The council quickly moved through its agenda in a meeting that lasted just 40 minutes before it adjourned into closed session for labor negotiations and a performance evaluation of City Attorney Steve Brookes.
Redevelopment, Housing and Economic Director Richard Knoll updated the council on plans for a 48-unit affordable housing project on Martin Street, proposed by the firm AMG.
The project would be located at 1075 Martin St., located just to the west of the Fairgrounds Mobile Home Park, Knoll said.
It's the same five-acre parcel where the Sebastopol firm Terra Partners previously proposed a 62-unit affordable housing project, estimated to cost $18 million. That firm requested a $600,000 loan which the council, sitting as the Lakeport Redevelopment Agency, turned down in a September 2007 vote, as Lake County News has reported.
This time, the estimated project cost is just over $11.2 million, and Knoll said AMG is requesting $1.1 million in redevelopment agency money, which he said would be covered by housing funds. He said the bulk of the project's funding would come from other sources – including tax credits and government loans.
“There's no action being requested tonight from the agency,” he said, noting that he'll be returning in the near future to ask the agency and council to formally consider the financing request.
Earlier in the meeting a local woman had complained about the condition of Martin Street, and Councilman Bob Rumfelt asked Knoll about road improvements.
Knoll said further analysis on needed street work was required, particularly involving pedestrian improvements.
He said there is a limit to how many onsite improvements the city can require of the project, which he said won't generate a large amount of traffic. A traffic study so far has been deferred.
Local businesswoman and Sierra Club Lake Group Chair Cheri Holden said she appreciated the work done so far on the project.
She said she wants to see the soils and hillsides studied, and the small wetlands on the property preserved.
Also on Tuesday, the council approved asking the county to collect delinquent utilities charges as part of the tax roll, adopted a resolution designating two-hour parking zones in certain areas of the city, and approved a $4,700 settlement with California Engineering Co., whose contract the city canceled due to its dissatisfaction with the firm's work
Rumfelt gave a report from the League of California Cities' Public Safety Policy Committee, which took place in Sacramento June 18.
He said the group discussed the cannabis act set to go on this November's ballot, and almost all of the members were against it. One city manager brought up the issue of marijuana and the potential for its increased effect on the workplace.
Councilman Roy Parmentier, who also has reviewed the bill as part of his membership on local committees, condemned the ballot measure, saying it's “terribly written” and would have many negative consequences.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
