LAKEPORT, Calif. – Nearly three months after the Lake County Planning Commission denied a major use permit for a Dollar General store in Middletown, on Tuesday the Board of Supervisors voted to overturn the commission's decision and grant the developer's appeal, clearing the way for the project to advance.

The vote was 3-2, with Jim Comstock, Jeff Smith and Jim Steele voting to support the appeal by Cross Development, and Rob Brown and Anthony Farrington voting against it.

The board's decision Tuesday afternoon came after a lengthy hearing that included several hours of both community input and board discussion.

Plano, Texas-based Cross Development, which constructs build-to-suit buildings for the Tennessee-based Dollar General, is proposing to build the 9,100-square-foot store at 20900 State Highway 29.

In denying the major use permit in April, the planning commission had echoed community members' concerns about the fit with the Middletown Area Plan and traffic volumes.

Cross Development filed the appeal shortly after the Lake County Planning Commission's April denial.

On Thursday, the Middletown Area Town Hall weighed in, voting against supporting the major use permit, as Lake County News has reported.

At Tuesday's board meeting, Supervisor Jim Comstock, who represents the Middletown area, advocated for the store, saying business and services are badly needed in the south county.

He also cited a county-produced economic development brochure that said Lake County “is open for business.”

“Are we or aren't we? I believe we're open for business,” said Comstock, adding that the county needed to take the opportunities offered to it.

Major points of the board's discussion centered on whether the store design – which Cross Development had updated shortly before the planning commission meeting – fit with community design and planning standards.

Farrington felt the store didn't fit with – or strengthen – the community's character, based on the language of planning objectives.

While Brown didn't disagree with the need for business, he felt that Middletown-area residents largely didn't want the store because they didn't feel it fit with their small town's character.

Comstock would offer the motion, seconded by Smith and approved 3-2.

The Middletown store will be the third Dollar General store in Lake County. Two opened in Clearlake Oaks and Nice in 2015.

Cross Development also is proposing to build a fourth store in the Clear Lake Riviera area of Kelseyville. That plan has not yet gone before the planning commission.

A use permit Cross Development had sought for a store near Kelseyville High School was denied by the planning commission last year. Cross Development appealed that decision, but the board upheld the commission's action in an August 2015 vote.

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.