CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake city officials are preparing to address several violations of the city’s five-year-old tree protection ordinance, with suggests hefty fines for unpermitted removal of certain native trees.

City Manager Joan Phillipe said there have been four recent violations of the ordinance, which the Clearlake City Council passed unanimously in April 2008.

The Clearlake Vision Task Force had urged the creation of protections for the city’s trees, which in some cases had been subject to extensive clearcutting, such as in one notable incident in which a landowner clearcut oaks from property near Borax Lake.

The ordinance – written, vetted and then approved by both the planning commission and city council – states that its intent is to “establish regulations to protect certain native trees to enhance the attractiveness and livability of the City.”

It specifically protects six varieties of native oaks – blue oak, valley oak, interior live oak, California black oak, canyon live oak and Oregon white oak – as well as any tree the Clearlake City Council designates as a “heritage tree.”

The protected trees can’t be removed, girded, topped, burned, or have temporary or permanent structures placed within their root protection zones. The ordinance also prevents within the root zone trenching, irrigation systems, grading, compaction of soil or covering with impermeable substances such as asphalt, concrete or plastic.

Phillipe said the tree ordinance requires following a process in order to remove trees, and the landowners in the recent cases didn’t go through that process.

The ordinance requires application for removal permits, with an arborist – paid for by the applicant – to determine if the trees are sick, diseased or should be removed. The city’s planning and community development director can approve the permit if conditions are met.

Trees that are removed must have replacements planted unless the trees slated for removal are dead or hopelessly diseased; hazardous to life and property, or a fire hazard; judged by a public utility company to be a hazard to high voltage power lines; or taken down to accommodate city, county or public utility improvements, according to the ordinance.

The document also allows for removing trees whose dripline falls within the footprint of a proposed single family dwelling, garage or driveway on an existing lot where the trees cannot be reasonably avoided for construction. Trees also can be thinned if the action is taken to improve the overall health of a stand of trees.

Phillipe said the four recent violations involved clearcutting of larger residential lots. She said the city was following through on the process to assess necessary penalties.

“The penalties are stiff,” Phillipe told Lake County News.

The ordinance’s penalties include $1,000 for each tree removed without a permit.

Besides that penalty, there also are replacement requirements.

Trees that are removed must be replaced with trees of the same type based on a formula set out in the ordinance. Two replacement trees shall be planted for the first 6 inches of diameter at breast height and one tree for each additional inch – also at the breast height diameter measurement – of the original tree.

In cases where a permit is taken out, the replacement trees must be planted within 12 months of the removal permit’s issue, according to the ordinance.

Based on that replacement formula, Phillipe said one of the property owners, who cut down 15 trees, is going to be required to plant 278 trees, but their lot isn’t big enough to accommodate the replacements.

Still another of the property owners who cut trees may have to plant 800 replacements, she said. Replacement totals for the other two violations haven’t been calculated yet.

Phillipe pointed out that the ordinance allows for the replacements to be planted on public property, including city parks and lands, but she said Clearlake doesn’t have enough public land space at this point to accommodate the replantings.

In an effort to come up with some sensible solutions, Phillipe said she and city staff are putting together a package of proposals to take first to the Clearlake Planning Commission and then the council in the near future.

She said the city first needs to redefine the “breast height” measurement requirement, which she pointed out is quite different among individuals.

They also need to assess the replacement requirements, Phillipe said.

Phillipe said that she thinks there is a belief that, due to the city’s decreased code enforcement efforts – which came about due to budget cuts – the city won’t do anything about the tree ordinance.

She said that’s just not so.

“We’ve got this ordinance, we’re going to enforce it,” Phillipe said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

2008 Clearlake Tree Ordinance 2008-138 by LakeCoNews

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – This week the Clearlake City Council will hold a midyear budget review and consider a final reading of an ordinance regulating taxis and other for-hire vehicles operating in the city.

