The Cristallago project will be back before the board at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, at which time supervisors are expected to vote on the Sierra Club Lake Group's appeal of the project's final environmental impact report, which the Lake County Planning Commission certified this past October, as Lake County News has reported.

The actual merits of the project are scheduled to go before the Board of Supervisors in March.

Cristallago Development Corp. – which includes developers Matt Boeger and Mark Mitchell – envision the development including up to 650 homes, 325 resort units including a hotel, an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus signature golf course, a commercial development and open space on 860 acres along Hill Road.

At the Jan. 26 board meeting, when a lengthy public hearing took place, people from around the county and beyond came to hear the discussion.

One of the people in the audience was developer Dick Price of Modesto, who is leading Lake County Resort Partners' efforts on the Provinsalia project, which the Clearlake City Council approved last April.

Provinsalia would include 565 single-family homes, 100 condominiums and a nine-hole golf course on 292 acres located at 17012, 17055 and 17065 Dam Road and along Cache Creek.

During public comment Jan. 26, former District 1 Supervisor Ed Robey – in speaking against Cristallago – raised concerns about the capacity of the county's Basin 2000 sewer pipeline, which carries treated wastewater to The Geysers geothermal steamfields, where it's injected to help in the production of steam.

Robey argued that a big project like Cristallago would end up taking up as many as 1,000 residential sewer connections that current property owners have a right to expect they'll be able to use.

Pointing to Price in the audience, Robey said he should be worried about the capacity for his project as well.

After the meeting, Price told Lake County News that the sewer issue is one that's been on his mind.

“I've been concerned from day one that they might not get sewer solved quickly enough,” said Price.

Price also was at the Lake County Planning Commission's Oct. 22 meeting when it approved Cristallago's final EIR.

Also in the audience that day was Ken Porter of Sonoma County, who is proposing the Valley Oaks housing project at 18196 and 18426 S. Highway 29 near Hidden Valley Lake.

Valley Oaks is proposed to include 380 single-family homes, senior housing, commercial and retail development and a 49-bed senior care/assisted living facility, according to its draft EIR, which the Lake County Planning Commission approved in February 2009.

Emily Minton, a county planner, told Lake County News that Valley Oaks' final EIR is being completed, but there is no date for it to go before the Lake County Planning Commission yet.

Price said he has a connection to the Cristallago project.

He's friends with some of the property owners, including Richard and Kimberly Evans, and Mitch Adams, the latter being a golf course developer, he said.

Price said he helped get all the parties to the table, where they sat down and put the deal supporting the project together.

“This project is important to me because they're friends,” he said.

Jim Burns, a member of Cristallago Development Corp.'s team, said Price has invested no money in the project, and that he couldn't speak to Price's level of involvement in the project.

“I'd like to see Matt (Boeger) make it happen,” Price said.

While Boeger and his team say that they've spent about $2 million to get Cristallago to this point, Price said about $4 million has been spent on Provinsalia so far.

Price said he's moving forward on the next steps for Provinsalia, which include a subdivision map application and work on the roadway entry into the project.

He said he expects applications on both items to be submitted to the city of Clearlake this month.

There also is an air quality study that needs to be done, work with the Army Corps of Engineers and an application that must be made to the Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) for Provinsalia to be taken into the Konocti County Water District, Price said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

The city of Lakeport contracted with Irwin, of the firm National Grant Services, to write a grant to fund park projects including Westside Community Park, and he spoke to a committee of volunteers and community members at a public input meeting last Wednesday evening at Lakeport City Hall.

The grants would come through a competitive statewide park program funded through Proposition 84, as Lake County News has reported. Irwin is confident that he will be able to win money for the project.

“I have written 55 grants and won 47 of them,” he said.

Although it was a public input meeting, only two of 13 people who attended were private citizens. One man was a dog park enthusiast and the other was a woman who had coached softball and was interested in the softball fields.

