How to resolve AdBlock issue? Supervisors hold marijuana cultivation ordinance hearing; board deliberations set for Dec. 17
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Close to 200 people were on hand for a Tuesday evening meeting during which the Board of Supervisors took community input on a new proposed medical marijuana cultivation ordinance.
The three-and-a-half-hour-long meeting was held at night and in the larger space of Fritch Hall at the Lake County Fairgrounds – rather than the board chambers – in order to give more people the opportunity to attend.
The county last summer passed an interim cultivation ordinance that attached plant numbers to parcel size, banned cultivation on vacant lots, and placed no limits on indoor cultivation.
The new proposed ordinance goes much further, banning outdoor cultivation in community growth boundaries and limiting indoor cultivation to 100 square feet with indoor lighting not to exceed 1,200 watts. Outside of community growth boundaries, plant numbers are capped at six mature or 12 immature plants on parcels larger than one acre.
Following a brief presentation by Community Development Director Rick Coel, the board took roughly three hours of testimony from residents who spoke on different angles of the issue.
Just after 9 p.m., the board decided to close the public hearing and continue deliberations until its next regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 11 a.m.
Coel's presentation included slides of environmental issues resulting from illegal grows, from terracing and the use of plastic swimming pools to tons of fertilizer and various chemicals being used near the lake. “This is all running into our watershed,” he said.
He also attributed an increase in crime – particularly home invasion robberies – to marijuana cultivation, along with complaints relating to loss of property value and real estate transactions that have fallen through, homes that have been damaged by indoor grows and grows on vacant parcels, nuisance odors and respiratory issues for neighbors.
“We have an ordinance on the books that is very difficult to enforce,” Coel said, with “very significant numbers” of people choosing to ignore it.
With Coel arguing that stronger regulation is needed, the proposed ordinance would allow for abatement by sheriff's officials within five days or, in some cases, immediate summary abatement, rather than the current 30- to 40-day process that the county must follow.
He pointed out that the ordinance had the support of the county's three main subdivisions – Hidden Valley Lake, the Clear Lake Riviera and Buckingham – as well as the Lake County Farm Bureau, County Administrative Office, the Lake County Sheriff's Office and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
During public comment, approximately 48 people gave testimony, several of them returning to the microphone more than once.
A large number opposed the ordinance, while several supported it, with a small number saying it didn't go far enough. Still others spoke more generally about needing guidelines in order to protect neighbors and keep it away from schools, or brought up their own use of the drug for medical issues.
Arguments against the ordinance included allegations that the county was engaging in class warfare against the poor while putting more wealth in hands of corporations, and that it would cut off a major economic engine. More than a few of the opponents told the supervisors they could expect legal action if the ordinance was passed.
Small growers said they would have to sell their properties and leave the county because the ordinance would, in effect, make them criminals.
Some who supported it said the ordinance was needed to protect community members and the county's overall image, which was the argument of Tom Guthrie, co-leader of Lake County Neighbors Against Commercial Marijuana Growing.
“The ordinance does exactly what it should,” he said.
Adelia Leonard of Clearlake Park, a mother of six, said she has never smoked marijuana but she began using an oil made from it to help her young son's autism and epilepsy.
She agreed that some growers aren't following the rules. “They're making us look really bad.”
When the board pointed out to her that she lives within the city of Clearlake and so wouldn't be impacted, Leonard said she was concerned that the city – which recently implemented an ordinance that is similar the county's interim document – eventually would adopt rules identical to the new proposal.
Lower Lake attorney Ron Green said the ordinance is “extremely unfair” and was drafted without input from the cannabis community.
He suggested putting the current temporary ordinance in place for a longer period of time and appointing a committee to work on new guidelines. Green said the county should work with the cannabis community or else face a referendum and litigation.
Herb Gura brought up California Environmental Quality Act requirements.
Due to the environmental impacts Gura said the proposed ordinance would have, he said it needed more study. If the county won't do an environmental impact report, it needed to do a mitigated negative declaration and an initial study.
“I think you need to do an initial study, otherwise you're out of compliance with CEQA,” Gura said.
