Oct. 2 town hall meeting on Measure H sales tax proposal planned

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A town hall meeting will be held Wednesday, Oct. 2, to answer questions about the city of Clearlake’s Measure H, a sales tax proposal going on this fall's ballot.

The meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lake County Youth Center, 4750 Golf St.

Measure H is a proposal on the November ballot to implement a 1-percent use and transaction – or sales – tax in the city of Clearlake. At its Aug. 8 meeting, the Clearlake City Council approved placing it on the ballot.

If passed, Measure H is expected to provide approximately $1.4 million annually, with 75 percent to go toward roads and 25 percent to be used for code enforcement.

Due to severe funding constraints for the Clearlake Code Enforcement Department, there has been a dramatic decline in the upkeep of properties.

This has resulted in increased conditions that affect the public health, safety and welfare, as well as the enjoyment, use and value of private property, according to Measure H proponents.

Measure H does not solve the street condition problems in the city, but proponents suggest it is a big step in that direction. With more than 112 miles of roadway to maintain, additional funding is an absolute necessity to improve the city’s streets.

An annual plan will be developed during the city budget hearings each year to address and improve the overall condition of all city maintained streets. The budget hearings are open to the public with opportunities for public input.

Proponents say Measure H will have a minimal cost. Sales tax is not charged on everything. Rent, groceries, utilities, prescriptions, and most medical procedures are not taxable. This sales tax amounts to 1 cent for each $1 spent on taxable items only.

Code enforcement and better roads are not only necessary to increase property values but also the quality of life, the proponents said.

If you have questions or just want to know more about Measure H, attend the town hall meeting Oct. 2 or visit www.helpclearlake.com .

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Written by: Lake County News reports

Published: 20 September 2013

Lakeport City Council votes to put senior mobile home park rent control initiative on ballot

LAKEPORT, Calif. – After hearing from both supporters and opponents of a senior mobile home park rent control initiative that the city attorney warned was likely to be challenged as unconstitutional, the Lakeport City Council decided to leave the decision of enacting it up to voters.

In a 4-0 vote – with Councilman Martin Scheel absent – the council chose to place the initiative on the November 2014 ballot, when the city's next municipal election will be held.

The vote was greeted with cheers from Lakeport resident Nelson Strasser, the measure's proponent, as well as other members of the “Save Our Seniors” group which reported it has just completed collecting signatures for a similar ballot measure in the county jurisdiction.

Even so, members of the city council had raised concerns about the city finding itself in court over the measure's legality, which interim City Attorney David Ruderman said was a likelihood based on his analysis of Strasser's one-page initiative.

The initiative defines senior parks as those where at least 80 percent of the homes have at least one person age 65 or older. It would roll rents back to those in place on Jan. 1, 2012, and require that rent increases be tied to rises in Social Security benefits.

It was Ruderman's conclusion that the initiative will be the focus of litigation and be invalidated by a court because it constitutes a regulatory taking and is preempted by state law. City park owners already have indicated they may sue if the initiative is adopted.

While the initiative power is “fundamental,” Ruderman added that the courts “have clearly stated that people do not have the right to put an invalid initiative on the ballot.”

Ruderman offered to the council a menu of choices: accept the initiative without change as a city ordinance, place it on the November 2014 ballot, seek declaratory and injunctive relief from the duty to place the initiative on the ballot based on the initiative’s invalidity, place the initiative on the ballot for voter consideration but refuse to defend the initiative if a preelection challenge is brought against it.

He also suggested a fifth option – simply decline to take any action, either to adopt it or to place it before voters, which would require the initiative's proponents to bring suit against the city in order to get it on the ballot.

He pointed out that Strasser initially had provided the city with a petition in November 2012, and former City Attorney Steve Brookes had reviewed the proposal and provided a letter explaining problems with it. Ruderman said Strasser made some changes, returned with a revised initiative the following month and was informed of additional issues.

Council member Stacey Mattina asked if there was time to recirculate the initiative before the November 2014 election. Ruderman said there was.

Councilman Kenny Parlet said it was a difficult decision to choose between spending money to put it on the ballot when litigation is likely – a move that he said seemed “ludicrous” – or to face litigation for not putting it before voters.

He said it seemed that it was Ruderman's advice to not put it on the ballot. Ruderman replied, “This is a policy decision that is within your discretion.”

“So we're kind of between a rock and a hard place, we could get sued by either side,” said Mayor Tom Engstrom.

Mary Ann McQueen, who along with husband Jerry owns Northport Trailer Park outside of the city limits, told the council that the initiative wasn't necessary.

She said it had gotten the attention of park owners who had since agreed to work with residents. “They don't want to work with the park owners now,” she said of the proponents.

McQueen argued that it will create an expensive bureaucracy, and said a long-term lease agreement that park owners representing 80 percent of the park spaces in the unincorporated county had agreed to accept was a better alternative.

Engstrom asked how many mobile home parks the city initiative would affect. Ruderman said he did not know.

Strasser told the council that 100 California municipalities have rent control for mobile home parks. “We're not doing anything radical, we're not inventing the wheel.”

