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Supervisors set March public hearing for paper subdivision management plan
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved setting a public hearing next month in order to approve a final version of a plan to deal with thousands of paper subdivision lots, particularly on the Northshore.
Community Development Director Rick Coel, accompanied by planner Mireya Turner, and Clearlake Oaks residents Chuck Lamb and Holly Harris, took the updated version of the paper subdivision management plan to the board.
Coel previously had taken a draft of the document to the board last November.
Turner said the updated draft incorporated a number of suggestions and ideas from the Nov. 18 board meeting, including an appendix from County Counsel Anita Grant that discussed options for acquisition and merger of parcels, included information on Teeter plan benefits and introduced a new pilot program to deal with the 220-lot Mountainview subdivision in Clearlake Oaks.
One of the key items from the November meeting was to look at a scaled down paper lot acquisition project, Coel said, and Harris and Lamb suggested dealing with the Mountainview area, where there is sewer access, very small lots and no road access – in addition to a much smaller number of parcels as compared to the thousands near Nice and Lucerne.
The Mountainview project would allow development of a community pathways system connecting downtown Clearlake Oaks to the hills above via a two-mile roundtrip pathway, according to the updated plan.
The paper subdivision management plan also would help with the regional trail plan, address stormwater issues and illegal dumping, Coel said.
Coel showed pictures of extreme erosion, which he, Harris and Lamb explained was going into areas downstream like the Clearlake Keys and Schindler Creek, and directly into Clear Lake.
“We felt that this would be a really good starting point for our pilot project,” Coel said of the Mountainview area, noting that nobody will get landlocked and it will be a way of starting to address stormwater issues.
He explained that in the subdivision lots above Lucerne there are six heavy steel gates to restrict access in order to prevent illegal dumping and trespassing. He said property owners can borrow gate keys from the Northshore Fire Protection District.
As for Mountainview, “We're not going to deny a lot owner access but we need to restrict access somehow,” said Coel.
Coel said there also will need to be an update to the county procedural plan; he said an internal review process with county department heads is necessary and they will need to carry out internal risk assessments before taking on lots, either through donation or purchase.
People would be encouraged to report illegal activity in the subdivision areas, and new code enforcement capabilities also may help deal with dumping, off-highway vehicles and other problems, Coel said.
Lamb suggested that the best way to deal with the paper subdivisions is to focus on dealing with a specific area, gain traction and community support, and move from town to town.
It would require engaging volunteer groups, with Lamb explaining that a group in Nice wants to work on such a project. If every community around the lake worked on such efforts, Lamb said it wouldn't take long to fix the problem.
Harris said the State Water Resources Control Board has been interested in the paper subdivision lots due to the runoff issues.
Supervisor Jim Steele said he's spoken to California State Parks officials and there is may be grant funding for such projects.
Coel said his staff brought forward the proposal to create the plan because having a comprehensive strategy for dealing with the lots is a critical part of being able to pursue grant funding.
“It's a long-term strategy. We don't have all the answers,” Coel said.
If the plan is accepted, the county can start going after grants and “make some things happen,” Coel added.
Coel said the regional water board has looked at the draft subdivision plan and likes where the plan is headed, particularly as it deals with stormwater.
If the county takes on ownership of the lots, the regional board has indicated it won't come after the county for the runoff issues it inherits with ownership.
County Counsel Anita Grant cautioned that when the county accepts property, it accepts everything that's wrong with it, including harm from runoff.
Steele said a lot of projects don't have a measurable result, but the proposed subdivision lot project does.
Supervisor Rob Brown suggested it could be approached as a benefit zone, which has been used for road improvements in some areas. That would allow the county to assess property owners for work done to fix the area.
Public Services Director Caroline Chavez said the plan was great and fits into her areas of concern, including issues of garbage handling.
“I want to be part of this process to make it work,” she said.
Chavez asked of Mountainview Road was a county or private road. Harris said she has received conflicting information on that point.
Chavez also had questions about who would have the responsibility for keeping the area accessible. She was concerned not just about cleanup but dumping prevention, which she said could be addressed through the planned rollout of universal garbage collection. Community growth areas are the main sources of illegal dumping.
“Cleaning it up over and over again is not the answer. You've got to prevent it,” said Chavez.
Public Works Director Scott De Leon said the county may have accepted the road but not included it in the county maintained road system.
Steele moved to schedule the public hearing for March 17, with the board voting 5-0 in support.
He also said Harris and Lamb's volunteer efforts on the plan should be acknowledged.
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022415 Lake County Paper Subdivision Management Plan - Updated draft
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Clearlake City Council to hold second reading of marijuana cultivation ban Thursday
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council is set to hold its second and final reading of a proposed ordinance to ban all marijuana cultivation in the city limits at its meeting this week.
