The Lakeport City Council will conduct a public workshop on proposed changes to the second phase of the Lakeport Downtown Improvement Project starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20.
The workshop will be held in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
Community Development and Redevelopment Director Richard Knoll said the workshop's intent is for the council to get community input on city staff's proposal to reduce the project's scope.
Knoll said staff has been reevaluating the project because of the changes to redevelopment, which include two bills passed earlier this summer – one to eliminate redevelopment and a second to allow redevelopment agencies to continue to operate if they take part in a voluntary state program that involves paying into a fund.
The city of Lakeport was notified earlier this month that it would have to pay just over $309,000 to the state next January to comply with the program, as Lake County News has reported.
In light of those changes, “We feel that it is important to advise the city council about considering downsizing the project,” Knoll said.
The main changes that Knoll said staff is proposing would include eliminating bulbouts at intersections, which in turn would remove the need for increased storm drain improvements and landscaping. Plans for street trees, however, will remain in place.
In place of the bulbouts Knoll said the sidewalks would be widened around the intersections by about 2 feet.
Another of the major changes would be eliminating “table” intersections, a traffic calming technique that raises the intersection's elevation slightly.
Not having the bulbouts would save “a fairly considerable amount” of money, Knoll said, although he did not have savings estimates available last week.
Information on savings resulting from the proposed changes will be included in the staff report for the meeting, he said.
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