The big three – Cristallago, Provinsalia and Valley Oaks – have been on the drawing boards for years, and this month they're the subject of public hearings and newly released reports.
On Thursday, Mark Mitchell and Matt Boeger's proposed Cristallago project's draft environmental impact report will be the subject of a public hearing before the Lake County Planning Commission.
The hearing, at 11 a.m. Thursday in the board chambers at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport, is only meant for public comment; the commission isn't scheduled to take action.
The draft report currently is in the midst of a 45-day public review period, which ends Dec. 29.
Jim Burns, who represents the project's development team, took a presentation on Cristallago to the Lakeport City Council last month in order to update them on where the project is now and adjustments to its scope.
Cristallago, slated to be located two and a half miles north of the city of Lakeport and just west of Highway 29, is designed as a mixed-use development community on 862 acres, 576 of which would be maintained as open space with 366 dedicated in perpetuity as a nature preserve, according to its current draft environmental document.
As proposed it would combine 650 single-family residential units and 325 resort units, an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, 25,000-square-foot clubhouse, community activity center, vista spa, restaurant and conference facility.
The developers propose to plant organic olive trees at the entry ways and also use the trees to buffer the residential areas for them golf course and as fixtures of the development's landscaping. They would use the olives to produce Cristallago brand Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
The city of Lakeport has so far not taken any action to give formal support to the project. County Community Development Director Rick Coel said Tuesday that he also hasn't received any comments from the city pertaining to the draft environmental impact report.
Meanwhile in the south county there is the Provinsalia project, proposed by Lake County Resort Partners Inc., headed by Mexican businessman Jorge Rangel de Alba.
Provinsalia is proposed to be built on 292 acres along Cache Creek within the Clearlake city limits. It would consist of 565 single family homes, 100 condominium units and a nine-hole golf course.
The first of two meetings to receive public comment on its draft environmental impact report, as well as rezoning and general plan amendment proposals, took place Dec. 2 before the Clearlake Planning Commission, as Lake County News has reported.
The commission will continue discussing the project, and hear more comments from community members, at a meeting to take place at Clearlake City Hall at 6 p.m. Dec. 16. At that point it is expected to decide whether or not to send a proposal to the Clearlake City Council to certify the draft environmental impact report and approve the rezone and general plan amendment.
Now, just within the last week, Valley Oaks – proposed by developer Ken Porter – also is on deck, with the release of its draft environmental impact report, which can be found at the county government's Web site, www.co.lake.ca.us.
Valley Oaks would be built along Highway 29 next to Hidden Valley Lake on what is called the Arabian horse ranch property.
The draft document explains that the proposed development would include 380 single-family dwellings on lots with a minimum size of 6,000 square feet, 53 senior living/multi-family residential units, a residential care facility with 49 beds and approximately 55 medium density residential units at 15 units per acre.
A commercial area would include five separate villages ranging from approximately 2.37 acres to 11.07 acres in size and would include retail, a theater, and office and commercial land uses. There also would be parks, open space, and recreational opportunities, including hiking and biking trails.
Porter proposes to build Valley Oaks in six phases, with both water and wastewater facilities supplied by the Hidden Valley Lake Community Services District.
The report said the project would require realigning the existing Coyote Creek corridor to avoid removal of mature oak trees and the arch pipe under Hartmann Road near the confluence of Coyote and Gallagher creeks.
Coel said the public comment period for Valley Oaks started on Dec. 1 with the state clearinghouse. He said the county is extending the comment period due to delays in getting the draft document copies circulated locally.
That means the minimum 45-day comment period would end Jan. 23.
Coel said no hearing before the county Planning Commission has been scheduled, but he said a Jan. 22, 2009, date for a first hearing is probable and will be confirmed by the end of next week.
The environmental impact reports for Cristallago and Provinsalia have both drawn criticism by area groups and residents.
At the Dec. 2 Clearlake Planning Commission meeting, commissioners hear numerous complaints about the Provinsalia document.
Sierra Club member Debra Sally warned that it was incomplete and could expose the city to legal liability. Board of Supervisors Chair Ed Robey also faulted the report for its omissions.
Early criticism of the thick Cristallago document includes a letter sent to Community Development on Dec. 3 by archaeologist Dr. John Parker.
Parker's five-page letter faults the report for not completing a completing archaeological inspection of the project area. Based on his past research in the Clear Lake Basin, Parker estimates that the entire Cristallago site should contain 4.9 prehistoric archaeological sites.
“The fact that no prehistoric sites were discovered by the archaeological inspection team flies in the face of the statistical average for the Lake Basin as a whole,” he said, which is more a reflection of the archaeologist's sampling design than their skill.
Because of the archaeological inspection's small sample nature, Parker said it's impossible to discuss potential impacts or mitigation alternatives needed to address historic resources.
Parker points out that, based on the California Environmental Quality Act, an environmental impact report can't be certified until all archaeological resources have been identified, their significance has been determined based on Public Resources Code, potential impacts on cultural resources have been identified, and alternatives for lessening or eliminating impacts have been listed.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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