The meeting will be held on Thursday, April 11, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

The council will meet for a closed session at 5:30 p.m. to discuss a case of existing litigation – RH, a minor, by and through her guardian ad litem, Elizabeth Town, and KH, a minor, by and through her guardian ad litem, Elizabeth Town, William Hatfield and Judy Hatfield vs. City of Clearlake – before the public portion of the meeting begins at 6 p.m.

Items on the consent agenda – usually accepted as a slate on one vote – include a resolution designating the city manager as the authorized agent for the city of Clearlake with the California Emergency Management Agency, and quarterly reports form the public works, police, city clerk and engineering departments.

For the midyear budget review, City Manager Joan Phillipe’s report to the council explained that the city’s two general fund subfunds are projected to have a positive balance of $262,432 at the end of the fiscal year, including an assigned $150,000 risk management reserve.

Phillipe said if the reserve were subtracted from that end-of-year amount, that would leave an available fund balance of $112,432 to start off the next budget year.

“The City thus continues to be in a challenging fiscal position with little financial capacity to withstand unexpected expenditures, a drop in revenues, a disaster, or uninsured losses,” Phillipe wrote.

Her report said the city’s projected revenues have come in approximately $153,100 short due to lower property taxes, lower Pacific Gas and Electric Co. franchise fees, and unrealized reimbursements and building permit fees.

She said the city also has had $150,000 in unbudgeted litigation costs. Due to projected litigation expenses going forward, Phillipe said the city will have to increase its budget in that area.

In other business, the council will consider a second and final reading of an ordinance to regulate taxi cabs and other vehicles for hire, and hold a discussion regarding memorial tree plantings in city parks.

Also on Thursday the council will present proclamations declaring April 2013 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and Donate A Life Month.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

041113 Clearlake City Council Midyear Budget Review

LAKEPORT, Calif. – This week the Board of Supervisors will present proclamations to several people who helped rescue a Lucerne woman from her pickup last month after it went into Clear Lake, and will once again take up a proposed pass-through fee for the local cable access television station.

The meeting will take place beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 9, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. It will be broadcast live on TV8.

At 9:10 a.m. the board will present certificates of commendation to Lt. Chris Chwialkowski and Deputy Nick La Velle of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, EMT Laura Carr of Northshore Fire Protection District, and good Samaritans Doug Arnold and Frank Haas for their lifesaving efforts during a water rescue.

On March 21, the group saved 71-year-old Ann Adams after her pickup went off Highway 20 and into Clear Lake, as Lake County News has reported.

Also on Tuesday, at 9:15 a.m. the board will discuss the 1-percent pass-through that would be paid by Mediacom subscribers to support TV8.

The matter was last discussed last year and put off so that County Counsel Anita Grant could research whether the pass-through qualifies as a tax which, if it does, it would be required to be placed on a ballot under the auspices of Proposition 26.

The full agenda follows.

TIMED ITEMS

9 a.m. A-1 to A-4: Approval of consent agenda, which includes items that are expected to be routine and noncontroversial, and will be acted upon by the board at one time without discussion; presentation of animals available for adoption at Lake County Animal Care and Control; consideration of items not appearing on the posted agenda, and contract change orders for current construction projects.

9:05 a.m.: Citizen’s input. Any person may speak for three minutes about any subject of concern, provided that it is within the jurisdiction of the Board of Supervisors and is not already on the agenda. Prior to this time, speakers must fill out a slip giving name, address and subject (available in the clerk of the board’s office, first floor, courthouse).

9:10 a.m.: Carried over from April 2, (a) presentation of certificates of commendation to Lt. Chris Chwialkowski, Deputy Nick La Velle, EMT Laura Carr, Doug Arnold and Frank Haas for their lifesaving efforts during a water rescue; and (b) presentation of proclamation designating April 2013 as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

9:15 a.m., A-6: Continued from Nov. 8 and Dec. 13, 2011, and Aug. 21, Aug. 28 and Sept. 11 of 2012, public hearing consideration of proposed ordinance adding Article Seven to Chapter Seven of the Lake County Code to provide support for Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) Cable Television Access Facilities.

9:45 a.m., A-7: Presentation of Employee Service Awards.

