Community Development Department staff estimated that the final environmental impact report (EIR) will come back to the commission at its Oct. 22 meeting. At that time, they'll also discuss amending the general plan to allow for the project, since it wasn't advertised in time for the meeting.
The delay also will give District 1 Commissioner Michael van der Boon, appointed earlier this year, time to get up to speed on the residential and resort development.
Van der Boon had asked Deputy County Counsel Bob Bridges about his concerns that he still needed more information, and Bridges suggested he should do more research and listen to tapes of past meetings before taking part. The project's developers asked for no decision to be made until the full commission could consider it.
The merits of the huge EIR were discussed in front of more than 60 community members and several county department heads during a hearing that stretched over more than four and a half hours.
The Tuscan-themed development is proposed to have up to 650 single family homes, 325 resort units, an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, a trail system, clubhouse, spa, conference center and nature preserve on 860 acres along Hill Road in the north Lakeport area.
Community Development's staff report to the commission explained that Cristallago is situated in an area of two previously approved projects that were never built – Las Fuentes, approved in 1984 on the northern 450 acres, and the 395-acre Black Rock Ridge Golf Course site to the south, which was approved in 1997. Entitlements for both of those projects have long since expired.
Jim Burns, a partner in the project, said Cristallago Development Corp. – headed by principals Matt Boeger and Mark Mitchell – called the development “one of the most exciting projects ever to hit Lake County” during a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation.
The project will only be visible from Highway 29 for about 20 seconds as one drives by, with portions also visible from Scotts Valley, Burns noted. Architectural review, mandatory use of earth tones, low glares lights and other measures will be used to minimize visual impacts.
The majority of the site already has been cleared and graded, said Burns, noting that 85 acres of oaks will be preserved and no heritage oaks will be removed.
“The project will not be 'leap frog' or 'spot zoning,' as people have indicated in the past,” said Burns.
In addition, he said the project will pay its fair share with regard to regional traffic impact fees. There will be no access to the development for the entire Scotts Valley boundary.
Burns said the project will use water from Clear Lake, not groundwater. He said a first-ever water supply assessment for the county proved that the Community Service Area 21 has water rights and enough water for the future buildout of the north Lakeport area.
He said the county's vacancy rate has been 27 percent since 1980, a number he expects will hold true in another three decades. “That 27 percent is real and will remain,” he said.
One of the project's main goals is to promote Lake County as a unique resort designation, Burns said.
Community members split over project
Approximately 22 community members spoke to the commission about the project's final EIR, and that number was split exactly between those who wanted to see the report certified, clearing the way for the project to move to the next step, and those who had issues with the report and the larger plan.
Though the report itself was at issue, and not the larger merits of Cristallago as a project, those who spoke both for and against it spoke to that larger idea and what it will mean for the county's future.
Several people referred to the recent news of the temporary but indefinite closure of Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa – which goes into effect in November, as Lake County News has reported – and the potential for Cristallago to bring jobs and an economic boost. Other pointed to concerns about growth,
Marc Spillman, a Lakeport resident and a member of the city's planning commission, said a major project should fit the community where it's located, and this is a resort-type project in a resort-type area.
That being said, Spillman asked commissioners to revisit some of the city's concerns, including traffic. “The city would become a major impact point,” he said.
Spillman suggested that if Cristallago provides proper infrastructure and mitigation, he feels it's a good fit for the area.
Business owner Kathy Fowler agreed. Noting that she's seen the quality of the work Mitchell and Boeger have done, she added, “I think it's an excellent idea. I think we need it.”
North Lakeport resident Wayne Diggs also felt the project was needed, especially in light of revenue losses for the community such as Konocti Harbor's closure, the departure of other large businesses and this summer's algae problems.
“Instead of growing Lake County is shrinking. It's stagnating, like the lake,” said Diggs, who suggested that forward-thinking leadership was needed to bring out the area's potential.
“We have a beautiful area. We should be sharing it with the world. We should also be making some money off of it,” he added.
John Lee, who owns property adjacent to the project area and who has spoken out against the project consistently over the last few years, said he found many of the final EIR's responses to his questions about grading inadequate; sometimes there were no responses, he said. Lee said the report seemed to suggest a “we'll do it as we get to it” approach to project mitigations.