The other attendees included members from the city's Parks and Recreation Commission, the Lakeport City Council, city staff, park maintenance and RB Peters, the business that has built the park thus far.

The committee announced some changes. The privately owned land that was adjacent to the parking lot and horse arena will now be incorporated into the park and will most likely be more playing field space, said Dennis Rollins, chairperson on the committee.

He also added that some current areas may be expanded as well.

Also, the committee reported that the proposed area for a dog park from Phase I is now a catch basin for runoff from the park. The area that is currently a dog park is on city-owned property that is not included in the park’s plan, but will continue to be a dog park for the foreseeable future.

The committee still wants to find other ways to upgrade the dog park since the grant money cannot be used for it.

Once the meeting was open for comments, some new ideas for generating revenue came to the table. Using solar power to offset electricity costs was such an idea.

One idea that proved controversial was a concession structure of some kind. Park committee member Charlie Jolin, a dedicated and longtime member, felt that a concession stand might infringe on the potential profits that the local businesses could make during big tournaments when the playing fields are rented out.

Another issue discussed was allowing the fences to be sold as spots for advertising banners. One nature lover in the audience said people go to a park to get away from being bombarded by thinks like advertisements.

More pure community input is needed so the committee encourages interested citizens to attend the next public input meeting which will be at the City Hall in Lakeport on Monday, March 1.

“This is your park,” said Irwin. “When we build a park, it’s forever, for generation after generation.”

For more information and to see a layout map of the Westside Community Park Master Plan, visit www.cityoflakeport.com/departments/home.aspx?deptID=85 .

E-mail Tera deVroede at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

The Pearce Field redevelopment project on Highway 53, which is proposed to include a Lowe's home improvement center as the anchor tenant, will not be discussed at the council meeting on Thursday, Feb. 11, according to City Clerk Melissa Swanson.

Swanson said city staff will ask the council to continue the agenda items, but she didn't have information on the new date.

She said City Administrator Dale Neiman will have the rescheduling information at Thursday's council meeting.

The Lowe's plan, which would be supported by more than $6 million in redevelopment funding for infrastructure improvements, was the subject of a nearly six-hour special meeting on Jan. 7, as Lake County News has reported.

KK Raphel Properties LLC of Danville is proposing the project, which has come out of more than three years of property negotiations between the company's principals and the city.

It's expected to include a Lowe's store with a total of 137,000 square feet of space – including more than 25,000 feet dedicated to an outdoor garden center – as well as four other, as-yet undetermined commercial tenants expected to be fast food or sitdown restaurants.

This is the third time the staff has asked for postponements, which Neiman said previously were needed because staff had to write responses to the voluminous public comments submitted on the proposal.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

Clearlake City Council’s obstinate stance to move ahead with a new shopping mall across from Wal-mart, featuring Lowe's hardware as an anchor client, demonstrates to what extent the council has written off the merchants and taxpayers of Clearlake.

They say this proposal will help the city by bringing in sales tax dollars. This belief that big business always equals big bucks is simple-minded and adolescent (it acknowledges only income and denies the cost spent to get there).

For instance, the council wants to invest $7 million of the city’s own money to subsidize the development, which means the city would pay a percent of every wrench or hammer bought at the new store. Or your fast food might cost a dollar less because the city helped pay the mall tenants’ rent. That is not free market.

In the second place, the mitigated negative declaration report by the Sierra Club, including data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and sales projections by Lowe's itself, shows that Lowe's expects to take over an existing market – a market that is already 100-percent serviced – eating away two-thirds of the profits of already established businesses, many of whom will go out of business. The study concludes: “there is virtually no market support whatsoever for a new major home improvement business.”

Follow the logic. Clearlake customers already have all the hardware they need. And who in surrounding communities will drive to Clearlake to shop at Lowe's? No one. Why not provide something not currently available like a Macy’s, Sears, Penney's, Best Buy or Ikea? My favorite would be a Big 5 to enhance vacationing.

