The council approved the project in a series of three motions that variously approved the environmental report, rezones and general plan amendments. Councilman Roy Simons was the only dissenting vote on the first motion, but he left before the last two votes, citing a failed hearing aid. Council member Joyce Overton was absent from the meeting.
Mayor Chuck Leonard, Vice Mayor Judy Thein and Councilman Curt Giambruno approved the project following two hours of public comment and council discussion. The council held a previous public hearing on the project on Feb. 12, during which about three hours of public input was received.
Provinsalia, the plans for which include 665 housing units – 565 single family homes and 100 condominiums – and a nine-hole golf course on 292 acres along Cache Creek at 17012, 17055 and 17065 Dam Road, is proposed by Lake County Resort Partners Inc., headed by Mexican businessman Jorge Rangel de Alba. On Dec. 16 the Clearlake Planning Commission voted unanimously to support the council's approval of the project.
As the Provinsalia discussion got under way on Thursday evening before a large audience of community members, City Administrator Dale Neiman said that it was his belief that the healthiest communities have an average distribution of incomes and ethnicities.
Despite some omissions – such as archaeologist Dr. John Parker's letter not being forwarded to the consultant for the final environmental impact report (EIR) – Neiman said there was a lot of good work done on studying the project, particularly in looking at climate change issues.
He said Provinsalia's draft EIR was released in September 2007 and its final EIR in March 2008. Last June, the state's Office of Planning and Research, which prepares the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines, issued a technical advisory about new climate change regulations.
Neiman presented a comparison between Provinsalia and Valley Oaks, a 380-home subdivision next to Hidden Valley Lakes, the draft EIR of which was approved in a Lake County Planning Commission on Thursday morning.
He said Provinsalia is expected to create 15,519 tons of carbon dioxide annually, compared to 21,247 tons of carbon dioxide that Valley Oaks is expected to to create. Over 20 years, Provinsalia will produce more than 311,000 tons of carbon dioxide, and Valley Oaks more than 424,000 tons of carbon dioxide, Neiman said.
Public input touches on various issues
When Leonard opened up the public comment, he stipulated that the council only would hear comments about a new letter from Caltrans (for full details see sidebar, “Caltrans letter reiterates concerns over project”) and the climate change information provided relating to Valley Oaks.
Over the next few hours they heard from 13 community members, only one of which expressed support for Provinsalia. Some of the speakers challenged Leonard's restrictions on public comment, with others questioning whether or not there was new information in staff's latest report that should be addressed.
Among the latter was attorney and community member Robert Riggs, who – based on the Feb. 23 staff report – said he thought there were a number of issues that were going to be addressed in the amendment to the project's specific plan. Riggs said it was his understanding that, once those issues were all addressed, the council would then act.
He asked if the project was truly buttoned down so that it would take place as presented or “are we being potentially bamboozled here in any respect?”
Riggs said the project's documents contain “loopholes big enough to drive a bulldozer through,” which caused him concern over approving the project at this time.
He called the project “a bit of a rush job,” adding, “I'm not clear what the rush is here.”
“That isn't really new information, I believe, because it was discussed at the last meeting,” Neiman replied.
Sierra Club Lake Group Chair Victoria Brandon shared Riggs' concern, believing the staff report contained new information.
She also pointed to the resolution in the staff report that said “all persons wishing to testify were heard.” Brandon maintained there were others who wished to speak who hadn't given testimony on Feb. 12, and she herself wanted to discuss additional items outside of Leonard's set limits.
Instead, she questioned the completeness of Provinsalia's specific plan document, and asked the council not to act on it until it was finished. “This is the largest project in the city of Clearlake. It deserves to be addressed with care.”
When the audience applauded Brandon, Leonard used his gavel and warned the audience to stop. He told Brandon she was wrong, that there had been no further comment at the last meeting, and when she rose to respond he told her to sit down.
A review of the Feb. 12 meeting showed that after nearly three hours of public comment no more community members had come forward, but the council voted to continue the public hearing to the Thursday meeting, with no limitations outlined.
In response to Brandon's request for more time, Neiman said this was the ninth meeting the city has held on Provinsalia, seven of them before the Planning Commission and two with the council. It's unclear if that count included a meeting in April of last year that included both the council and the planning commission.
Glen Goodman said there were concerns about Provinsalia that he didn't believe had been addressed – including the main road into the project and associated studies.
He also questioned how much the project would cost existing city residents. Leonard told him he was wandering off the subject. When Goodman repeated his question about costs to residents, Leonard said the EIR doesn't go into that.
Goodman also questioned what would happen if the property for the project's main road isn't acquired. Leonard responded, “If there's no Provinsalia road here's no project. That's just a simple thing.”
Continuing on the road subject, Goodman questioned if eminent domain would be used to acquire the property. “You've heard my position on eminent domain. I would recommend against it,” said Neiman, noting that the stipulation against eminent domain was added to the specific plan.
Neiman said it's his belief that the revenues – through property and sales tax – that Provinsalia would bring into the city would benefit the citizens at large.
He added that before the project could move forward it would have to meet all the requirements laid out in the EIR and specific plan – about 20 to 30 pages of conditions, he said said. “What we're doing is establishing the regulations of how that property can develop.”
There will be further public hearings and CEQA review before approvals for the subdivision are granted, said Neiman.