When asked by the board about the CEQA issues, County Counsel Anita Grant said Coel had determined there were CEQA exemptions for the document.
Capt. Chris Macedo of the Lake County Sheriff's Office read a letter on behalf of Sheriff Frank Rivero, offering support of the ordinance.
Rivero's letter said it was crucial to find a middle ground on the marijuana issue, with Lake County being at a crossroads with the possibility that its reputation could be impacted for decades to come.
While the ordinance is not perfect, Rivero's letter said he believes it offers the necessary middle ground, and suggested the board pass it and also pursue the Lake County Planning Commission's recommendation to once again allow dispensaries.
Bob Dutcher of Kelseyville, a Realtor who served on the county's marijuana cultivation advisory board, said he'd had misgivings about allowing grows in residential areas due to smell, and after a test run, “I just don't think it's working well,” with such grows making it hard for people who want to sell their property to get away from it.
However, Dutcher said he felt the proposed ordinance was too restrictive and would force more people toward the black market.
He also suggested that a map that Coel showed of more than 500 ag-zoned properties 20 acres in size or larger – where larger grows could take place – was misleading, and that many of them were held by large winegrape owners that would not allow marijuana grows on their land.
Dan Rush, director of the Cannabis Workers Rising of North America Campaign, part of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, and also an Emerald Unity Coalition leader, said he was there to offer a white flag and call a truce.
He suggested that the rights of everyone – patients, homeowners, parents and business owners – needed to be considered. “Let's get together. Let's talk about an ordinance that serves everybody.”
Peter DeLong of Cobb, a multifaith minister and educator, said he had been contacted by elderly members of different churches who are concerned about their ability to grow the plant if the ordinance passes.
DeLong suggested the work on the ordinance had largely been done in secret, which galvanized the response.
He also suggested keeping the interim ordinance in place and putting increased emphasis on enforcement of the rules the county already has in place. “It might take patience and time but I think we'll come to a good middle ground.”
Deputy County Administrative Officer Alan Flora read from a memo that he and County Administrative Officer Matt Perry wrote to the board in support of the ordinance.
He explained that the expansion of the marijuana industry “has seriously and negatively impacted the quality of life within our communities and the county of Lake's ability to provide essential public services.”
Flora said the county has struggled to establish a brand as a tourist destination and attract businesses, and local businesspeople have told county staff in confidence of their concerns about retaliation if they speak out.
“Land use controls, such as the ordinance before your board, are a part of the fundamental right of local government’s use of police power for protection of the public's health, safety and general welfare,” Flora read from the memo. “Staff cannot think of a more significant current need for that protection than enhanced regulation of the marijuana industry in Lake County.”
Attorney Peter Windrem of Kelseyville said a commercial marijuana operation recently moved into his rural neighborhood, changing the character overnight and making all of the neighbors anxious.
While it's being cast as if the ordinance is a war on people who need marijuana, Windrem said he suspected most of the actual medical marijuana users in the county could be supplied by a tiny fraction of the growers.
Phil Murphy of Finley told the board that passing the ordinance would result in a “disaster.”
He recalled having warned the board against closing down the county's dispensaries because issues with backyard grows and crime would increase.
Murphy said marijuana growing needed to be based on agricultural land, but he said the proposed ordinance attempts to hold marijuana growers to higher rules and so could result in litigation over unfair business practices.
He wanted the board to resurrect the advisory committee, which had been disbanded after one of its members, Don Merrill, sued the county. Murphy said the county left the stakeholders out of the process until the Tuesday night meeting.
“That's not the way you do it. You bring them in at the beginning,” he said.
By the time Murphy was done speaking, it was just before 9 p.m. When the board reconvened after a short break, Supervisor Rob Brown said there was no rush to make a decision, and suggested it come back for further discussion next week.
The rest of the board agreed, with Smith setting the board's deliberations to commence at 11 a.m. at the Dec. 17 meeting.
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Emergency warming center to open in Clearlake; donations, volunteers needed
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Due to the freezing nighttime temperatures, the Lake Family Resource Center, with help from the county of Lake, will open its first emergency overnight warming center on Tuesday night, with plans to keep it in place until early next week.