The stores mentioned above might also encourage shopping in the older sections of Clearlake. Imagine what $2 million worth of sidewalks, a few paint jobs and a trolley would do for Lakeshore Drive! This could be a thriving tourist area of confections, crafts, and customized products that would draw out-of-towners to Lake County.

Clearlake should invest redevelopment funds to fix walkways on Lakeshore and repair the potholed side streets that lower property values for everyone in the area. As for new construction, city council members should not bribe new business, but let market forces govern. If developers want a mall – let them pay for it. Odds are we’d get a better anchor store … would Lowe's come to a saturated market if it weren’t being paid millions to do so?

Keep in mind that “redevelopment” (as in the redevelopment money the city wants to give away) means to improve already existing neighborhoods … not pioneer new areas that cause traffic, environmental and economic problems.

Economically, individual employees will suffer. Lowes propose's three times as many part-time jobs as it does full time – 131 to 44. Instead of organizing full-time employees into split shifts, Lowe's will keep everyone unpredictably scheduled, underpaid and without adequate benefits.

I’m hoping that local businesses get together and hire a lawyer to investigate suing the city for conflict of interest, favoritism and misappropriation of funds.

Three of the five council members live in the area that is projected to have higher property values near a new shopping mall. At the Jan. 14 council meeting, these three members drew cards to see which one would pretend they didn’t have a conflict of interest so that a quorum could vote for the shopping center.

As for favoritism, how far back did the city have the property and redevelopment funds available, but failed to make this known? The city council did not offer redevelopment money to Mendo Mill when the company invested millions in expansion and complied with paying for developments properly belonging to the city, like improving the street. It is as if the city used Mendo Mill as a guinea pig, building a clientele that could be offered to Lowe's on a silver platter.

And is it not misappropriation of funds to bullheadedly give the new enterprise money when the council has been warned by the impact report that vacancies and blight will surely result in other areas of Clearlake? And that many existing businesses will go under?

Council members, three of five of you have a conflict of interest. Before you are sued and cost the taxpayers of Clearlake a bundle, back out and save face.

Janis Paris lives in Clearlake Oaks.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Board of Supervisors chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. TV8 will broadcast the meeting live.

The appeal discussion will take place beginning at 9:45 a.m. It first went before the board on Jan. 26.

The Sierra Club appealed the Lake County Planning Commission's October certification of a final

environmental impact report for Cristallago Development Corp.’s project, which is proposed to include 650 homes, 325 resort units, an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus signature golf course, conference center, spa, internal trail system, three small parks, an equestrian center and a commercial development on 860 acres along Hill Road in north Lakeport.

Also on the agenda for Tuesday, the Women’s Protective Club of Upper Lake will give the board a presentation on the Upper Lake Town Clock. That item is scheduled for 9:40 a.m.

The board will hold a closed session to conduct a performance evaluation of county Agricultural Commissioner Steve Hajik and Information Technology Director Martin Franusich; and discuss with legal counsel two cases of existing litigation, California Sportfishing Alliance v. County of Lake, et al., and the bankruptcy of Boeger Land Investments LLC.

Other items on the agenda include the following.

Timed items

9 a.m.: 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.

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).

9:15 a.m.: Hearing, notice of nuisance abatement, 12658 E. Highway 20, Clearlake Oaks, Jane Ventura.

9:30 a.m.: Public hearing, discussion/consideration of proposed ordinance establishing a fine and fee schedule for the County Library (revisions include fines for overdue materials, fees for inter-library loans, fees for items lost or returned irreparable, fines for accounts referred to collection services, refunds for lost items returned, maximum fine debt allowed and circumstances allowing fines to be waived).

11:30 a.m.: Assessment appeal hearing, James Lujan – Application No. 57-2009 – APN 830-016-779 (boat), located at 6860 Stoneybrook, Clearlake.

