CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council on Thursday ticked another item off its to do list, with members unanimously approving the new 2040 Clearlake General Plan.

General plans typically are updated every 20 years. However, in Clearlake’s case, the city hasn’t had a new general plan since 1983, only three years after it first incorporated.

Since the meeting City Manager Greg Folsom has since called the finalization of the plan a “milestone” for the city.

The general plan is the city’s blueprint for future community development, providing an overall assessment of the demographic, socio-economic, ecological and physical conditions of the past and present that characterize Clearlake and future growth areas.

Officials said these aspects of the plan serve as a foundation for decision making by identifying opportunities and constraints for growth and development.

The work on the plan actually began in late 2012, under the leadership of then-City Manager Joan Phillipe, as Lake County News has reported.

At Phillipe’s suggestion, the council approved a proposal to work with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s City and Regional Planning Department to prepare a general plan circulation document and a general plan, which about $40,000, rather than the estimated $200,000 it could have cost the city.

In the last few years, contract planner Gary Price has worked on finalizing the process, and he was on hand Thursday to make the final presentation to the council.

“I’m very pleased to be introducing this item to you tonight. This was on the to do list when I was hired,” said Folsom.

At its Jan. 31 meeting, the city’s planning commission also reviewed the plan and recommended the council approve it.

In his presentation, Price noted that a number of city staffers, consultants, St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, Cal Fire, Caltrans, the Lake County/City Area Planning Council, an archaeologist and Cal Poly had contributed to the plan’s creation.

“The general plan consists of a long-term policy program for the community’s future development and is the city’s vision for the future,” said Price.

He said it establishes policy direction through 2040 for future development and redevelopment, providing decision-making guidance to members of the planning commission, city council, city staff and the community at large.

The document also leads to the formation of new land use regulations, helps guide budgeting and capital programming decisions, states the city’s intention regarding the development of the city and its infrastructure, which he said creates an improved level of certainty for landowners and developers, Price said.

Price said the plan also touches on transportation, future economic and physical development of the community, amends the zoning code to achieve consistency with the general plan, identifies new parks in the open space element, approves development plans and agreements, and updates the city’s sphere of influence.

The general plan includes a number of elements, including land use, circulation, conservation, open space, noise and vibration, safety, economic development, public facilities, community design, health and housing. Only the housing element is required by state law to be updated every five years. The city currently has a housing element for the 2014-19 time period, according to Price.

Explaining the original general plan update work in 2012 through 2014, Price said there were inconsistencies found in the land use date and circulation element, and lack of economic analysis. The city then decided to bring in Price and his team to bring everything up to standards and create an internally consistent analysis.

He said the final document includes a reduction in the sphere of influence, which is defined as an area that may ultimately be included in the city’s physical boundaries and service area, recommended by the Lake County Local Area Formation Commission.

Price said the draft general plan was circulated in 2014, at which point it underwent revisions, before it was recirculated in 2016, when additional traffic analysis was done at the suggestion of the Clearlake Planning Commission.

The city received formal comments on the plan from a number of agencies including Caltrans, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Lake County Special Districts , and a local business, Foods, Etc.

David Zehnder, managing principal of Economic & Planning Systems, which also worked on the plan from the standpoints of economics and population, told the council that it’s important to reinforce a healthy mix of business in order to grow and diversify. He emphasized not getting locked in on any sector, and also the need to pay attention to what the city already has.

Regarding estimated growth by the year 2040, “We’re expecting to see a population growth rate of about 1.4 percent annually,” Zehnder said.

During that time, there also is expected to be an annual job growth rate of 1.1 percent, which equates to 1,049 new jobs created during the life of the plan. At the same time, Zehnder said commercial space is forecast to grow by 682,000 square feet, of which 364,000 expected to be retail.

“It’s going to continue to be a really great retirement community as we move forward,” said Zehnder, with the potential for a growth in personal and other services to serve that sector as well as others.

During the plan’s lifetime, Zehnder said it’s also expected that 2,314 housing units will be created.

“Overall, I think you have a great future ahead of  you,” he said, adding that if the city follows the economic development policies in the update, it can be quite sustainable going forward.

Councilman Bruno Sabatier said of the plan, “It’s taught me a different way of doing my job up here.”

He said he concluded that he needs to look at things on the agenda in light of the document. Sabatier said he hoped that new council member orientations in the future will include consideration of the plan, which he said he found it very helpful to read through.

Councilman Phil Harris said he appreciated the effort everyone put into the plan, which addresses so many different issues in the city.

“We’re headed in a great direction,” Harris said.

Price told the council that city staff and the planning commission have a good understanding of the community’s needs, and called the now-completed process a “refreshing approach to a general plan.”

Mayor Russ Perdock recognized past councils and the past city manager for their work. He said he remembered being on the Clearlake Planning Commission in the late 1990s and waiting for the general plan to come before the commission, but it never did.

“The city just didn’t have the funding to move forward with it,” he said.

“We were a rudderless ship,” he said, adding, “This gives us direction.”

Sabatier also acknowledged the community members who participated in the process, including taking part in community workshops.

Councilwoman Joyce Overton asked often the plan is updated.

Price said they can do up to four updates a year, suggesting it be part of the council’s annual budgeting process, referred to when reviewing capital improvements and reviewed every six months.

He said every community has its own approach to updating a general plan.

Folsom, who used to work for the city of Stockton, said that city had a 1990 general plan which was updated in 2008, and it cost them $5 million. They’re already updating the plan again, with Folsom noting that already in 2017 things are very different than in 2008.
 
Overton asked if they could do regular updates and suggested starting the process now to put aside money for a future update. Price said he and Folsom plan to bring back just such a proposal that would involve special fees.

Sabatier moved to approve the general plan, with the council voting 5-0.

To learn more about the plan and see the associated documents, visit http://www.clearlake.ca.us/314/General-Plan-Update-ProjectDocuments .

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