The center, which will be located in Lake Family Resource Center's facility at 15312 Lakeshore Drive, will be open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. each day, and is expected to follow those hours through next Monday, according to center and county officials.
It's the first time the organization has opened a warming center, according to staffer Beth Berinti.
“We're shooting from the hip,” she said, adding, “So far, so good.”
Lake Family Resource Center is opening the nighttime warming center in response to below-freezing temperatures that have visited the county over the last several day and are expected to continue into next week.
The National Weather Service has a hard freeze warning in effect for most of Lake County in elevations under the 2,000 foot mark through Wednesday morning.
Temperatures are expected to be in the teens or low 20s through that time, with nighttime temperatures forecast to increase from the low 30s on Wednesday up into the low 40s by the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
The center is being opened with assistance from county personnel, thanks to action taken by the Board of Supervisors during its meeting Tuesday morning.
Lake Family Resource Center Executive Director Gloria Flaherty spoke to the board about the warming center plan during public input.
“As you can imagine, the last week or so has been very challenging, very difficult for folks,” said Flaherty.
She said in the last homeless count in the county this past January, about 190 homeless individuals were found, including children, veterans and the elderly.
“About 100 of those are in Clearlake,” she said.
While Lake County Behavioral Health has a facility in Clearlake where people can get respite during the day, “There is no place at night,” Flaherty said, with efforts to get federal funding for a night shelter unsuccessful so far.
She said she wanted to open a warming center at her agency's Clearlake office, but needed volunteer staffing assistance and as much as $1,000 to cover additional utility costs and food.
It will be open as long as temperatures remain below 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit at night, she said.
Flaherty said it's an emergency response and only a temporary center to avoid having people dying of hypothermia out in the fields at night.
The board quickly turned the request into an extra agenda item, concerned that the weather situation presented an emergency.
Social Services Director Carol Huchingson said she could ask her staff to volunteer, and the board agreed to allow that volunteer time to be counted as staffers' regular work shifts.
Flaherty said Lake Family Resource Center is working with the faith community on a longer-term solution.
The board also scheduled a discussion about the warming center for next week's meeting, at which time they will consider taking additional action as needed.
“We'll probably have a more formal proposal at that time,” said Flaherty.
Huchingson told Lake County News on Tuesday afternoon that the effort to put volunteers together to help at the shelter was “just starting to take shape.”
Her staff includes a number of trained disaster volunteers, who were the first ones to be asked to volunteer at the warming center.
So far, the response has been swift, and Huchingson said a number of her employees have agreed to help.
“I'm fortunate to have a great group of caring people who want to help,” she said.
The warming center isn't just a first for Lake Family Resource Center, it's also a first for county personnel, said Huchingson. “We've done a disaster shelter before but we haven't done one for this reason.”
While this is technically not a sleeping shelter, visitors can stay all night, said Berinti.
“We won't have a lot of beds but we're trying to get some cots,” along with some sleeping bags and blankets, she said.
Pets are OK to bring as long as they are behaved and under control, according to center officials.
Flaherty said that volunteers are needed for shifts at the warming center, with help also needed for food transport and to offer outreach and supplies to homeless in other parts of the county.
Donations of hot food and drinks, water, and items like blankets and sleeping bags also are needed. “It's whatever the community can give to help these people stay warm during the night,” said Berinti.
She said Flaherty is contacting local restaurants about providing hot soup for those who use the center overnight.
For more information, including how to donate food and other items to the shelter, or to volunteer for a shift, contact Berinti at 707-279-0563.
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Board of Supervisors to hold morning, evening sessions Dec. 10; marijuana cultivation ordinance on agenda
LAKEPORT, Calif. – This week the Board of Supervisors will hold its regular morning meeting along with a rare evening session in order to discuss new guidelines for medical marijuana cultivation.
The first portion of the board meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. It will be broadcast live on TV8.
The board will then reconvene for the hearing on the proposed marijuana cultivation ordinance at 5:30 p.m. in Fritch Hall at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St.