Nontimed items

– Supervisors’ weekly calendar, travel and reports.

– Consideration of temporary moratorium on sewer hookups to the Southeast Regional Wastewater Collection System.

– Discussion/consideration of proposed Fifth Amendment to the contract between the County of Lake and Crestwood Behavioral Health, Inc. for mental health services (not to exceed $210,000).

– Discussion/consideration of recommended Bid Award (Bid No. 10-17) for the Lucerne 3rd Avenue Plaza Pier.

– Discussion/consideration of proposed: (a) Budget Transfer B-111 in the amount of $58,450 - Budget Unit No. 8350 - LACOSAN: (b) Budget Transfer B-112 in the amount of $6,200 - Budget Unit No.

8593 - Kelseyville County Waterworks District No. 3; (c) Budget Transfer B-113 in the amount of $17,326 - Budget Unit No. 8695 - Special Districts; and (d) Budget Transfer B-114 in the amount of

$56,000 - Budget Unit No. 8695 - Special Districts.

– Discussion/consideration of proposed Resolution amending Resolution No. 82-233 establishing rules and regulations governing general relief.

Consent agenda

– Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meeting held on Feb. 2, 2010.

– Appoint incumbents Al Moorhead and Raymond Mostin to the Big Valley Groundwater management Zone Commission for terms expiring on Jan. 1, 2014.

– Authorize the destruction of deposit – fiscal years 2007-08 and earlier; confirming requisitions (copies) – fiscal years 2007-08 and earlier; budget transfers (copies) – fiscal years 2007-08 and earlier; FPO Entries (copies) – fiscal years 2007-08 and earlier; receipt books – fiscal years 2007-08 and earlier; vacation and sick leave accruals – fiscal years 2007-08 and earlier; funds cash balance (copies) – fiscal years 2007-08 and earlier; payroll projections – fiscal years 2007-08 and earlier; timecards – fiscal years 2007-08 and earlier; confirming requisitions (copies) – fiscal years 2007-08; and distributions records (copies) – fiscal years 2007-08 and earlier.

– Approve contract between the county of Lake and Greg V. Johnson for provision and installation of fire alarm control panel and fire detection equipment and monitoring devices in the amount of $14,343

and authorize the chair to sign.

– Approve lease agreement between the Lake County Historical Society for the Upper Lake Clubhouse (annual rental of $1), and authorize the chair to sign.

– Approve annual delegation of investment authority to the county treasurer in accordance with Government Code Section 53607 and confirmation of the Treasury Oversight Committee members.

– Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Pivniska Trucking for funding in the amount of $11,045, for replacement of diesel engine (Carl Moyer Program), and authorize the chair to sign.

– Adopt Resolution No. _____ authorizing the California Air Resources Board to implement the fiscal year 2007-08 Lower Emission School Bus Program within the Lake County Air Quality Management District and the acceptance of amended grant award in the amount of $1,930,280.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

Holly Harris, left, and county Public Services Director Kim Clymire led the Konocti Regional Trails Plan in Lower Lake, Calif., on Saturday, January 23, 2010. Photo by Tera DeVroede.

LAKE COUNTY – Lush greenery, crisp air and sparkling water are all wonders that will be even more accessible now that the Konocti Regional Trails Plan is under way.

Board members, property owners and recreational trails users all joined together Jan. 23 in a collaborative effort to reveal Lake County’s stunning vistas, cultural values and historic significance via both land and water routes.

The Konocti Regional Trails' second public workshop was hosted in Lower Lake at the Lower Lake Historic Schoolhouse Museum and attracted nearly 100 participants.

Once inside, participants had a plethora of vendors and educational stations to visit, including the Sierra Club Lake Group, the Lake County City/Area Planning Council, the Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association, Friends of Boggs Mountain and the Equestrian Women of the Toll Road, who were there promoting volunteerism on the Highland Springs area’s trails.

