You will be soon asked to vote on the approval of this development as it does not meet with the county’s general plan.

Before I go on here, I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not against development in our county. However, I am against any development that goes against the county’s general plan.

In the case of Cristallago, the clustering of homes is right out of a Rio Vista, Brentwood, Oakley or Los Angeles game plans. No matter which way you slice it, this is urban sprawl. Homes are built so close together that from the bedroom window of the new homes you can clearly see right into the backyard of the home next to you; just take a look at the aerial view which includes the new homes.

This is clearly a cookie cutter subdivision of huge proportions, the new homes all look the same, four models and packed together like sardines. It's a classic leapfrogging pattern that is common to suburban sprawl (in regards to Lakeport) that has taken place across California They are trying to build a small city with no regards for a country style setting. This is why the general plan was developed, to stop this sort of thing from happening in Lake County.

This development was going to have a marina, fishing lodge and beach club. Now because of the bankruptcy issue, this part of the development is out of the picture. So now we have 650 homes, 350 time shares and a golf course. The only chance of Cristallago being a success was tying in the homes with the marina.

Here are a few issues to consider with this extremely poorly written EIR:

– Cristallago will put the lake and the environment directly in harm's way. The watershed issue at Scotts Creek will surely be contaminated when the rainy season comes. No new drainage system can be 100-percent foolproof. Herbicides and fertilizers by the tons will be placed on the golf course which cannot be assured of contaminating the watershed.

– Each home site has not been tested yet for asbestos. What happens if they find asbestos where they want to build the homes? Does the development change again? Everyone is playing “put your head in the sand” on the asbestos issue. There has not been an extensive soil test on the whole site. Only a few areas have been tested and they are using that as a basis for their soil findings of 5 percent to 10 percent asbestos in the soil.

– Traffic issues have not been properly addressed and resolved

– Water issues have not been resolved.

– Water treatment issues have not been resolved. The developers should pay for an entire new treatment plant.

These developers cannot be trusted. They are playing a shell game with the county and this project needs to be sent back to the drawing board. This development will irretrievably change the county’s rural and affordable small town character.

So I offer you two possible alternatives to this problem:

1) Send it back to the drawing boards and have them come up with a development that adheres to the Lake County General Plan and have it include senior housing.

2) Put it on the ballot for all the citizens of our county to vote on. This is far too large of an impact to the county to remain in the hands of five individuals. In talking with my neighbors, our guess is that three of you have already decided on your vote. That is why I’m asking you to have the courage and integrity to put this to the people for us to determine if we want this or not.

With all this being said, I sincerely wish you and your family’s and most joyous holiday season

Please don’t let us down.

Norm Ihle lives in north Lakeport.