During the morning session, at 9:15 a.m. the board will consider a rezone and general plan of development for the Paradise Valley Ranch master-planned community near Lucerne.
Brookwood LLC of Santa Rosa is proposing to build the project at 8150 and 8300 E. State Highway 20; 7250 and 7270 Cindy Lane; and 836 Pearl Court.
It that would include a maximum of 77 residential units, winery and vineyard, equestrian center and trails.
At 9:45 a.m., the board will hold a public hearing on a proposal to facilitate the purchase of Sterling Shore Estates Manufactured Housing Community by Caritas Affordable Housing Inc., along with consideration of a joint exercise of powers agreement between the county of Lake and the California Municipal Finance Authority to issue bonds for the benefit of Caritas Affordable Housing Inc.
During the evening session, the board will hold a public hearing on the proposed marijuana cultivation ordinance, which the Lake County Planning Commission recommended to it last month.
If approved, the ordinance would prohibit outdoor cultivation altogether within community growth boundaries, limit indoor cultivation to 100 square feet with indoor lighting not to exceed 1,200 watts, set a cap of six mature or 12 immature plants on parcels larger than one acre located outside of community growth boundaries, and prohibit outdoor cultivation within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, substance rehabilitation facilities, child care facilities or nursery schools, and churches, among other rules and guidelines.
The full agenda follows. Some items are out of order due to an addendum being issued.
TIMED ITEMS
9 a.m., A-1 to A-4: Approval of consent agenda, which includes items that are expected to be routine and noncontroversial, and will be acted upon by the board at one time without discussion; presentation of animals available for adoption at Lake County Animal Care and Control; consideration of items not appearing on the posted agenda, and contract change orders for current construction projects.
9:05 a.m.: Citizen's input. Any person may speak for three minutes about any subject of concern, provided that it is within the jurisdiction of the Board of Supervisors and is not already on the agenda. Prior to this time, speakers must fill out a slip giving name, address and subject (available in the clerk of the board’s office, first floor, courthouse).
9:15 a.m., A-5: Public hearing, consideration of request for a rezone (RZ 05-19) from “RR-SC” Rural Residential-Scenic and “RL-WW” Rural Lands-Waterway to “PDR-SC-WW” Planned Development Residential-Scenic-Waterway, and a General Plan of Development (GPD 12-01) for the establishment of a master-planned community with a maximum of 77 residential units clustered within the valley portion of the property, with additional amenities to include an agriculturally oriented commercial parcel for winery and/or equestrian uses, a vineyard, an equestrian center with pasture, park and network of private and public nonmotorized trails; project applicant is Brookwood, LLC; located at 8150 and 8300 E. State Highway 20; 7250 and 7270 Cindy Lane; and 836 Pearl Court, Lucerne, CA (APNs 006-005-24, 49, 50 & 51; and 006-006-05).
9:45 a.m., A-6: Public hearing, consideration of request to facilitate the acquisition of the Sterling Shores Estates Manufactured Housing Community by Caritas Affordable Housing Inc; and (b) consideration of proposed joint exercise of powers agreement between the county of Lake and the California Municipal Finance Authority to issue bonds for the benefit of Caritas Affordable Housing Inc.
10 a.m., A-7: Presentation of update on the California Air Resources Board truck and bus rule.
5:30 p.m., A-8: Public hearing, consideration of proposed ordinance amending Chapter 21 of the Ordinance Code of the County of Lake adding Article 72: Regulations for the Cultivation of Medical Marijuana (AM 13-01).
NONTIMED ITEMS
A-9: Supervisors’ weekly calendar, travel and reports.
A-10: (a) Update on windstorm event; (b) consideration of termination of local emergency and other related fiscal actions
A-11: Consideration of proposed ordinance amending Chapter 5 of the Lake Building and Safety County Code and adopting by reference the 2013 California Building Standards Code, known as the California Code of Regulations, Title 24, Parts 1 through 6, 8 through 12, incorporating the 2013 Edition of the California Building Code; the 2013 Edition of the California Residential Code; the 2013 Edition of the California Electrical Code; the 2013 Edition of the California Plumbing Code; the 2013 Edition of the California Mechanical Code; the 2013 Edition of the California Green Building Code; the 2013 Edition of the California Energy Code; the 2013 Edition of the California Fire Code; the 2013 Edition of the California Administrative Code, the 2013 Edition of the California Historical Building Code, the 2013 Edition of the California Existing Building Code, the 2012 Edition of the International Property Maintenance Code and the 2012 Edition of the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code. Second reading.
