Clearlake City Council, planning commission to hold zoning code update, look at city design review manual

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – At a special Tuesday evening joint meeting, the Clearlake City Council and Clearlake Planning Commission will hold a public workshop on the city's zoning code update and design review manual program.

The meeting will take place beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

On the agenda is a discussion of the background and purpose of the zoning code update and design review manual before the council and commission move into the workshops on the two documents.

Regarding the design review workshop, the council and commission will get an overview of the 2040 general plan design review goals and policies programs, an overview of the historical and architectural styles, design strengths and weaknesses in Clearlake, community image survey, and the design review process, standards and guidelines.

During the workshop on the zoning code update, council members and commissioners also will discuss the 2040 general plan goals and policies programs, review the current zoning code and zoning components and sections, go over land use performance standards versus design standards, focus zoning districts under the 2040 general plan, zoning code outline and format, linkage to design review manual, and questions and comments.

There also will be a time for a summary, discussion of next steps, and another question and comment period.

The city said members of the public are invited to come to the workshop and comment on any item under discussion.

Documents for the meeting are available at the front counter at city hall during normal business hours.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 30 June 2015

Clearlake City Council approves budget, OKs renaming Redbud Park softball field

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Thursday the Clearlake City Council gave final approval to its 2015-16 fiscal year budget, offered support for renaming the Redbud Field softball field and held the first reading of an ordinance to streamline small residential solar installations.

At the start of the meeting, before getting down to the business of the budget, the council honored retiring City Manager Joan Phillipe with a proclamation for her service ( www.bit.ly/1JrlEWR ).

Mayor Denise Loustalot also presented a proclamation declaring June 2015 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month to former Councilman Joey Luiz, the first openly gay member of the city council.

The presentation to Luiz seemed almost prescient, as the next morning the US Supreme Court announced its ruling that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage.

Regarding the budget, after having held special budget workshops earlier this month, the council was prepared to give its final approval to the document after introductory comments from staff and a short discussion.

“The budget process has been an evolving process over the last couple of years,” and it has continued to evolve into a document that tells the city's story in much better fashion, said Phillipe.

Part of the city's budgeting process is reviewing and evaluating goals and objectives adopted three and a half years ago, which Phillipe said included economic development, finance, code enforcement and public safety.

At a June 4 workshop, the council looked at those four goals and, by consensus, agreed that they would remain the priorities. She said the council also was able to review goals, wants and needs, and chart its progress. 

Those four priority goals, she added, lay the groundwork for the city's budget.

Finance Director Chris Becnel said the council had a special meeting on June 18 to go over the budget highlights.

He said the operational budget for the 2015-16 year is about $6 million, of which about $4 million comes from the general fund.

Separately, the city's capital projects budget is just over $3 million, of which $2 million is for the Phillips/18th Street project, he said. The remaining $1.14 million is from the balance of Series A redevelopment bond funds.

Council members thanked Becnel for his work on the budget.

Councilwoman Joyce Overton said it was probably the best budget she had seen developed for the city in her 11 years on the council.

“I appreciate this whole process. I like the workshops and I like the whole participation by everyone,” added Loustalot. 

Overton moved to approve two resolutions – to adopt the budget and the city's appropriations limit – which the council adopted 4-0. Vice Mayor Gina Fortino Dickson was absent for the meeting.

Also on Thursday, the council voted to approve a request from Southshore Little League to rename the Redbud Park softball field in honor of Dale and Karen Valentine.

Over the last several years the Valentines have made generous donations to the league for facility upgrades including a scoring board for the softball field and other improvements, according to Helen Mitcham, the league's secretary/treasurer.

Mitcham said the league will cover the costs for the signage, which will be brought back to the city for approval.

She said she was glad the matter was before the council before Phillipe left for retirement, noting she had worked with the league on the request.

“You're truly a friend of Southshore Little League,” Mitcham told Phillipe.

Businessman Pete Loustalot lauded Dale Valentine for generously supporting a number of community causes. “He does wonderful, wonderful things.”

Council members also thanked the Valentines. “We're lucky to have people like that in our community,” said Councilman Bruno Sabatier.

In other council business, the council held the first reading of an ordinance to streamline the permitting process for small residential rooftop solar energy systems, which it is required to pass by Sept. 30 according to a state law the governor signed last year.

Phillipe said Jones and Mayer, the law firm representing the city, wrote the ordinance.

She said she didn't anticipate a lot of cost to implement it, adding, “There are no policy implications since this is a mandate.”

The council approved the ordinance's first reading and advanced it to a second reading at an upcoming meeting.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 29 June 2015

Clearlake City Council honors retiring city manager

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council on Thursday honored its retiring city manager, thanking her for her efforts to work cooperatively with other officials and the community to get the city on the right track.

City Manager Joan Phillipe was clearly moved during the nearly hour-and-a-half-long meeting, and expressed her own gratitude to the city she has served for nearly four years.