Archaeologist Dr. John Parker, using a walker due to a broken leg, said he was not able to attend the last meeting in order to offer comment because of his injury. He said he had assumed that he would be able to address any portion of the EIR at the Thursday meeting.
“I think you've had a lot of opportunity,” said Leonard, adding that the project has been in the works for four years.
Other city residents brought up issues of road safety on Lake Street near Lower Lake High and Lower Lake Elementary, water levels in Cache Creek and concerns that not enough people were aware of the project's progress.
JoAnn Saccato, who helped found the Lake County Community Co-Op, discussed the larger issues of climate change and sustainable development, citing information that it would take 1,000 hears to stop the effects of the human impact on the environment even if people went back to preindustrial emission levels.
Saccato added that some scientists believe that humans can't evolve quickly enough to deal with climate change. “We're making choices today that contribute to that.”
She said her father had been a developer many years ago, but noted the model of development he followed was never sustainable.
“I guess my hope for the council is that they find a way to postpone making any rash decisions,” Saccato said, adding that she realized there is tremendous inertia behind the Provinsalia project.
Neiman responded that one of the ways to address climate change is through technology. He said new technology has helped reduce auto emissions 99 percent over the last few decades.
Provinsalia's specifications call for triple-glazed windows, no wood stoves or fire places, a tree for shade at each home to reduce energy, requirements for electrical outlets to be installed on the outside of homes for landscape equipment and electric cars. Neiman said the project will remove 30 acres of trees which will be replaced with 63 newly planted acres.
Council members ask questions, offer perspective on project
Following the close of public comment, Councilman Roy Simons was the only council member to speak against the project.
“I've had an opportunity to listen to a lot of people,” he said to the audience. “Most of you are against this project.”
Simons said he doesn't believe that the city has learned how to serve the people it already has, including its inability to maintain a program for paved streets.
Recalling his experiences living in the Bay Area, Simons said, “Rapid growth can be devastating,” while slow growth can bring people together.
Councilman Curt Giambruno asked numerous questions about sewer and water systems, what would happen if the golf course reverts to open space, who will maintain the property, and fire buffers and tree removal.
He also asked how many homes will be built, citing confusion over various statements in the local media about the actual number of units.
Originally, there were 720 single-family units and 120 multi-family units, for a total of 840 homes, said Neiman. That later was reduced to 720 units and then down to 665.
Thein said she had many of the same concerns as the public did about the project. She asked Neiman if the tentative map process for the subdivision – another step still ahead – would answer some of the questions community members posed Thursday night. Neiman said yes.
She asked how quickly work on building the project could actually start. Neiman estimated that, if they started the day after the project was approved, it would take at least two and a half years to work through a tentative subdivision map and specific drainage studies, with additional time for review and approval, then construction of offsite and onsite improvements.
“If they can't get the financing, nothing is going to happen,” he said.
Council members also had questions for Dick Price, who represents Lake County Resort Partners.
Giambruno asked Price if the golf course would feature a nice restaurant overlooking Cache Creek. Price said yes.
Giambruno also wanted to know if the homes would have solar panels and solar water heaters. “I don't think I know the answer,” said Price.
He said the homes will be built so solar fixtures can be applied later, if the builders they use decide to go that direction. Neiman said the specific plan requires the homes' roofs accommodate solar installations.
When Giambruno asked Price if the homes would be built for passive solar – which is a way of orienting homes to make the most use of sunlight for heating, cooling and energy – Price responded, “I'm not sure I understand your question.”
He added, “We haven't designed the homes yet,” noting they're trying to get the subdivision designed first. If those restrictions are placed on the development, Price said they would be followed.
Neiman said the specific plan requires that the houses be located and adjusted to the extent feasible to have the benefit of solar heating.
Thein asked Price about the use of manufactured homes. “There will be no manufactured homes on this site,” Price said.
Simons said he wanted language added to the city's documents requiring that all of Provinsalia's infrastructure be in place and paid for before there are any home sales.
Thein thanked everyone for coming to the meetings and writing letters, which she said had been very beneficial in helping her practice due diligence.
She said she had followed projects on the property for more than 20 years, long before it was called Provinsalia. She said she had never embraced them, and initially felt Provinsalia also had many problems.
“I have taken this project very, very seriously,” she said, adding that she studied it extensively and spent a lot of time going in and out of Neiman's office to ask questions.
No plan is perfect, Thein said. “I believe we've taken this project and we've turned it around to where it will be a project for Clearlake.”
While today's economy might not support the project, that doesn't mean it won't turn around, said Thein.
In a statement similar to one Neiman made earlier in the meeting, Thein noted that the best communities have all income levels. She said Provinsalia will contribute to raising the bar in Clearlake, and she believed she'd reached a decision in the best interests of the community.
Thein moved three separate actions to approve the project, including certification of the draft and final EIRs, amending the general plan land use designation from managed development-resource protection area to specific plan, adoption of the draft Provinsalia Specific plan and rezoning the property from resource protection to specific plan. Simons lodged one no vote before leaving, citing his failed hearing aid.
The remaining council members voted unanimously to approve an indemnification agreement with the developers in the case that legal action arises over Provinsalia.
Neiman told the council that the developers already had signed the agreement. “We wanted them to do that before the hearing,” he said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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