A-13: Consideration of expression of condolence to the Robinson Rancheria Citizens Business Council on the loss of Tribal Chairperson Tracey Avila.
CLOSED SESSION
A-12: 1. Conference with labor negotiator: (a) county negotiators: A. Grant, L. Guintivano, S. Harry, M. Perry, A. Flora and C. Shaver; and (b) employee organization: Deputy District Attorney's Association, Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Association, Lake County Correctional Officers Association, Lake County Employees Association and Lake County Safety Employees Association.
A-12: 2. Conference with real property negotiator, (a) property located at: 3980 Gard St., Kelseyville (APN 024-081-01); (b) negotiating parties for county: Supervisor Rob Brown, Child Support Services Director Gail Woodworth, County Administrative Officer Matt Perry and Deputy County Administrative Officer Alan Flora; for seller, Kelseyville Unified School District representatives; (c) under negotiation, lease terms.
A-12: 3. Sitting as the board of directors of the Lake County IHSS Public Authority: Conference with labor negotiator: (a) agency negotiator: Carol Huchingson and F. Buchanan (b) employee organization: California United Homecare Workers Union AFSCME/SEIU Local 4034.
A-12: 4. Public employee evaluation title: County Librarian Christopher Veach.
CONSENT AGENDA
C-1: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meeting held on Dec. 3, 2013.
C-2: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Rico Aroma for installation and operation of a coffee and retail food service kiosk in the courthouse lobby, and authorize the chair to sign.
C-3: Adopt resolution approving final parcel map and the signing of the final parcel map (Martinez PM 12-02).
C-4: Approve second amendment to the agreement between the county of Lake and Fierce Inc., for training services, an increase of $13,663, and authorize the chair to sign.
AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS
C-5: Approve memorandum of understanding between Lake County Air Quality Management District and North Coast Air Quality Management District for redirection of Carol Moyer Program Year 14 funds, total amount $200,000, and authorize the Air Pollution Control Officer to sign program documents.
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121013 Board of Supervisors - Proposed Marijuana Cultivation Ordinance
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Supervisors decide to place senior mobile home park rent control initiative before voters
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to let the voters decide on whether a senior mobile home park rent control initiative should become law in the county's unincorporated areas.
Earlier this year, the group “Save Our Seniors” collected more than 2,500 valid signatures in order to place the measure on the June 2014 ballot.
The document defines a senior mobile home park as one where 80 percent of the homes have at least one person over age 55. It rolls back rents to Jan. 1, 2012, and requires that rent increases be based on the percent of Social Security benefit increases.
Save Our Seniors also supported the collection of signatures to qualify a similar initiative for placement on the ballot in the city of Lakeport's next municipal election, set for November 2014.
Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley took the initiative back to the board for consideration on Tuesday.
She had first gone before the board with the initiative early last month, at which time the board ordered several department heads – including County Counsel Anita Grant, Social Services Director Carol Huchingson and Community Development Director Rick Coel – to complete reports on the initiative's potential impacts.
Coel's report raised issues regarding the potential for a decrease in available senior housing if park owners sought to convert to nonsenior parks or not to expand their park facilities. Reduced revenue for park owners also has the potential to lead to an increase in blight if park owners are unable to keep up with property maintenance and utilities costs.
Huchingson said the initiative could have a positive impact by stabilizing rents for long-term tenants in senior mobile home parks, and would not have a measurable impact on Section 8 households.
Grant advised the board in her report not to adopt the initiative as an ordinance, raising the concern that it might not survive judicial scrutiny.