Phillipe previously held city manager posts in Colfax, Colusa and Loomis, as well as working as interim general manager for the Foresthill Public Utility District in Placer County and as executive director of the California State Sheriff's Association before arriving in Clearlake, where she was appointed interim city administrator in October 2011.

In March 2012, the council voted to go to the city manager form of government, and Phillipe was appointed as city manager – technically, the city's first – on a permanent basis in April 2012.

In January, she formally notified the council that she planned to retire effective June 30, which kicked off the process of finding her successor.

In May, the city announced that Greg Folsom would succeed Phillipe as city manager. He started work with the city on June 15, which has given him and Phillipe a transition period in which to work together to get him up to speed.

At the start of Thursday's meeting, Mayor Denise Loustalot presented Phillipe with a proclamation on behalf of the council and the city, expressing appreciation for her service.

The proclamation cited Phillipe's “remarkable experience” in municipal government, and said she was an incredible asset to the city, bringing great civility and experience to her work, and a wealth and depth of knowledge, with great skills in land use and economic development.

Loustalot's voice broke at points during the reading of the proclamation, which also lauded Phillipe's creative way of updating the city's general plan in “economical and competent fashion” – in this case, through a group of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s City and Regional Planning Department graduate students who did the update as a project.

The proclamation also cited Phillipe's leadership, how she built morale in city hall, and her role as an invaluable and tireless asset to the city. While she will be missed, her legacy in the city will live on, the proclamation said.

Loustalot then hugged Phillipe as fellow council members and members of the audience rose to give her a standing ovation.

“I'm not good at this. You already made me cry,” said Phillipe.

“Thank you so much. I really apprentice this. I appreciate my time here. Truly, I wish I had found the city before. I think that together we could have done even more, and some great things,” Phillipe added.

Phillipe said she is leaving the city in good hands with Folsom, and that she believes he will continue the forward progress that has been put in place.

“It's been my pleasure and my honor, to serve the city and I will miss being here,” she said.

Phillipe said the city hasn't lost her – that she's committed to returning for a July 7 meeting, joking she's like a “bad penny.” She also said she plans to stay in contact with city leaders and watch the progress that she knows is coming for the city.

“I really do believe the city is right on the cusp of some great and positive things happening,” she said.

“I think you're our good luck penny,” Loustalot said.

After Loustalot returned to the dais and Phillipe went back to her seat, she introduced her family – including husband Brian and son Adam – who had come to the meeting as a surprise. Another son, Arthur, lives in Southern California and couldn't attend.

“Without them, I wouldn't have had the success in my career that I have had,” she said, adding, “My family support has been my backbone.”

After a brief break for the council and community members to have refreshments in the lobby, the meeting reconvened.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, businessman Pete Loustalot thanked Phillipe for her work on behalf of the city. 

“Since Joan has been here, I personally haven't seen a better-run city government,” he said.

Beth Kaiman, a volunteer for the city's public access television station, thanked Phillipe for the help she had given the station.

During Phillipe's final report to the council, she noted, “It's been a busy couple of weeks,” as she has worked with Folsom during the transition.

She said the transition time has been beneficial. “It's helped me to close the loop on a number of items and start downloading,” she said, noting she is still “downloading” her knowledge to share with Folsom.

They've also attended a lot of meetings; met with Walmart officials, who are restarting a large expansion project at the Clearlake store; spoke with Pacific Gas and Electric about a fund for undergrounding utilities, with the city potentially able to put together an upcoming project; and met with Konocti Unified School District Superintendent Donna Becnel.

In summing up, Phillipe – who again became emotional – told the council, “I just really appreciate the staff that we have. I think you have a group of very dedicated individuals, they're a dynamic group,” and she said she believed their hearts and their souls are dedicated to continuing work on behalf of the city.

She concluded by offering her appreciation for the support she has had during her tenure.

In their final remarks at the end of the meeting, council members offered individual messages of thanks to their outgoing city manager.

Councilwoman Joyce Overton said she had been told Phillipe was a “fix it” person before she arrived in the city, which she said turned out to be true. “You walked into a huge mess.”

Overton said Phillipe did a fabulous job. “It's been my honor and I've been so proud to see our city move forward faster in the four years that you've been here than I have in the 35 years we've existed,” she said, adding, “You were the best thing that ever happened to us.”

She said she believes Folsom will fit right in, noting the council had wanted someone like Phillipe.

In a separate interview on Thursday, Phillipe told Lake County News, “The experience being in Clearlake has been a very positive experience.”

She added, “Coming here, I felt very welcome from day one.”

Phillipe said she had support from many community members, “which has made my job much easier.”

Over the last four years, she said the groundwork has been laid for some very positive things to happen in Clearlake, including economic development, better code enforcement and improvement in the city's main corridors, including Highway 53 and Lakeshore Drive.

She said she believes the city of Clearlake is on the cusp of some very positive things happening.

Going forward, she said she and her husband have plans to enjoy retirement. 

“We're planning to do some traveling,” she said, noting they just bought a fifth-wheel trailer.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 28 June 2015