LAKEPORT, Calif. – Following a brief public hearing Wednesday night, the Lakeport Planning Commission approved making a number of recommendations to the Lakeport City Council regarding the addendum to the 2014 general plan's environmental impact report and general plan amendments.

The vote on the proposals was 4-0, with Commissioner Suzanne Russell absent from the meeting.

Special Projects Coordinator Richard Knoll took the general plan environmental documents and updates to the commission Wednesday evening.

“This is really the culmination of a long general plan process that was initiated roughly a year ago by the Lakeport City Council in a resolution directing the planning commission to look at a number of focused issues association with the general plan and the sphere of influence and related issues,” Knoll said.

The 2014 General Plan environmental impact report addendum addresses proposed changes and amendments, Knoll said.

One of the main changes related to the reduction of the city's sphere of influence, which 719 acres being removed from it.

Specifically, the document removes from the city's sphere of influence the 600-acre City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District, or CLMSD, property, most of which is located outside the city's southern boundary.

The CLMSD land currently is used for disposing of treated wastewater through irrigation and cattle grazing, according to Knoll.

In 2006, the Lakeport City Council had wanted to pursue a large housing and golf development on the city-owned property.

At that time, the council contracted with Boeger Land Development, which also was proposing the Cristallago housing and golf development in the north Lakeport area, to work on the project, which was placed in city documents as a “specific area plan.”

At a meeting last February, the planning commission agreed by consensus to remove the specific plan area language relating to the CLMSD development project and to redesignate the land for public and civic use after Knoll informed commissioners that the project was no longer consistent with city policy and wasn't going forward, as Lake County News has reported.

The modifications the commission approved Wednesday will reduce nonresidential growth by 130 hotel rooms and 193 RV spaces on other parcels, as well as an 18-hole golf course and restaurant located on 150 acres of the CLMSD land in the special planning area.

Residential growth projections – specifically, on the CLMSD property – would be reduced by between 1,200 and 2,400 units, according to the environmental impact report addendum.

As part of adjusting the sphere of influence, the city also removed prime agricultural land and land under Williamson Act protection.

Other proposed changes involve modifying some general plan policies relating to conservation, infrastructure, utilities and growth, Knoll said.

The proposed modifications won't create a significant impact, which Knoll said meant creating a subsequent or supplemental environmental impact report under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, wasn't necessary.

Knoll said that on Dec. 8 the city sent out a memo and notice on the general plan environmental impact report addendum, receiving one comment from John Benoit, executive officer of the Lake Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO.

Benoit suggested in an email to the city that an additional mitigation measure and general plan policy be added to deal with the loss of agricultural lands.

However, with the city having removed prime agricultural and Williamson Act land from its sphere of influence, and as the Lake County agricultural commissioner has determined that no prime agricultural lands are within the city limits, Knoll said staff wasn't suggesting the additional farmland mitigation measures suggested by Benoit be added to the environmental impact report addendum.

“We're eliminating land that might otherwise be converted to urban use. We're eliminating that land from the city's sphere of influence,” Knoll said.

He did suggest that consideration of such a general plan policy on agricultural land should be considered at the time when the city next undertakes a comprehensive general plan update process.

There was no public comment on Knoll's report during the public hearing. The commissioners also didn't offer any input, noting they had discussed the matters at length in previous meetings.

Commissioner Harold Taylor moved to have the commission recommend the approval of the general plan environmental impact report addendum to the Lakeport City Council.

The motion included the finding that there was evidence to support the determination that the proposed modifications to the general plan and pre-zoning don't require preparing a subsequent or supplemental environmental impact report under CEQA.

The commission approved the motion 4-0.

In other business, the commission approved a proposal by Lake County Tribal Health for a 1,500 square foot kitchen and break room addition to its existing medical clinic on Bevins Court.

The commission also approved a zone change and general plan amendment, along with an environmental review for Lake County Vector Control's properties at 408 and 410 Esplanade St. and 35 C St., over the objections and concerns voiced by neighbors.

Lake County News will focus on Lake County Vector Control and the issues raised by neighbors before the commission in an upcoming article.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.