Ahead of the meeting on Tuesday, Doug Johnson of the Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association sent board members a letter asking them not to approve placing the initiative – which he called “grossly defective” – on the ballot, arguing that the board's approval will lead voters to believe that it is “legally and constitutionally sound.”
Johnson said that because no studies have been conducted, it's not known how many of the county's parks would fit into the senior park definition either upon the initiative's approval or in years to come. “And nobody knows how much such a rent control program would cost taxpayers.”
Johnson also wrote, “Any law that proposes – as the rent control initiative currently before your Board does – to strip almost all the economic value of an (sic) property in perpetuity, without just compensation and a rational process of appeal, is a gross violation of the Takings Clause and the Due Process Clause of the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
Weighing options
Fridley said the board had until Dec. 10 to decide whether to accept the initiative, unaltered, as a county ordinance or place it on the ballot next June.
After reviewing the reports from the county department heads, Supervisor Denise Rushing noted, “It seems that the key phrases in all of these reports come from county counsel.”
The two options were to adopt the ordinance without alteration or submit the initiative to voters, Rushing said, with Grant urging against the former.
Grant said the board could direct her office to file a petition for writ of mandate to challenge the lawfulness of the initiative.
Supervisor Rob Brown said the board didn't need to take until the Dec. 10 deadline to make a decision. “We've got the information we need. There shouldn't be any surprise here.”
He added, “Basically we have an ordinance here and it's got a lot of flaws in it.”
Richard Filipowicz, owner of Kelsey Creek Mobile Home Park in Kelseyville, said his park will not be affected by the initiative. However, he said he opposes the initiative, asserting that by asking for rent control a small minority is asking the balance of taxpayers to subsidize them.
Filipowicz said there would be increased costs to the county through litigation and bureaucracy, asserting that the county would have to administer the initiative if it becomes law.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington countered that the initiative doesn't require the county to administer it. Brown added that he believes that's a flaw in the ordinance and that it isn't enforceable.
Farrington said he didn't want to get into a debate on the merits of the initiative. He said the initiative's proponents went through the process and qualified for the ballot.
“I think we have a job as electeds to honor that process and system that is before us,” Farrington said.
Maria Teter, who lives at Sterling Shore Mobile Estates in north Lakeport, said her monthly rent was $399 when she first moved to the park six years ago. It's now nearly $700 per month. She's concerned that if her rent continues to go up she could lose everything.
Bill Eaton, a member of Save Our Seniors, addressed statements by Filipowicz, saying there is no bureaucracy in the initiative.
Eaton explained that as soon as Social Security cost-of-living increases are implemented, rent can go out. “There is no need to seek bureaucratic approval, it's just automatic,” he said.
Fridley said Grant will provide impartial analysis of the initiative in the sample ballot booklet, with both proponents and opponents to the initiative also able to submit arguments and rebuttals.
She said the ordinance will be available for anyone to review at her office on the second floor Lake County Courthouse, and she may print the ordinance in its entirety in the sample ballot booklet as well.
Supervisor Jim Comstock thanked the departments for their analysis. “It almost certainly faces major legal challenges,” he said.
Comstock asked what would happen if the board asked Grant to seek a writ of mandate. Grant said in that case the county would ask the court to determine if the initiative is lawful.
She said she can take that action before the election or after the election. “The county's posture may change depending upon who else may decide to challenge it if it passed.”
Board Chair Jeff Smith wondered if the writ of mandate should happen before the election. “We're going to end up having to do that one way or the other anyway.”
He questioned if it would be more beneficial to pursue a writ of mandate before there's a chance of it becoming law, when the county would have to defend it.
Grant said there are two schools of thought on the matter. An appellate court has said that due to the cost of putting an item on the ballot, there's good reason to seek such action beforehand. At the same time, the California Supreme Court has said that the democratic process should be allowed to move forward and legal review should take place after an election.
If the county takes no action to challenge the initiative, Grant said it is likely the county will have to defend it if it becomes law.
Lakeport resident Nelson Strasser, a Save Our Seniors member, gave the board a number of legal examples to explain why he believed seeking a writ of mandate was “a fool's errand.” Strasser argued that it was unlikely that a judge would throw it out.
