LAKEPORT – An audience filled with county residents from Lakeport and beyond was on hand Tuesday night to question city officials about redevelopment and a plan to sell one of the last undeveloped lakeshore properties to the city's redevelopment agency in order to see it developed.

Dutch Harbor, once the site of a motel, is now a vacant lot on Main Street next to the Natural High School property, owned by the Lakeport Unified School District.

City Redevelopment Manager Richard Knoll took the proposal to the Lakeport City Council – sitting jointly as the Lakeport Redevelopment Agency – to begin the process of having the city consider selling the agency the land, which the city bought in 1993 for $500,000.

Knoll said the agency's redevelopment powers can be used to develop the property for specific intended uses; the agency also can enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement with a developer, which would lead to a disposition agreement.

Due diligence would need to be completed first, said Knoll. “This is not a decision to acquire the property,” he said; it was merely a request to direct staff about how the council and agency wanted city staff to move forward.

In 2006 the city entered into an agreement with developer Matt Boeger, offering him first right of refusal on Dutch Harbor as part of a larger agreement to look at developing an 18-hole golf course and subdivision on the City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District property, as Lake County News has reported.

Knoll said that first right of refusal would need to be addressed if the city were to consider selling the land to the redevelopment agency.

City Attorney Steve Brookes said the city would need to present to Boeger the option to buy the land on the same terms as those offered to the agency.

“If he wants it we've got to sell it?” asked Councilman Ron Bertsch, whose family once owned the Dutch Harbor property.

“Yes,” replied Brookes.

Councilman Bob Rumfelt asked about setting a price. Brookes said the price would be fair market value.

If the city offered Boeger the property and he couldn't answer the terms, his purchase option goes away, said Brookes.

After comments by council and city staff, a lengthy public comment period followed, during which the merits of selling the property to the agency were questioned.

Business owner Cheri Holden asked what the advantage was to having redevelopment own the property.

Knoll said the redevelopment agency is in the business of addressing blighted conditions in the redevelopment project area. Redevelopment authority allows the agency to use the site alone or assemble it with adjacent lots for a larger development site. They can then put out requests for development proposals.

He explained that only the agency – and not the city – can do development and disposition agreements. “There's just more options available in terms of what the agency can do to stimulate development versus the City Council,” Knoll said.

Holden questioned the relationship with the developer and why the agreement originally was formed.

Brookes said Boeger Land Developer received the first right of refusal in the development agreement because they wanted a lakefront property to develop a complementary amenity for the golf course.

Following Holden to the microphone was Lucerne resident Lenny Matthews, who said Supervisor Denise Rushing has held community meetings to discuss redevelopment projects and what residents want to see. She said she would love to see Library Park extend down the lakeshore.

Mayor Buzz Bruns said the general plan calls for a thoroughfare from Library Park down to Dutch Harbor.

Knoll said city staff has been engaging in a “significant amount of work” regarding downtown, which includes development of a waterfront properties improvement plan. He said the plan encompasses the Natural High and Dutch Harbor, and existing motels along Main Street.

The plan eventually will go through a public review process in order to make sure the community is on board with the plans, said Knoll.

Lakeport resident Suzanne Lyons said she was concerned about the first right of refusal, saying she was concerned about the city losing control of the property.

Brookes said the general plan would still require certain conditions. “I don't think it changes the city's power to insist upon a public access easement along that frontage,” he said

Victoria Brandon, representing the Sierra Club Lake Group, asked about process, saying general planning for an area usually is done first, with special proposals for special properties coming later.

Knoll replied that a “hand-in-hand planning process” is at work, with intended uses for Dutch Harbor – including resort residential or commercial, or a combination of both – already defined.

Lakeport resident Todd Falconer said he didn't know much about redevelopment, but he had many questions. Knoll gave him an information sheet on redevelopment.

Falconer said he believed in property rights, and was concerned about redevelopment. He asked if Dutch Harbor and Natural High were blighted.

“It depends on how you look at it,” said Bruns.

Knoll said under California law a redevelopment area must have a preponderance of blight. That doesn't mean every parcel is blighted. Dutch Harbor could, in theory be considered blighted, he said.

Blight has a broad definition, said Knoll, and can include oddly shaped parcels, those without infrastructure and any with structures that are falling down. He said he didn't recall if the city has ruled that Dutch Harbor is blighted.

Falconer asked if Natural High was blighted. Knoll said he didn't remember.

“My opinion based on what I'm hearing so far is this is really disturbing,” said Falconer.

He told the council that the redevelopment process it was pursuing was “dangerous.”

“It's un-American,” he said. “Go read the Constitution and think about it.”

Councilman Roy Parmentier moved to give the staff direction to move forward on looking at the sale, with Councilman Bob Rumfelt seconding. The council voted unanimously to approve Parmentier's motion.

Following that item, Bruns asked to have a discussion on adding eminent domain to the city's redevelopment plan postponed until after the November, during which three council seats – those held by Bruns, Parmentier and Rumfelt – will be up for election.

He said he wanted to hold off and let the newly elected council decide.

Parmentier moved to push the discussion back until the second meeting in December, with Rumfelt seconding. The council voted 5-0 to put the discussion off until after the election.

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