Cristallago is to be situated next to prime agricultural land outside of growth boundaries. “With all due respect, it is leapfrog development,” said Lee, suggesting that a primary discussion must be the potential impact on Scotts Valley, with stormwater and drainage other key concerns.
Planner Emily Minton told the commission that a master drainage plan was completed a few years ago.
“Have we seen that?” asked District 3 Commissioner Clelia Baur.
No, said Minton, but she said she can get copies for the commissioners.
Sierra Club Lake Group Chair Victoria Brandon reminded the commission that the county has signed on to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050 as part of the “Cool Counties,” program, but she felt that the project wasn't consistent with land use strategies and infill that would help realize that goal.
She also found fault with the EIR, agreeing with Lee's characterization that the plan puts off too many considerations into the future. Brandon felt the drainage plan should have been included in the document and submitted for public review.
Regarding use of 500 acre feet of water to water the golf course, she said that needed to be analyzed. “This is paper water.”
Brandon said the plan's inconsistency with the new general plan, adopted last year, and the Lakeport area plan area “indefensible.” In particular, she said the general plan aims to eliminate sprawl, have compact urban edges and preserve agriculture. “This project will just shoot holes all through it.”
She also found inadequate consideration of alternatives, one of which would be a resort without a golf course but with equestrian and hiking trails. Brandon suggested sending the document back for more work “to do it right,” which will give them the information they need to decide if the project ultimately should go forward.
Adjacent property owner Kevin Goodwin also felt the EIR failed to answer many important questions – from pesticides to water, light impacts and even what the resort will look like. He suggested all of those things should be studied now.
Suzanne Lyons, a Lakeport City Council member who said she was not speaking in an official capacity, said there is no study showing the project is fiscally viable. Noting that many projects haven't gone through over the years, she questioned if the county wanted to pledge to have to clean up after another failed project.
North Lakeport resident Norm Ihle also felt the report deferred too many issues. One of his main concerns revolved around the area's serpentine soils, which planners noted during the meeting contain 5 to 10 percent asbestos.
Ihle said the project will move 500,000 to one million cubic feet of soil. He's dealt with asbestos remediation before, and said the hazmat-type measures that will need to be taken, along with his assertion that daily monitoring will be necessary.
“To make it even worse, suddenly there's blasting involved in here, guys,” he said, pointing out that blasting will put pulverized soils containing asbestos into the air.
Jesse Gonzalez, a member of the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians, said the tribe wanted to see Indian monitors on site during the excavation, not just when it's believed artifacts or important sites are found, as the EIR suggested.
Gonzalez said there are numerous old village sites in that area, and human bones can be very small and difficult to see during excavation without careful monitoring.
“I want to make sure our ancestors are protected,” he said.
Bob Dutcher, a local real estate agency and vineyard owner, said his experience with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) while he worked in the timber industry was that it often allowed issues to be put off into the future – it wasn't a lifetime pass – as a project's parameters became clearer.
Noting the substantial size of the EIR, Dutcher said any opponent of the project can pick it apart through the report. He emphasized that it's OK for issues to be worked out as a project progresses.
Melissa Fulton, chief executive officer of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber's Legislative Affairs Committee recommended support of the project to the chamber's board of directors. “That support is still in place,” she said.
On Wednesday night, the chamber also had sent out an e-mail to members to that effect, urging them to show up to the meeting Thursday to support the project.
Fulton said she also owns property next to the site, and agreed with Dutcher that “you can take any report and you can pick it apart.”
She said she's heard of many people leaving the county because “we have no jobs.”
“We must look to the future and our future, unfortunately, cannot contain as much open space as we currently have,” she said, anticipating that Cristallago will provide upscale homes for the area, along with jobs and services.
Karleen Wilbur, who owns 130 acres next door to the project, worried about impacts to her property, including water runoff from rain, which already occasionally floods her property.
“Environmentally, it's going to change everything we have now,” she said.
Wilbur said she recognized that they needed resorts and businesses, but the county already has areas zoned for such uses. “This is a whole new village that they're building, and it's just the wrong place for it.”
