How to resolve AdBlock issue? Supervisors keep local emergency in place in response to windstorm
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday chose to keep a local emergency in place in response to the damage communities experienced during a major windstorm late last month.
Local officials continue to work on assessing the extent of the damage from the storm, which lasted from the evening of Thursday, Nov. 21, through the morning of Friday, Nov. 22.
The storm damaged homes and businesses, as well as Northshore Fire facilities and equipment – including engines responding to emergencies that night, according to Northshore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos.
In a 51-hour period lasting from 12:01 a.m. Nov. 21 to 3:30 a.m. Nov. 23, Lake County Central Dispatch handled 1,660 calls regarding the storm, Beristianos said, with dozens of additional walk-in reports of damaged homes and downed power lines made at Northshore Fire stations.
In addition, downed power lines caused several wildland fires along the Northshore, Beristianos said.
County Administrative Officer Matt Perry, acting as the county's director of emergency services, declared a local emergency on Nov. 22. The Board of Supervisors confirmed the declaration at a special meeting held Nov. 26, as Lake County News has reported.
On Tuesday morning, Perry and other county staff updated the board on the current situation.
“I'm not recommending that the board terminate the emergency just yet,” said Perry, adding that the county still has work to do, including repairing damage the storm did at the Holiday Harbor marina in Nice.
Community Development Director Rick Coel gave the board a brief synopsis of the damage that his department's building and safety division has found in the impacted communities.
“Most of the damage occurred in Nice,” said Coel.
In Nice alone, 126 homes lost roofing shingles and 15 homes had structural damage from falling trees. Three Upper Lake homes were damaged by trees, Coel said.
There also was damage to a lot of carports and other small structures, he said.
Coel's assessment also found that three barns in Upper Lake and a marina roof across the lake in Buckingham were damaged.
Supervisor Rob Brown asked about the policy on permits for repairs, and whether there was a waiver process to give people time to make fixes. He said he heard stories that he couldn't pin down regarding claims that the county was requiring large permit fees for repairs.
Coel said there was a “weird story” going around about the county charging $350 for an electrical permit.
He said California building code does require a permit and inspection for replacing roofs, but the county was not red-tagging people who are doing emergency repairs to the roofs of their homes.
The more immediate concerns for the county relate to the replacement of electrical meters and fixing structural damage to homes. Coel said the county wants to make sure people are getting the proper permits and that the repairs are being made correctly in order to protect homeowners.
Supervisor Jeff Smith thanked the county departments for their work. He said the county Public Works Department, in addition to dealing with emergency concerns in the unincorporated county, also assisted the city of Clearlake.
He said the county crew responded to remove a large tree that fell near Notts Liquors on Lakeshore Drive the night of storm.
Public Services Director Caroline Chavez gave the board an update on efforts to help with collecting green waste following the storm.
Initially three dumpsters were placed on the Northshore – in Upper Lake, Lucerne and Nice. Chavez said the dumpster in Upper Lake wasn't used much, nor was the one in Lucerne, but the dumpster in Nice is being heavily used.
Because there is a need for more area for green waste collection, drop offs will be accepted in a designated parking lot next to Keeling Park in Nice, she said.
Chavez said the county is renting a chipper to chip the green waste. In addition, the county has arranged for people to be able to drop off green waste at the landfill in Clearlake or the transfer station in Lakeport without cost. She said she didn't know how long it would take to collect all of the green waste.
Chavez said she also had damage at her Clearlake home, and explained that many people are waiting to meet with insurance adjusters before cleaning up.
She said Pacific Gas & Electric told her that at any one time they had 6,000 to 7,000 customers out of power as a result of the storm. “They were caught flat-footed on this thing,” she said, adding that one of the PG&E crews working near her home was from Oregon.
Chavez said that PG&E prioritized Lake County's needs, helping keep emergency traffic repeaters online and expediting repairs when one of them went offline.
Public Works Director Scott De Leon thanked the board for the kudos given to staff, which he said is on call around the clock. “We have a pretty special group of guys and gals,” he said.
In response to a letter to the editor published in the newspaper criticizing the road department for not doing more clean up on private property, De Leon said he's unable to do such cleanup on private land due to liability issues and lack of authority.
He said virtually every road department employee was working on the Northshore during the storm, and he assured the board that roads and public property will be cleared.
Chavez said a tree fell on the restroom at Keeling Park, and she was concerned about other damaged trees around the Northshore. “There are potentially widow makers out there all over the place,” she said, adding that it will take time to assess those trees.
Smith said it was probably the worst wind he'd ever seen. He said it was amazing to see one- to five-acre areas of the lake where the water was blown off the surface. Supervisor Denise Rushing said she saw whirlwinds in her Upper Lake orchard.
The Northshore Business Association is coordinating volunteer efforts for cleanup and also seeking information about people who need assistance. The association's disaster hotline is 707-739-6661; more information also can be found at the group's Web site, http://www.northshorebusinessassociation.com/ .
Hammers for Hope also is offering assistance with making repairs for seniors; that organization can be contacted at 707-349-2628.
An update on the latest damage assessment in Clearlake wasn't available on Tuesday. However, the city reported that it is seeking damage reports from community members.
Property owners who experienced damage to their properties are encouraged to report it to either Public Works Director Doug Herren at
Damage reports need to include actual property damage and estimated costs for repairs, and should include address and parcel number.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
City of Clearlake asks community members to report windstorm damage
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The city of Clearlake and the Lake County Fire Protection District have completed a rapid cursory visual assessment of property damage sustained throughout the city as a result of the windstorm that hit the region November 21 and 22.