The council will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at the Clearlake Senior Community Center, 3245 Bowers Ave.
The meeting has once again been moved from city hall to the senior center due to the expectation that a large number of community members will attend.
The council held the ordinance's first reading Feb. 12. At that meeting, more than 200 people packed the senior center.
After hearing several hours of testimony on Feb. 12, the council voted 4-1 to approve the resolution. Councilman Bruno Sabatier voted against it.
The 13-page ordinance proposes to ban the growing of all marijuana – medicinal or otherwise – in any part of the city.
Currently, the city's cultivation ordinance – which went into effect in January 2014 – prohibits commercial grows and grows on vacant lots, and limits the number of plants to six on parcels smaller than a half acre and as many as 48 plants on properties 40 acres or larger.
If implemented, the proposed ordinance would give city residents who are growing 30 days to harvest their crops before being subject to a number of penalties for violations, which range from abatements and administrative citations to misdemeanors.
Should the ordinance go into effect, it would become the strictest marijuana-related ordinance in the county. Lakeport's ordinance allows grows within special accessory structures, and the county's Measure N allows indoor grows of less than 100 square feet, and while it bans grows in neighborhoods it allows them on parcels larger than one acre outside of community growth boundaries.
On the meeting's consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are warrant registers and minutes from the Feb. 12 meeting.
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021214 Clearlake City Council - Proposed ordinance to ban marijuana cultivation by LakeCoNews
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Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum to temporarily close for tree removal Feb. 27
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Schoolhouse Museum in Lower Lake will be closed on Friday, Feb. 27, while a dying tree is removed.
The longstanding blue oak in front of the museum has been in a state of decline for many years and will be removed by Northcoast Tree Care, which the Board of Supervisors approved hiring last month, as Lake County News has reported: www.bit.ly/17dt26U .
Due to the location of the tree, closure of the museum entrance is necessary to facilitate the project, according to the Lake County Public Services Department.
A crane is going to be used to lift the tree over the museum's wrought iron gate and nearby sign, Public Services Director Caroline Chavez said.
Traffic control also will be in effect in the area of Mill and Main streets, where the tree is located.
Normal operating hours at the museum in Lower Lake are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.
For more information, call the Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum at 707-995-3565 or the Lake Public Services Department at 707-262-1618.
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Supervisors to consider updated paper subdivision management plan
LAKEPORT, Calif. – An updated draft of a plan begun more than two years ago to address the thousands of paper subdivision lots around the county will go to the Board of Supervisors for review this week.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 with the video available online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Boards/Board_of_Supervisors/calendar.htm . Accompanying board documents and the agenda also are available at that link.
At 9:10 a.m., Community Development Director Rick Coel and his staff will take to the council an updated version of the draft paper subdivision management plan he presented last November.
His report to the board explains that the plan has been developed to identify options for addressing the more than 10,000 unbuildable paper lots in the county. The lots were developed by land speculators in the early 20th century.
“At the November 18, 2014 meeting, the Board directed staff to investigate options for revenue to support parcel acquisition, as well as a pilot project to address the erosion activity on these parcels, carrying nutrients into Clear Lake,” Coel wrote. “A request to County Counsel staff was given to review the plan and make recommendations as to form.”
He said the updated draft incorporates staff and volunteer input “and requests Board direction as we finalize plans for its final approval through the public hearing process.”
Coel is asking the board to schedule a public hearing for 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, March 17, to consider adopting the final form of the plan.
In other business on Tuesday, the board will take up nontimed items including considering the appointment of Lakeport City Council Mayor Martin Scheel as a member of the Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee, with Mayor Pro Tem Stacey Mattina as the alternate.
The board also will consider other advisory board appointments, including consideration of the application of Gladys Rosehill for the District 3 seat on the Lake County Planning Commission.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
7.1: Waive 900-hour limit for extra-help Office Assistant II Zabdy Neria.
7.2: Approve third amendment to the agreement between county of Lake and Willow Glen Care Center, with no fiscal impact, for FY 2014-15 Adult Residential Support Services and authorize the chair to sign.
TIMED ITEMS
8.2, 9:10 a.m.: Presentation of updated draft Paper Subdivision Management Plan and request for board direction and scheduling of public hearing on March 17, 2015, at 9:15 a.m.
8.3, 9:15 a.m.: Consideration of agreement between the county of Lake and Quincy Engineering Inc. for final design and right of way services for the South Main Street and Soda Bay Road Corridor Improvement Project in Lake County.
NONTIMED ITEMS
9.2: Consideration of Appointment to Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee from the City of Lakeport.
9.3: Consideration of advisory board appointments.
9.4: Consideration of appointment of District 3 Planning commissioner.
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