He said there have been abuses by park owners – including massive rent increases in some parts of the state – “and rent control has been the pushback.”

The issue, said Strasser, is whether any senior should have to live at the mercy of a company or corporation that can raise rents unilaterally, putting seniors in danger of being homeless. He suggested the local government should have taken action to fix the problem.

“Stay out of our way. The people of Lake County want their seniors protected,” he said, adding, “We just want our chance on the ballot.”

William Eaton, the Save Our Seniors Committee chair who lives in Sterling Shores Estates mobile home park in north Lakeport, said they've tried unsuccessfully for more than a year to get a long-term lease agreement from their park's owner. They finally heard back from the owner two months ago as the county initiative gained traction.

In the two years since he moved to the park, Eaton said his Social Security has gone up by 1.7 percent but his rent has increased 8 percent. The park's owner, he said, has openly stated his objective is to make as much money as possible. Eaton asked the council to place the initiative on the ballot.

Bill Cline, owner of Castlewood Estates in Nice, argued that the initiative was “clearly illegal,” adding that the council was in a no-win situation. He suggested that Strasser should begin again and retool it.

Doug Johnson, a representative of the Western Manufactured Home Community Association, told the council, “What Mr. Strasser has written is patently illegal” and unconstitutional, and urged the council to place the burden on Strasser, who he said should be forced to go to a judge to try to get it placed on the ballot.

Mattina told Strasser she wished he would start over with something that would work. Strasser said the city council and Board of Supervisors should have put something together. “We really need something that would tie our rents to Social Security.”

He added that he already had a motion written to seek a writ of mandamus, which he planned to file with the court the next day if the council didn't place the initiative on the ballot. “I don't want to fight, I want to solve a problem.”

Joyce Pierson, who like Strasser lives in Fairgrounds Village Senior Mobile Home Park in Lakeport, said she helped gather signatures on petitions from the general public, and heard many people say “it's about time” when she explained the initiative to them.

Pierson said it was time to start doing something for seniors, pointing out the county's large senior population. She added that she and her 83-year-old husband have a tough time making ends meet, and her husband continues to work part-time to pay the bills.

It was Mattina who moved to place the initiative on next year's fall ballot, with Engstrom seconding. Despite concerns raised by council members, the vote was unanimous.

The group of senior proponents had sat quietly as Mattina read through the motion and the vote was taken.

“So it's going on the ballot,” said Engstrom, at which point Strasser and the group seemed to let out its collective breath, clapping and cheering.

In other council news from Tuesday, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen received the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training's Executive Certificate. It's the highest certification the commission offers to executives, who must complete a training program, college units and have served at least two years as a department head.

The council also voted to move forward with the process of refinancing side fund obligations owed to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which could save an estimated $20,000 annually.

Council members also approved an application from “Hey … Hot Dog!” for a time limit waiver in order for the hot dog cart to remain at one location along S. Main Street beyond the city's two-hour time limit for mobile catering businesses.

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: 18 September 2013

Supervisors lift Lakeside Heights emergency, discuss securing slide area for winter

LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Tuesday, five months after the Board of Supervisors declared a local emergency in response to a landslide that damaged a north Lakeport subdivision, board members voted to terminate the emergency.

The board held the vote during an update on the Lakeside Heights subdivision, at which time county officials also discussed options for stabilizing the slide area this winter.

Several structures were severely damaged by the landslide, which abruptly appeared in March in the 29-home subdivision perched above Hill Road. Since then, the ground movement has slowed to one-tenth of an inch in a six-week period, officials reported.

Public Works Director Scott De Leon, who also has served as incident commander during the local emergency, told the board, “With the impending winter rain, if things aren't done with this slide, it's going to end up on Hill Road.”

De Leon said he had contingency plans in place should Hill Road – the main entry point into Sutter Lakeside Hospital – be impacted.

Ideally, De Leon said he hoped to work with the subdivision's homeowners association to get the slide area secured against winter weather. He said he has plastic sheeting he would make available if the association was able to get volunteers to tarp the area. He said that was less expensive than having the county abate the slide.

Community Development Director Rick Coel said he was working on abating two structures – a home and a duplex – that, once gone, would make it easier to work on the winterizing and recontouring the soil.

Coel said it shouldn't cost more than $45,000 to remove the two homes, plus another $10,000 to shape and grade the soil. The total price tag will be closer to $70,000, county officials said, if they needed to hire someone to tarp the area.

Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger said he is in the process of submitting to the state water board a request for supplemental funding for projects related to the slide, including moving utilities and installing piers for permanent stabilization, with construction to cost $243,190. He said he wasn't particularly optimistic that they would receive the funds.

Randall Fitzgerald, president of the homeowners association, said the subdivision's residents aspire to be good citizens, and want to cooperate in whatever way possible.

“Within our limited budget, we will help, in whatever way we can,” he said.

However, Fitzgerald noted, “Every single homeowner feels that we are not responsible for the damage that has been inflicted on our neighborhood.”

The property owners in July filed tort claims with the county alleging that it was the county-managed public water system that was to blame for saturating the hillside, leading to the slide.

Those claims have since been rejected by the county's third party administrator, and the attorney for the property owners told Lake County News last week that they are preparing to file a lawsuit against the county.