10 a.m., A-8: Consideration of recommendation to award funding for Department of Wildlife Advisory Fish and Wildlife’s field equipment and for the Lake County Committee Department of Water Resources.

NONTIMED ITEMS

A-9: Supervisors’ weekly calendar, travel and reports.

A-10: Consideration of appointments to the following: Countywide Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Advisory Committee.

A-11: Consideration of options to appoint interim County Librarian and authorize recruitment.

A-12: Consideration of request to extend travel authorization for George Speake, project manager for the Middle Creek Marsh Restoration Project.

CLOSED SESSION

A-13: 1. Conference with labor negotiator: (a) county negotiators: A. Grant, L. Guintivano, M. Perry, and A. Flora; and (b) Employee Organization: Deputy District Attorney's Association, Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Association, Lake County Correctional Officers Association, Lake County Employees Association and Lake County Safety Employees Association.

A-13: 2. Public Employee Performance Evaluation: Information technology director.

A-13: 3. Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Cerda v. County of Lake, et al.

A-13: 4. Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Michael Fowler and Emily Ford v. County of Lake, et al., Case No. CV412464.

CONSENT AGENDA

C-1: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meeting held on April 2, 2013.

C-2: (a) Adopt proclamation designating April 2013 as Child Abuse Prevention Month; and (b) adopt certificates of appreciation of the Marymount California University students for community service.

C-3: Adopt resolution accepting road right of way relinquished by the State of California (portions of Wardlaw Street - County Road No. 117A, Calistoga Street - State Highway 179, and adjoining State Right of Way, Middletown).

C-4: Adopt resolution approving right of way certification for the rehabilitation of three county roads - Federal Project No. RPSTPL-5914(055) (Gaddy Lane, Kelseyville, Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville and Butts Canyon Road, Middletown).

C-5: Approve encroachment permit for NorCal Boat and Ski Club for management boat and ski races on Clear Lake during 2013, and authorize the chair to sign.

C-6: Waive 900 hour limit for extra help AAA Director/Staff Services Analyst II Janice Hubbel.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County agencies and organizations are joining together during the month of April 2013 to acknowledge the National Week of the Young Child and the nationally recognized Child Abuse Awareness Month.

“All young children need and deserve a safe childhood as well as high-quality early learning experiences that will prepare them for life,” said Shelly Mascari, director of the Lake County Child Care Planning Council.

In honor of Child Abuse Awareness Month, proclamations will be read at the Lake County Board of Supervisors at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 9, and 6 p.m. Thursday, April 11, at the Clearlake City Council meeting. A proclamation was given during the April 2 Lakeport City Council meeting.

Several events in Lake County will honor young children and those who make a difference in children’s lives.

An advocacy walk and children’s festival will take place on Saturday, April 13, in Library Park in the city of Lakeport.

These free events begin at 10 a.m. with a special ceremony at the flagpole in Library Park.

The advocacy walk starts and ends at the park, with check-in at 10 a.m. T-shirts will be given to all who participate in the walk. Funny hats are encouraged to be worn by walkers.

The Children’s Festival, also in the park, takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Information booths, activities for children, and entertainment, including music and Pomo dancers, will be occurring during the Festival.

All events are free to the public.

“We invite families, community leaders and others to support young children by participating in these special Lake County Cares for Our Kids events,” said Mascari.

Agencies assisting with the activities include Lake County Office of Education, Children’s Council, First 5 Lake County, Lake Family Resource Center, Redwood Children’s Services, Easter Seals, Lake County Victim-Witness Program and Lake County Tribal Health.

To register for the walk, sign up to have a booth at the festival, or for general information, visit www.lakecoe.org and click on “Lake County Cares for Our Kids” under current news, or call 707-262-4161.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A hillside that’s experienced ground movement leading to a potential landslide, with resulting damage to several homes, may be the result of a subdivision’s irrigation line, county officials said Thursday.

Lake County Special Districts released initial results of a leak detection report on Thursday for the Lakeside Heights subdivision, located off of Hill Road in the north Lakeport area.

