville Greenway (a brownfield rail-to-trail connection of regional trails), the Park Avenue Historic district (home to Pixar Studio), Bay Street (a mixed-use street shopping area), retrofitted industrial to commercial/mixed-use/residential, and the many mixed-income housing developments and public art supported by the city. (Public art walking maps will be provided to all participants.)Transportation: BART, Emeryville Shuttle- Sponsored by the City of Emeryville, Walking | Refreshments: Light refreshments will be provided | Cost: $25

Tour 7 – The Best of “Brewedway”

Join representatives from the East Bay Regional Parks District, WRT Planning & Design and the National Recreation and Park Association for this dynamic and highly informative tour of two historic park sites for a first-hand look at these newly restored natural systems. The tour will highlight green-infrastructure best practices and the environmental and social benefits of green-infrastructure installations at both sites. Participants will enjoy a sneak preview of perhaps one of the most iconic new parks in the San Francisco Bay Area – Gateway Park.First on the tour will be Lake Merritt Park, the first protected wildlife refuge in America and an acclaimed urban estuary in the heart of Oakland. Lake Merritt has received more than $50 million in renovations and green infrastructure installations to restore the natural hydrological features and enhance water quality. Participants will visit the restored historic boathouse (LEED Gold) and a new 12th-Street park expansion where the removal of culverts has resulted in substantial water-quality improvements and improved water flow between Lake Merritt and the Oakland Estuary. We will hear from consultants and City staff who will talk about the process and lessons learned.Participants will also visit the Dotson Family Marsh, recently restored 150 acres of tidal wetlands located along the North Richmond Shoreline in a historically African-American community with a long legacy of environmental advocacy. The project, managed by the regional parks district, was designed to allow rising sea levels to migrate inland with important species’ habitat that also buffers the people living nearby. It includes public-access facilities that connect the marsh to the Point Pinole Regional Shoreline and close a key gap in the San Francisco Bay Trail. Tour participants will also hear from the National Recreation and Park Association about how to design green infrastructure with a focus on providing equity benefits. Complimentary copies of their newly released “Resource Guide for Green Infrastructure for Parks and Public Lands” will be available for participants.Transportation: Charter Bus, Walking | Refreshments: Light refreshments will be provided | Cost: $49