Fitzgerald said that the association, at its own expense, will put in a temporary storm drain bypass once it knows the status of the removal of the two structures. Without grading on part of the slide, Fitzgerald said they believe issues will continue even with the effort to keep the slide area dry with tarps.

“Obviously, we're all in an awkward position here,” he said of the homeowners, the board and the county departments.

Supervisor Anthony Farrington had liability concerns about having the subdivision's residents volunteering to put out the tarps.

County Counsel Anita Grant said the idea was to have a volunteer partnership. She went on to explain that the residents would not be county volunteers, and that it was a measure suggested to minimize the cost. “It may be a bit unusual in structure.”

Farrington asked Fitzgerald if the residents would prefer the volunteer approach or nuisance abatement.

Fitzgerald said they had an inherent limitation in the composition of the homeowners, many of whom are senior citizens. Only about half a dozen are physically able to do the work, and Fitzgerald said their preference would be for outside help.

Farrington asked if they would prefer outside help even if the county were to try to recover the costs. Fitzgerald said that, eventually, this is all going to come out “in the legal wash.”

Coel said they were suggesting a really temporary fix, and the bigger issue facing them was what to do with the soil there to keep it stable.

Grant suggested the board may want to direct staff to go back and look at all funding options for moving forward, which Supervisor Denise Rushing supported doing for a long-term fix, as well as bringing back alternatives. Staff said they would report back.

Farrington offered the resolution to terminate the local emergency. The vote was 4-0, with Supervisor Rob Brown once again recusing himself due to his daughter and son-in-law owning one of the subdivision's damaged homes.

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: 18 September 2013

Clearlake Planning Commission to consider Serenity Cove time extension, Lakeshore Drive design guidelines

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Planning Commission is set to discuss extending a permit for a lakeside development and proposed zoning guidelines made in the Clearlake Vision Task Force Report.

The commission will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

In November 2007, the commission approved a use permit for Serenity Cove LLC to build 138 residential/vacation units, a restaurant, clubhouse, swimming pool and a pier/deck on an 8.1-acre parcel located at 6035 Old Highway 53, according to City Manager Joan Phillipe's report to the commission.

The use permit is valid for five years and provided for granting of an extension in accordance with the zoning ordinance, according to Phillipe.

A year ago, Serenity Cove LLC requested an extension of the time and paid the appropriate fee. Phillipe said she granted the request administratively “as had been the practice under prior administrations as authorized by the Municipal Code.”

She noted, however, that the zoning ordinance is silent as to the number of extensions that may be granted.

Because of another project, Phillipe said city staff reviewed the zoning ordinance and determined that “is flawed in regard to being specific about the process to request an extension of the conditional use permit,” and so the matter is being brought to the commission.

Phillipe said city staff has reviewed the project file for Serenity Cove and believes it would be an asset to the community. She noted that the city “is working diligently with efforts that will provide opportunity to encourage investment in the community and this project definitely fits that goal. As such it is recommended that the extension be granted by motion.”

In other commission business on Tuesday, Phillipe will ask commissioners to consider a proposed amendment to the Municipal Code to provide for permitted and conditional uses in the C-2 commercial design district on Lakeshore Drive as set forth in the Lakeshore Drive Design Guidelines.

Those guidelines were submitted by the Clearlake Vision Task Force in 2008. Phillipe is asking the commission to make a formal recommendation to the city council to accept the guidelines.

In July, the Clearlake City Council accepted a temporary, three-month moratorium on new construction and major remodels on Lakeshore Drive between Olympic Drive and old Highway 53, as Lake County News has reported.

Phillipe asked the council to take the action in order to provide time for her and staff to review the design guidelines recommended – but not previously adopted – by the Vision Task Force.

Proposed changes to permitted and conditional uses include allowing outdoor merchandise displays, business professional and government offices, financial services, outdoor storage, automotive repair service, group quarters, department stores, gas service, theaters and auditoriums, veterinary offices with enclosed boarding structures and large collection facilities.

Phillipe noted that the Vision Task Force Report also addressed uses in the C-3 commercial design district that's on the lakeside of Lakeshore Drive which are not included in the recommended design guidelines.

Those C-3 guidelines would not allow for business offices, parking lots, financial services, self-service laundry, outdoor storage, liquor stores, eating establishments with drive-up service, dry cleaners, convenience stores, or transient lodging including hotels, resorts, motels and recreational vehicle parks. Phillipe is asking for commission discussion on those proposals.

At a previous commission meeting, commissioners reviewed the proposed guidelines and agreed that they should be adopted “to enable better and consistent processing of projects on the Lakeshore corridor and to provide specific design guidelines for the design district overlay,” according to Phillipe's report to the commission for the Tuesday meeting.

At that previous meeting staff also was directed to return with a proposed amendment to the zoning ordinance in regard to permitted and conditional uses in the C-2 design district as recommended by the Vision Task Force, Phillipe reported.

Phillipe is proposing that the commission approve a motion that recommends the Clearlake City Council formally adopt the Vision Task Force Lakeshore Drive design guidelines.

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: 17 September 2013