The commission held its first hearing on the project's draft environmental impact report (EIR) on Jan. 22. That lengthy discussion was followed by a shorter one on Thursday, lasting only about 40 minutes, with close to a dozen people in attendance.
Valley Oaks' proposed project site is located four miles northeast of Middletown and next to Hidden Valley Lake at 18196 and 18426 S. Highway 29.
The property's owners, Keith Investments LLC and Valley Oaks Land and Development LLC, both based in Santa Rosa, are proposing a mixed use development including 380 single-family homes, 3.5 acres of medium density housing and 2.5 acres of senior housing, plus 105,000 to 120,000 square feet of retail space that includes a grocery store, drug and general merchandise store, and other retail uses; 85,000 to 110,000 square feet of commercial uses that include a movie theater, motel, and general office uses; and a 49-bed senior care/assisted living facility.
Recently appointed District 1 Commissioner Michael van der Boon said he and District 3 Commissioner Clelia Baur made a site visit together to the proposed project site.
Planner Emily Minton directed the commission's attention to a letter from South Lake County Fire Protection District. The district's fire marshal, Dave Miinch, explained in the Jan. 22 letter that, after reviewing the draft EIR, they were concerned over adequate egress for existing development.
The district requested that the Hartmann Road – which was slated to be closed in favor of a new main access route – remain open, allowing for right turn traffic only for entering Highway 29 or entering Hartmann Road. “This limited use will allow for adequate egress of residents during a fire related emergency and should lessen the impact on response times,” Miinch wrote.
Miinch noted that the fire district also encouraged the Board of Supervisors and the Community Development Department to support the development of a new public safety facility to be located along Highway 29 “with the majority of the expense” to be covered by the developers. The new facility would ensure that Valley Oaks would have less of an impact on emergency services through reduced response times, provide better strategic placement for services and allow for more manageable emergency service expansion.
Commissioner Cliff Swetnam said he had the same concerns for Valley Oaks that he had for Cristallago – that the county not be stuck with property that is partially developed after approvals are given, such as what happened a few decades ago with the Spider Mountain development near Lakeport.
“I'd like to put the developer on notice, at least from my perspective, that we apply the same conditions on this project that we did to Cristallago,” Swetnam said, referring to the request for performance bonds and phase completion that they put on the Lakeport area project after a hearing last week.
Public offers input on traffic, ag uses
Before the hearing was opened to the public, Baur offered a reminder that they were taking testimony on the merits of the environmental impact report, not the project itself.
Hidden Valley resident Ray Rusnak said he misunderstood, that he believed the meeting was for more general input.
“I would like to see this commission reject any and all work that's been done so far on the EIR,” Rusnak said.
He also voiced opposition to a stoplight on Highway 29, suggesting instead a red flashing light, because of his belief that traffic lights contribute to accidents due to people speeding up to get through the lights.
Swetnam asked him why he wanted them to turn down the EIR. Rusnak responded that there are 9,000 foreclosures a day in the US since Jan. 1, at which point Commission Chair Gary Briggs attempted to cut Rusnak off, saying they can't foresee the future.
Rusnak continued, adding that next door to the project site, Hidden Valley Lake has 163 homes for sale plus more in foreclosure, adding up to about 300 available homes, close to the 380 homes slated to be built in Valley Oaks.
He asked about more public hearings. Community Development Director Rick Coel said there would be additional public hearings on the project, including at least one more in front of the commission to consider the final EIR, plus hearings on the proposed rezone and general plan amendment – the plan calls for changing the property from agricultural and rural residential to community commercial and low density residential –before the Board of Supervisors.
The Thursday hearing, he said, was the final chance to speak to the draft EIR.
Sierra Club Lake Group Chair Victoria Brandon said the group had not emphasized the change in agricultural land usage because the property was within the community growth boundary.
But they decided to recast that opinion after seeing two documents – a statement from county Agricultural Commissioner Steve Hajik and a letter from Lake County Farm Bureau Executive Director Chuck March.
Coel had distributed a “request for review” to county department heads on Dec. 9, 2008, asking for their response on Valley Oaks' draft EIR.
On the review form on Jan. 15 Hajik wrote, “I oppose the project because it requires the general plan to be amended from agriculture to residential areas. This is a violation of the general plan to preserve ag land. In addition, it's my understanding that it's prime farmland.”
