Change may be in the air for the Angwin eco-village, the controversial Pacific Union College project that includes 380 new housing units and a makeover for the commercial area of the quiet mountain town.

Officials with the college and Triad Communities, developer of the eco-village, say that by next week they will decide several important matters, ranging from whether to proceed with environmental studies on the proposal to what role Triad will play in creating homes on PUC land.

“It’s obvious we’ve been going slowly,” PUC Vice President John Collins said of the eco-village proposal, which has been virtually dormant for months. “We’ve been trying to work out a variety of issues. … but I think that in the middle of next week, on Wednesday, I think we’ll have some loose issues nailed down.”

Work on the environmental review for the project came to a standstill in January after a turbulent political process cast doubt on the potential to develop PUC’s land. The Napa County Board of Supervisors resolved land use matters in April, voting to place certain restrictions on the college’s land but allowing the eco-village proposal to come forward for a hearing and a vote.

To date, however, the environmental review remains stalled.

“We’ve requested from (PUC and Triad) a letter restarting the process several weeks ago now,” Napa County Planning Director Hillary Gitelman said. “They said it was forthcoming. I have a meeting with them scheduled for next Thursday. … I’m presuming that by then will have something from them.”

Collins attributes the delay to the poor economic climate. “The economy has gone stale, and there’s no big incentive to be in a hurry,” he said.

Collins said operating without a college president — former PUC President Richard Osborn announced in April that he would resign at the end of June — has also slowed the process. Collins said the college has been actively seeking a new president, and that new information about the search will be available next week.

He added that PUC remains dedicated “to the idea” of the eco-village, but that the timing remains uncertain.

As for whether the project itself will change, Collins said, “I think that any project goes through a metamorphosis of when it’s first conceived and when it’s done.”

As originally proposed, the eco-village would have had more than 500 homes with extensive water- and energy-saving features and an upgrade and expansion of the commercial corridor in Angwin. It also would include improvements on the PUC campus.

Facing opposition from slow-growth advocates, the college and Triad scaled back the plan. Collins would not say whether or not PUC and Triad would consider building fewer than the 380 housing units currently proposed.

PUC already has the green light from county officials to built 191 units, with a high percentage of affordable housing.

The college has said that it must build more than 191 units in order to make the project and its environmentally-friendly features financially viable.

Gitelman said neither officials from PUC nor Triad have indicated that changes are in the works for the eco-village proposal.

Triad representative Chad Kiltz said changes are “something we’re taking into consideration right now on how to expedite the project and get it approved.”

Assuming the environmental review starts up again immediately and no major changes to the project derail the environmental review, Gitelman said a draft environmental review should be available at the end of the year, pushing the supervisors’ decision on the project into 2010.

Another question is whether PUC and Triad will work together going forward.

“We’ve been trying to do some reassigning of our relationship with Triad,” Collins said, although he added that PUC and Triad will continue to work together in some capacity.

“All I can say regarding Triad is that we’ve had a good relationship with them, and I think in the next week or so, we may have some more to say about it.”

Kiltz added, “We are working right now with PUC to decide how to move the eco-village forward.”

Allen Spence, spokesman Save Rural Angwin, which opposes the eco-village, said his group will be watching the process closely.

“We have to wait and see at this point,” Spence said. “There’s just so many different ways they could go (and) that this thing could unfold.”