Because there are properties isolated from view, some damage may have not been seen.
Property owners who experienced damage to their properties are encouraged to report it to either Public Works Director Doug Herren at
Reports by phone can be made to the city at 707-994-8201.
Damage reports need to include actual property damage and estimated costs for repairs.
Please include address and parcel number if known.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
Planning commission to hold hearing on permit, plans for Konocti Harbor renovation
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Bay Area firm's major use permit application for the renovation and expansion of Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa will be the focus of a Lake County Planning Commission hearing this week.
The commission will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, in the Board of Supervisors chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
Resort Equities LLC, based in San Francisco, is seeking the permit, as Lake County News has reported.
The firm signed a purchase agreement Aug. 1 to purchase the 58-acre resort, which is located at 8727 Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville.
The resort, owned by UA Local 38 Convalescent Trust, was closed in November 2009. The property will require significant renovations, according to Grant Sedgwick, Resort Equities' president and a developer with decades of experience in similar resort and commercial projects.
Thursday's public hearing will consider a mitigated negative declaration based on an initial study for the major use permit.
The considerations include Resort Equities' plans to offer fractional and timeshare ownership, with the use permit to incorporate all existing resort amenities, including the outdoor concert venue.
A variance from the provisions of the county's shoreline ordnance also is being sought to allow Resort Equities to replace lakefront amenities and construct a new party deck. Sedgwick told Lake County News in a previous interview that some of the resort's decks were destroyed in a storm a few years ago.
The report to the commission from Principal Planner Kevin Ingram and Community Development Director Rick Coel, which can be seen below, details some of the major points of the renovation plan.
The plans include demolishing the Vista Cloud building and Beach Cottages, the VIP suite and the Lakeside Haven Apartments, all of which are either “functionally obsolete, deteriorated beyond repair, poorly located or all three,” the report said.
Resort Equities proposes to construct 75 new hotel rooms adjacent to the existing swimming pools and beach recreation area, and another 164 new shared ownership residential units, Ingram and Coel reported.
The Vista Lake, Vista Breeze and Vista Sky buildings are proposed to undergo extensive renovation in order to convert 102 studio units into 34 two-bedroom units, the report explains. There also would be extensive renovation of the Vista Sun, Vista Moon and Vista Star buildings that house a total 48 one-bedroom units.
Other plan details include increasing the number of boat slips from 100 to 275, construction of a party deck and promenade, development of a new waterside bar and grill, improvement of the clubhouse in addition of a new guest arrival court, renovation and improvement of indoor and outdoor public spaces along the lakeside, expansion and relocation of the boatyard building, improvement of the amphitheater facility and the addition of new concession stands, upgraded landscaping, sidewalks and pedestrian paths, and the development of a small vineyard with a wine tasting room.
Coel and Ingram are recommending that the commission adopt the mitigated negative declaration, and approve the use permit and shoreline variance that Resort Equities is seeking.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
120513 Lake County Planning Commission - Konocti Harbor Permit
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Council to hold special hearing on extending Lakeshore Drive building moratorium
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council will hold a special meeting to discuss extending until next fall the temporary moratorium on building and major renovations on a portion of Lakeshore Drive.
The meeting will take place beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
During the summer, the council – at the suggestion of city staff – passed a temporary moratorium on new construction and significant renovation projects on Lakeshore Drive between Old Highway 53 and Olympic Drive while the city worked on design guidelines for the Lakeshore Drive corridor.
City Manager Joan Phillipe's report to the council for Tuesday's meeting said the urgency ordinance was meant “to protect the city from uses that conflict with the vision of the corridor and to provide for design guidelines for use in processing planning and/or building permit applications.”
The council at its Nov. 14 meeting chose to direct staff to take the recommendations back to the Clearlake Planning Commission for further work, and on Nov. 21 held a special meeting to receive a report on the moratorium that Phillipe said was a required step before extending it.
Phillipe is asking the council to consider extending the moratorium – which expires on Dec. 8 – for 10 months and 15 days.
“Due to the guidelines being sent back to the Commission for further work, there is a need to extend the moratorium,” Phillipe wrote in her report to the council. “Staff does not believe that the full 10 months and 15 days is needed to complete this task.”
She said once guidelines are adopted, the moratorium can be lifted before it expires on Oct. 23, 2014.
Phillipe anticipates a minimal financial impact to the city if the council extends the moratorium.
“The city has not received any planning application for major projects or requests for building permits for currently permitted uses or major remodels of existing buildings,” Phillipe reported.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
120313 Clearlake City Council Special Meeting
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City of Lakeport receives national government budgeting award
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada announced that the city of Lakeport has received the association's Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.
The association said the award “represents a significant achievement” for the city.
The award reflects the commitment of the Lakeport City Council and city staff to meet the highest principals of governmental budgeting, the association said.
In order to receive the budget award, the city had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. The association said the guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity's budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device.
Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories and 14 mandatory criteria within those capital quarries to receive the award, according to the association.
When the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award is granted to an entity, a certificate of recognition for budget presentation also is presented the individual or department designated as being primarily responsible for its having achieved the award.
That certificate was presented to city Finance Director Dan Buffalo at the Lakeport City Council's Nov. 19 meeting.
For budgets including fiscal period 2012, more than 1,340 entities are expected to receive the award. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.
The Government Finance Officers Association is a nonprofit professional association serving more than 17,800 government finance professionals throughout North America.
The association's Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