Commissioner raises questions over water
Sami Kader of Waterworks Engineers explained some of the project's water issues to the commission. He said originally the project had aimed to use reclaimed water, but the Northern California Power Agency objected, because it uses such water for its pipeline to The Geysers, where it's used for injection into the geothermal steamfields.
In response, the project was modified to use lake water under CSA 21's water rights. Over time, the reclaimed water the subdivision and resort generates will be used instead, so the impact on the lake will be the same, said Kader.
“This water issues has been like a shell game at a carnival,” said District 4 Commissioner Cliff Swetnam, whose district includes the north Lakeport area.
Swetnam mentioned a pump located on a 110-acre property on the lakeshore, referred to as the Marina at Lyons Creek. A Lake County News report this week disclosed that Boeger Land Investments, which owns a 50-percent share in the property, is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and more than $1.2 million in back taxes is owned on the land from previous owners.
The note holder on the land, Westamerica Bank is seeking to foreclose on the land, which Boeger has valued at $6 million but which an appraisal last year valued at $1,125,000.
If that property is in danger of being lost, “then you don't have any water,” said Swetnam.
He pointed out that CSA 21 is under a hookup moratorium now. Under CEQA, if you don't have the water, you don't have the project, Swetnam added.
Boeger told the commission that the lakeside well is carved out by an easement, and that the well's ownership – as well as its conveyance system and alignment of the pipeline and other – is held free and clear by another entity, the North Lakeport Water System Inc.
Regardless of who ends up with the marina property, Boeger said he and his partners retain the water supply rights.
The project's attorney, David Lanferman, urged the commission to focus on the merits of the EIR. That includes whether it did what it was supposed to do, which is to provide information on the relevant environmental impacts, and confirm that they have enough information to proceed and evaluate the project.
A decision will not guarantee the project will be built, he said. Both CEQA and the courts have recognized that specific plans take time to work out.
“We have a common interest with your staff and your commission in making sure all the information – good, bad or indifferent – is disclosed,” and mitigations included, Lanferman said.
He said Brandon's comments about the potential areas of inconsistency and applicable general plan policies may have misrepresented the EIR's role. Some of the issues will arise again further down the road.
Swetnam argued that not all things come back to the commission. “If we don't deal with the grading issues today, we're going to lose our opportunities as the commission to deal with them at all,” he said.
Community Development Director Rick Coel said if the EIR is certified and the general plan of development and rezone are approved, there will still be further, future reviews of the project. Permit and tentative subdivision map applications also will trigger new evaluations, and additional EIRs may be needed for subdivision plans and specific plans of development.
Regarding the drainage study, the county's Water Resources Division confirmed it met county requirements, said Coel.
Another of the project's attorneys, David Nelson, told the commission, “We can never answer every question.”
He said the EIR was a “first step” in moving forward. “This is the first bite of the apple, but we don't anticipate that it will be the last.”
Nelson also asked, on behalf of the developers, to postpone a decision until van der Boon could complete his review of the project.
Businessman Bill Kearney said in his 30 years in the county he's seen a lot of projects come and go, “and mostly go,” but he favored seeing Cristallago move forward.
“I can tell you as a businessman, there's not a lot going on around here,” he said.
Kearney said he helps recruit physicians and pharmacists to the area, which he can't do without amenities like a golf course.
Consultant Geoff Reilly of Christopher A. Joseph and Associates said the EIR took a “conservative stance” and calls for future studies on issues such as biological resources.
Todd Mansell of the Department of Public Works said he initially had concerns about the traffic analysis, because it only looked at a small number of nearby intersections. He said cumulative impacts will need further analysis, and signals, roundabouts and other road improvements may eventually be needed.
“We're comfortable at this juncture with the document,” he said of the final EIR.
Coel said greenhouse emissions standards have been a challenging issue and a “moving target” since the state is continuing to change them. Those may be appropriate to add later.
Swetnam said he wanted to make sure that the project wouldn't jeopardize the county's clean air standards.
Both Swetnam and Baur also wanted clarification on a conflict with the general plan, which calls for such developments to have the resort component be the major one and not subordinate to residential, as is the case with Cristallago.
The commission agreed to bring the EIR back next month, at which time the public hearing will continue.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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