New Lakeport courthouse layout, orientation plans approved

LAKEPORT, Calif. – After disagreements surfaced earlier this year about the design and orientation of a proposed new Lakeport courthouse, a local group appointed to give input on the project has reached a consensus in support of an updated plan.

Following a Thursday afternoon meeting, the Lakeport Courthouse Project Advisory Group – which includes representatives from the court, local government and the business community – agreed on a revised “north option” for the 50,000 square foot building.

The new courthouse will be located at 675 Lakeport Blvd., according to the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The new building layout, which in earlier concepts was proposed to be two stories, will now be a single story with a basement that will be located on the north side of the Lakeport Boulevard property, with an extension curving around to the east, taking advantage of the site’s grade, the Administrative Office of the Courts said.

The new $55 million courthouse, which will feature four courtrooms, was determined a priority by the state judicial branch based on the crowded, cramped and – in the state's opinion – unsafe conditions now found on the fourth floor of the Lake County Courthouse at 255 N. Forbes St.

The Lakeport court has just over 15,000 square feet and must store some files in an off-site storage facility, according to court officials.

There's still no versions of the plan that the state is prepared to release to the community. The Administrative Office of the Courts said that when the design by the project architect, Mark Cavagnero Associates, is further along, the public will be able to see the design.

Judge Richard Martin, who has been a part of the advisory group since it began a few years ago, told Lake County News on Thursday that he was pleased with the outcome.

“The courts are happy that a collaborative effort with our Public Advisory Group has resulted in a very functional courthouse which will compliment our county, the city of Lakeport and preserve the view from Vista Point,” he said. “The project will provide a safe and efficient court for the citizens of our county well into the future.”

Supervisor Anthony Farrington, whose district includes Lakeport, had earlier this year raised issues about the state's renderings, which suggested that an original “north option” could potentially block views from Vista Point, the location of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce's offices.

However, Farrington – who also sits on the project advisory group – said on Thursday that the new plan was much improved, with better initial design lines, a more aesthetically pleasing look and a “completely different” building overall that better fits the terrain.

“The architects took into account the concerns that I had expressed about the previous proposals that would have obstructed the views from Vista Point,” Farrington said.

He said the new plan protects views of Clear Lake, Mt. Konocti and Big Valley. Farrington added that the county can be proud of the redesigned project.

Melissa Fulton, chief executive officer of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce and another project advisory group member, said that following a June meeting at Vista Point – in which a demonstration was held to show how the new building would block Vista Point – the advisory group knew that the state was making revisions to the plan.

At the Thursday meeting Fulton said there was no vote, but it was agreed that the new one-story north option appeared to address all of the new building's needed aspects and the community's concerns.

“It's a matter of working together and making it work for the community,” Fulton said.

Rona Rothenberg, a senior manager in the Judicial Council of California's Office of Court Construction and Management, said that the state had received letters from members of the Legislature representing Lake County, asking them to take the community's feedback under “serious consideration” in developing the final design.

“And we've done that,” said Rothenberg, explaining that she believes that the serious and thoughtful input from the community, Legislature and the courts “have really informed our studies of the site” and brought the state project team to the right response.

Along with the community's concerns about the view and the city of Lakeport's “cone of vision” easement that protects Vista Point, the state said the new plan meets the criteria for functionality, security, access, public presence and parking capacity.

Rothenberg said the new building will be a beautiful, lasting landmark.

She said the escrow on the property should close within the next few weeks. For all practical purposes, the site acquisition is finished, she added.

The Administrative Office of the Courts' current project schedule calls for next nine months to be spent on design. If the Judicial Council approves funding for the next phase, Rothenberg said they could be in working drawings at this time next year, with groundbreaking and bond issuance to follow in the spring of 2013.

The state said that the project's construction is scheduled for completion in late 2014, but that is subject to change.

New courthouse projects are funded by Senate Bill 1407, which allocates a portion of judicial branch fees, fines and penalties, with no effect on the state’s General Fund.

Although Lakeport's new courthouse project was ranked as an “immediate need” in the judicial branch’s capital-outlay plan, and is among the branch’s highest-priority infrastructure projects, state officials acknowledged that there is the potential for project delays due to recent state budget issues.

The 2011-12 state budget saw $310 million “borrowed” from SB 1407, one of the reasons why delays could occur.

The Administrative Office of the Courts said the specific effect of those fiscal issues on the Lakeport project – if any – won’t be known for several months.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews.

LCNews

Award winning journalism on the shores of Clear Lake. 

 

Search