Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a mitigated negative declaration based on an initial study, a rezone from rural residential and rural residential-substandard older subdivision to planned development commercial-design review, and a general plan of development for the resort, which Dr. Robert Gardner proposes to be built on the hillside between Nice and Lucerne.
Gardner’s resort would be built on a number of paper subdivision lots he assembled at 5440, 5460, 5490 and 5610 E. State Highway 20; 5130 Foothill Drive; 5161, 5163, 5171 and 5173 Dunstan Road; 5563 and 5573 Dunstan Drive; 5637, 5647, 5667, 5687 and 5697 Fennel Road; and 5707 Fennel Drive, Lucerne.
The plan calls for the project to be built in phases, with Gardner stating that he wants to begin with a lodge and 10 to 15 guest units as phase one.
At ultimate buildout, the resort would include a total of 24 villas, 25 cabins, 100 suites, an infinity pool overlooking the lake and other health-related amenities. Senior Planner Kevin Ingram’s report said the the ownership of the suites, cabins and villas may be fractional.
Gardner told the commission that at buildout there would be about 30 jobs required to run the resort.
Ingram said Gardner has completed a number of reports for the project, but more environmental review will be required, and numerous mitigations will be required prior to development being allowed.
The site previously was used for mercury mining, although Ingram said the actual mine is on Caltrans property near the road and has been capped. He said further analysis is needed to determine the mercury levels and potential impacts.
An oak mitigation plan also will be needed, and Ingram said a cultural resources survey has been conducted.
Overall, planning staff considered the project as proposed to be consistent with the general plan, Ingram said.
Gardner told the commission that tests he’s had done at the site revealed lower-than-average mercury levels.
He showed pictures of the property, where he has removed garbage and old buildings, and improved the roadway. A sewer connection has been extended to the lodge site, which he said will be tucked into trees and not easy to see from a distance. Utilities also will be installed underground.
“The natural beauty is just incredible,” he said.
Gardner also is proposing to construct buildings on a pier extending from a narrow lakeside strip of the property, which also would include a marina. He even discussed building a gondola from the marina up to the lodge site.
Commissioner Gil Schoux asked Gardner when the project would start. Gardner said he wanted to see work begin on the first phase next spring.
Commissioner Cliff Swetnam asked about road access to the site. “There’s a potential for a lot of people to be up there, so my concern is fire access,” Swetnam said.
Gardner assured him that the Northshore Fire chief oversaw the road design, and there were turnarounds and adequate access.
Commissioner Olga Martin Steele pointed out that the project has implications for wildlife on the water and the land, and Clear Lake’s lakeshore has lost a lot of emergent vegetation. She wanted to know how Gardner would address that if he built on the lake. Gardner said he intended to replace equal amounts or more of any affected vegetation.
He said he’s working with a permaculturist to keep the property’s oaks and animals happy. “In order to keep people healthy at the resort we have to keep the land healthy.”
Eleven community members spoke about the project during public comment, most of them in favor, including Monica Rosenthal, representing the Sierra Club Lake Group, who said the group sees the project as a good one.
Rod McCleary, whose family has owned property near the resort site for 60 years, said he was concerned about the buildings over the lake and erosion control.
“I think any time you build out over the lake it’s a bad idea,” he said. In the event the project goes bankrupt, the buildings on the lake would start to deteriorate, he added.
Another nearby landowner, Bill Weeks, was concerned about having a resort in the midst of an area where there are many residences.
“Let him buy Konocti Resort if he wants a resort,” Weeks said.
Andy Peterson, the county’s retired redevelopment deputy director, said the project fits with a proposal in the Northshore redevelopment plan for a lakeside resort. He said he thinks the resort would “substantially help the environment” within Lucerne if it’s developed.
Swetnam said it was a concept before the commission. “I think we ought to give everybody a shot at making the dream work if it’s feasible.”
Martin Steele said she agreed with Swetnam “wholeheartedly, and Commissioner Michael van der Boon said he also very much liked the concept.
The commission then took three votes, each unanimous, to approve the rezone and general plan of development’s mitigated negative declaration, the rezones and general plan of development.
Commission Chair Bob Malley said the project now will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors. Ingram told Lake County News this week that the project’s ultimate approval is up to the board.
Also on Thursday, the commission found that the county’s proposed purchase of a sheriff’s substation property at 21277 Calistoga St. in Middletown conformed with the general plan.
Commissioners also voted 4-1, with Swetnam voting no, to approve a mitigated negative declaration based on an initial study for Westgate Petroleum’s proposed general plan amendment to convert 30,000 square feet of its facility at 3740 Highland Springs Road in Lakeport from agriculture to service commercial, a rezone of the property and a general plan of development and use permit for a specific plan of development for bulk and retail fuel sales, outdoor storage of vehicles and propane, an office and a convenience store.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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