March's letter, dated Jan. 30, didn't address a specific project, but instead focused on statements made in EIRs “that the conversion of agricultural land in Lake County is a less than significant impact for which no mitigator is required.”
Lake County has limited agricultural soils, March said. “Any conversion of these soils to other uses should be classified as significant. Even when the conversion is proposed within an identified growth boundary, we are still losing soils that will never again have the opportunity to be agriculturally productive.”
In order to deal with possible losses now and in the future, March requested the county put together a mitigation program for conversions of productive agricultural land.
Citing those documents, Brandon agreed that it's important to not allow the loss of agricultural lands. “These soils are precious and limited.”
She also agreed that the fire district's suggestion about allowing the right turn lane to remain has merit.
From the beginning, however, the Sierra Club's most serious concern is the potential for excess commercial space on the property, said Brandon. She added that an economic analysis was based on a growth rate of 6.6 percent, twice the county's estimate.
“There are many desirable features of this project,” she said. “We hope questions will be addressed and we will be able to support it with fewer reservations when it comes forward again.”
Hidden Valley Lake resident Donna Thornton submitted a Jan. 23 letter that called the EIR “stale” because the document was released 18 months after an estimate had been given at a March scoping meeting for a release date in the summer of 2007.
On Thursday, she said other concerns included elderberries in the site location, which had been addressed, but she said a diesel spill that had taken place on the property wasn't.
“That was and is very good ag property,” she said, recalling how that the original layout of the project had been pushed back when Boise Cascade and neighboring property owners agreed to locate the subdivision closer to the hills in order to keep the agricultural land in use.
Ken Porter of Kimco Development said he wanted to expand on Swetnam's comments about the need for bonds to protect the property.
He said he doesn't know if there's a bond available for above-ground building improvements, but said he would be more than willing to do a bond for infrastructure and public improvements.
Swetnam reiterated that he was trying to avoid having work begin only to have the project stop and leave behind a scarred landscape. “Our decisions go with the land and not the land owner,” Swetnam said. “I think it's imperative that we try to protect it as much as we can.”
He added that Valley Oaks is one of the largest projects in the county's history.
Coel said when they start to draft conditions for the project they will have bonding mechanisms for each phase.
Jean Kapolchok, Kimco Development's land use planning consultant, said the project's intended plan to shut Hartmann Road had been designed to be consistent with the Middletown Area Plan, and that they were willing to modify it. She added that she believed the economic study Brandon referred to actually said a 3-percent growth rate, not 6 percent.
Traffic issue will get more study
Van der Boon said he was concerned about the Hartmann Road realignment. He believed it would push traffic through a busy shopping center, through a roundabout and force it to merge with traffic coming out of the subdivision, causing dangerous conditions.
“Why can we not just leave the Hartmann entrance the way it is?” van der Boon asked, noting that he had spoken with Porter, who indicated he is fine with the change.
Pointing to the fire district's concerns, van der Boon said he wanted to see the commission and Caltrans take another look at the road plan, and asked if staff had any comment.
Minton said the design was the result of the Middletown Area Plan, which was adopted in 1989. But that plan hadn't considered the property would have the density that is proposed, and she agreed it needed to be reexamined.
Said Coel, “Ultimately we're at the mercy of Caltrans and what they determine will be the best way to handle this.”
When the final EIR is prepared, planners will have additional discussion with Caltrans to better address the issue. He added that Hartmann Road is a concern, and that it would make for an additional mile to mile and a half of driving distance to enter and exit the subdivision.
Swetnam asked if those changes would make it necessary to recirculate the EIR. Coel said it depended on whether or not additional changes are required to the document itself.
Coel said they would talk to Caltrans again. Minton added that Caltrans had recommended two turn lanes on westbound Arabian Lane to allow for traffic queuing as a result of the traffic light.
Baur was concerned about edits to the EIR. Minton said staff wouldn't edit the document without commission approval.
If the project goes forward, Baur noted, the introduction of diversity in housing in the area would be a good thing.
She asked if Coel was comfortable with the EIR's data in light of the economic situation and changing regulations since the report was started.
Coel said that, while they're in a downturn, “We also know that markets are cyclical,” and projects don't get started until there is the economic ability to do them. He didn't feel they needed to revisit parts of the EIR because of current conditions.
Van der boon moved that the commission find that the EIR was completed in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act and the state's guidelines, and that the final EIR be prepared. Baur seconded the motion, which the commission approved 5-0.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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