The results so far suggest that a 2-inch irrigation line owned by the Lakeside Heights homeowner’s association could be the culprit, but further study is under way, Special Districts reported.
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Late last month, the county red-tagged three structures and began to conduct an investigation after a deep fissure in the earth opened up and a large section of ground sank.

That ground movement damaged the homes and a sewer line, and endangered the Special Districts water line that supplies the subdivision as well as Hill Road, as Lake County News has reported.

Since then, the ground movement has continued, with a visit to the site on Thursday showing that the ground had sunk several more feet, with the structures of the homes showing more damage.

Special Districts, which monitors the area, reported that it immediately noted the leak last month and installed an emergency bypass until it could ensure that a permanent repair would not be damaged again by further movement of the hillside.

While inspecting the area where “significant movement” of the ground occurred, Special Districts staff noticed it was saturated with water, which is believed to be contributing to the unstable hillside.

Because the water could have been coming from a a leaking irrigation line, water line or a natural spring, Special Districts – in an effort to ensure it wasn’t public water lines causing the problem – hired a leak detection firm to test all lines within the public water system feeding Lakeside Heights subdivision.  

The test was performed by Specialized Utility Services Program, a subsidiary of California Rural Water Association, using state-of-the-art equipment, including leak surveyors and correlators, pipe locators, hydrophones and computerized leak sound loggers, Special Districts reported.

The agency said the enhanced correlation function identifies narrow-band leak noise- making it ideal for PVC pipes, small leaks, multiple leak situations, and testing environments where there is high background noise.

Special Districts said all of the public water system lines that it maintains and which feed the subdivision were thoroughly surveyed through 10 incremental sections, working from one valve to the next.

The results of the leak detection test were received and reviewed by Special District’s staff. The agency’s Thursday report said there were no leaks detected in the district’s lines, but the report did note a suspicion of a significant leak or leaks in the homeowner’s association 2-inch irrigation line.

The Specialized Utility Services Program report said the “area of concern was at the 2 inch RP irrigation service off the main distribution. When the valve was turned on water was running out down the hillside. We validated that by shutting the RP valve, there was no leak on your system.”

“Although we hope the geotechnical report will provide us with answers as to the cause and expected magnitude of the hillside slippage, we feel that any excess water saturation can only make this situation worse,” Special Districts said in its Thursday report.

In the interest of public safety and to prevent further damage until the geotechnical report can determine the exact cause and magnitude of this issue, Special Districts said its staff is physically disconnecting the irrigation line until it can be inspected and repaired as needed.

The Board of Supervisors at its March 26 meeting approved Special Districts’ request to contract with a geotechnical engineer.

The agency said Thursday that it hired RGH Consultants to perform a geotechnical investigation, which was necessary because Special Districts determined it couldn’t implement a permanent repair a the site until it knew the cause and magnitude of the earth movement.

Special Districts said that its primary focus is on preventing further damage to the sewer lines and protecting the water lines, however, officials believe the report will be useful to property owners, other county departments and various entities involved with the Lakeside Heights Subdivision, and the results will be made available to anyone who can use them.

The geotechnical investigation is based on measuring movement of the hillside over a period of time so Special Districts does not expect the results of that report for three or four weeks.

The leak detection report is available and may be viewed during normal business hours at Special Districts’ office, located at 230 N. Main St., Lakeport.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors this week directed county staff to look at ways to facilitate the formation of a special unit to prosecute environmental crimes related to illegal commercial marijuana grows.

The board on Tuesday heard District Attorney Don Anderson’s proposal to establish a marijuana/environmental law prosecution and recovery of eradication costs unit.

However, the supervisors were concerned about finding the $191,410 Anderson estimated he would need to cover a prosecutor, investigator and vehicle costs at this point in the budget year.

Anderson suggested the unit eventually would pay for itself, but it needed that money up front in order to get it established in the first year.

“My plan is to hit them in two different directions,” Anderson said of illegal growers.

He said he would pursue environmental crime fines of up to $25,000 per violation and civil suits – including liens and foreclosures – to force growers and land owners who are aware of the grows to pay for the costs of eradication, which he said can range between $50,000 and $100,000 on big operations.