Rushing moved to put the initiative before voters next June. “At this point I think we let the voters decide,” she said.
The board approved placing the initiative on the ballot in a 5-0 vote, with proponents in the audience applauding the action.
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Clearlake City Council to let Lakeshore Drive building moratorium expire
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council took no action Tuesday to extend the city's current building moratorium on Lakeshore Drive.
The moratorium expires on Sunday.
The temporary building moratorium prohibits new construction and major remodels on properties located within the Lakeshore Drive Corridor, which extends from Olympic Drive to Old Highway 53.
Originally adopted in July, the council extended the ordinance on Oct. 24. It was meant to provide time for implementing design guidelines to be used in the processing of planning and building permit applications that are within the “design district” overlay on the commercial zone districts in the Lakeshore Drive corridor.
The council has yet to move forward with accepting to those guidelines, which it sent back to the Clearlake Planning Commission for more work last month.
Council members on Tuesday came to the consensus that extending the moratorium would not be in the best interests of the city, with particular concern for public perception of the moratorium during and after its implementation.
“The idea of 'moratorium' ... It's not a friendly word,” Councilmember Joey Luiz said.
He agreed with Councilwoman Jeri Spittler that it makes people second guess their investments in Clearlake.
Since the moratorium was put in place, the Clearlake Planning Commission has worked on its recommendation to the council concerning the design guidelines submitted by the Clearlake Vision Task Force.
The Vision Task Force prepared the document in 2008; however, the guidelines were “overlooked” in adoption, according to City Manager Joan Phillipe.
The council sent the recommendation back to the commission at its Nov. 14 meeting without clear indication of how it will proceed.
Lakeshore Drive business owner Vince Metzger, who had been on the task force, said he was asked by members of the Vision Task Force to address the council.
He said the economy and the status of the redevelopment agency – which has since been dissolved – were different when the Vision Task Force prepared the document.
“Conditions were different in those days,” Metzger said. “It takes a long time to redesign a city, especially when the economy is like this. I think, we should be encouraging development not preventing it.”
The council is expected to receive a presentation regarding the Lakeshore Drive Downtown Corridor Plan at it next regular meeting on Dec. 12.
“That is going to be a better driving document than the one from 2008,” Councilmember Gina Fortino Dickson said.
Fortino Dickson shared Spittler's concern for the aftermath of implementing a moratorium in that the notion of it must be publicly eliminated.
She said she had been a “victim” of such circumstances when she was building her own home. She said she was informed through unofficial channels that there was a moratorium on sewer connections in the area she was optioning. However, the moratorium at the time was no longer in place.
Fortino Dickson said that while there are not any applications for development submitted currently, \ there may be interested investors who are not acting because of the moratorium.
“Word on the street could be 'there is a moratorium there, don't bother,'” she said, explaining it takes considerable time for that perception to change.
“I concur. The longer (the moratorium is in place) the longer it takes to clear that perception,” Phillipe said.
Ann Carlin and Quincy Jackson, who own separate businesses on Lakeshore Drive, voiced concern for implications the moratorium could have on existing businesses in light of recent windstorms that caused damage in the area.
Jackson said while his business did not suffer major damage, he questioned his ability to rebuild had damage occurred. Carlin posed a similar concern.
Spittler cited their concerns and also questioned the moratorium's potential effect on the rebuilding of Wisedas Resort, which was destroyed by fire in February. She said she was against extending the moratorium.
“It's unfriendly to the business community, at this point, to an area that is already suffering from blight,” she said.
Vice Mayor Denise Loustalot said the process for implementing the guidelines was taking too long and that she didn't want the community to suffer for it. “I don't support this,” she said.
Luiz said while he recognizes the process is taking too long, he thinks the guidelines are important and something should be adopted to steer the city in future.
He said he's heard negative comments about additional types of businesses like auto parts stores being allowed to locate on Lakeshore Drive. As a permitted use, he said there was little the city could do to prevent types of businesses.
“If we drop (the moratorium), people will have to understand, we don't have that control,” Luiz said.
Mayor Joyce Overton was absent from the meeting.
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