County Administrative Officer Matt Perry said it was a big commitment, and he urged the board not to do anything until next year’s budget could be considered. Perry suggested that he could get together with Anderson and County Counsel Anita Grant to look at alternatives for getting the work done.

Grant added that the board also needed to factor in additional work that the Community Development Department would need to do in such cases.

Dennis Reynolds, a county deputy probation officer, accompanied Anderson to the meeting, and offered the board a presentation that showed slides of some of the environmental crimes he’s seen during large illegal marijuana grow eradications.

Those included water diversion; heavy fertilizer, pesticide and poison use; and indiscriminate killing of animals and birds.

Supervisor Denise Rushing, who has volunteered on cleanup efforts on grow sites in the national forest, noted, “You smell death everywhere.”

Reynolds said many outdoor enthusiasts are curtailing land use due to safety concerns associated with the grows, including armed growers. He called the water diversion and fertilizer use “appalling.”

Anderson said the sheriff’s office and other local law enforcement are doing a great job of stopping illegal marijuana when they can, but they don’t have the expertise to deal with environmental crimes, and neither does his staff as it is currently.

Without additional funding and staff, Anderson said he couldn’t start the new program.

Supervisor Anthony Farrington asked if cleanup would be covered by the costs recovered. Anderson said no, that the reimbursement would be for eradication, not repair.

Farrington asked how they could get to environmental restoration. “That’s something I can’t answer,” said Anderson.

Rushing said she wanted to see a business plan and metrics for performance so they could determine how successful the new unit is.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said Anderson has brought the matter to meetings of the local allied law enforcement chiefs.

He said the $191,000 Anderson was seeking was not a small amount, and he also acknowledged the board is facing financial challenges.

Still, Rasmussen urged the board to find a funding source. “Marijuana cultivation with resulting environmental damage has long been a problem in Lake County,” but has increased significantly in recent years, he said.

Rasmussen said public lands protection is vital to the future of Lake County, adding that public lands are a reason many people come to visit and spend money.

In his 23 years in Lake County law enforcement Rasmussen said he has seen many grows degrading public lands, including water diversion, fertilizer use and stripping of forests.

Law enforcement has done a good job with eradications, but cleanup costs need to be addressed, and Rasmussen said prosecuting for environmental crimes will eventually have an impact.

Regardless of what people think about medical marijuana, Rasmussen said everyone needs to take a stand for the environment. He urged the board to support Anderson’s proposal, and to contact public land partners in an effort to find funding sources.

Board Chair Jeff Smith said he also received a letter from Clearlake Police Chief Craig Clausen in support of the plan.

Finley resident Phil Murphy said he had a number of major concerns about the proposal, among them, that he was not comfortable with making employees generate revenue in order to keep their jobs.

Murphy also disputed the idea that marijuana grows are increasing in Lake County, saying he has not seen as many big grows in his area. He also pointed out recent action by the states of Washington and Colorado to legalize recreational marijuana use, making those areas more desirable than California.

“The dynamics of this industry are changing,” Murphy said.

Supervisor Rob Brown said he’s been on overflights that have convinced him that marijuana grows – and the resulting environmental damage – have in fact increased.

Rushing asked Anderson what was stopping him from pursuing the unit formation right now. He said training, estimating that it would cost $5,000 to $10,000 to get a prosecutor up to speed.

Anderson, addressing Murphy’s statement about having an employee tasked with cost recovery as part of their job, said if the unit is not making money, either the program is not working or the person is not good at their job and shouldn’t have it.

“This needs to be part of the budget process, ultimately,” said Rushing.

She proposed having a group of staff including Anderson, Grant, Perry and Community Development Director Rick Coel put together a plan with proposed funding sources, organizational structure and performance measurements to address environmental cleanups. She also suggested finding money for training in the near term.

The board voted 5-0 to support that proposal.

Smith said the unit is a great idea, and if the county had the money he would support Anderson’s original proposal outright.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.