The trail systems are not only focused on attracting local enthusiasts, but international nature lovers as well.

Several participants said they’ve seen people come to Lake County from around the world just to enjoy the breathtaking views.

During a short PowerPoint presentation about the outline of the workshop, Kim Clymire, the director of Lake County’s Department of Public Services, explained that the county purchased 1,500 acres on Mt. Konocti from a private owner.

“The vision and goal of this workshop is to set the framework for this trails plan. It will form connections between cities and beautiful points of interest,” he said.

The map in the slide show outlined several interest points including Cow Mountain, the Indian Valley Reservoir, Lake Pillsbury and the wilderness surrounding Cache Creek.

“I think many residents of Lake County have dreamed of a trail encircling the lake. But with Mt. Konocti in private hands for so long, it was not believed to be a near-future reality,” said Holly Harris, a dedicated volunteer on the project and personal cartographer of some of the routes. “The acquisition of Mt. Konocti this past year made the dream more feasible.”

The Konocti Regional Trails plan began with a group of citizens who had a common desire to have access to local trails. They met with county officials, applied for and got a National Park Service Rivers Trails and Conservation Assistance Program, which offers technical support to develop trails, said Harris.

The grant offered the professional guidance and expertise of Barbara Rice, who has years of experience in trail implementation and design, Clymire told Lake County News.

After the presentation, participants split into three breakout sessions to cover three important aspects of the project – policies, planning and design.

Community members didn’t hold back their concerns or questions, and every idea was listed on a large sheet of paper for everyone to see and comment about.

The groups also discussed the pros and cons of the operation.

For example, some major concerns property owners have is the potential for dumping and trespassing.

Recreational users expressed the need for proper signage on the trails to keep people from getting lost.

County officials said trail routes on private property only will be considered with complete and full cooperation from property owners. Eminent domain is not a consideration of the trails plan.

Safety is a main concern for the Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Unit. Vallen Cooper, secretary of the Search and Rescue Unit, reported 14 “activities” out off of Highland Springs alone.

“We’re promoting trails in the entire county with the creation of signage and a formal map,” said Cooper, who is also is a member of the Back Country Horsemen of America. “Planning for emergencies like search and rescue are health and safety concerns so we are very involved at the ground level to help make these trails conducive to assisting in search and rescue incidents.”

Safety also was one of the main concerns of 652 respondents to a survey conducted last year, through www.surveymonkey.com, which represented 1 percent of Lake County’s population.

Eighty seven percent of respondents listed walking or hiking as the major activity they do in Lake County.

The survey was developed to identify existing destinations, desired modes of trail use, key issues and concerns and desired amenities. Additionally, the survey was designed to determine the level of support for a Konocti Regional Trail system and garner potential volunteers, said Harris.

Harris reported that 30 people attended the first workshop, compared to 100 at the second.

The lake has been divided into five separate study areas for potential trails. The first is the Northshore area which extends from Nice to Clearlake Oaks. The Northshore ridgeline is what originally inspired citizens to band together and ask for accessible trails for local use, officials reported.

The eastshore study area runs from about Honeymoon Island, through Clearlake and all the way to Lower Lake. The westshore study area covers the land and water from Upper Lake to Lakeport. The Konocti study area includes the areas surrounding Finley, Kelseyville, Soda Bay and the Riviera.

Finally, the south county study area consists of Loch Lomond, Cobb Mountain, Hidden Valley, Anderson Springs and Middletown.

Covering all of this landscape is a feat. One recurring issue about the trails project was signage. Many users complained that the trails are not marked adequately.

One couple experienced the lack of signage when they ended up lost after starting out on a trip from Bartlett Springs Road.

Ron and Irma Rivera moved to Lake County about four years ago and decided to go for a drive off of Bartlett Springs Road. They came to a fork in the road along the way and turned the wrong direction because there weren’t any signs.

They realized they were lost shortly before they witnessed an odd sight – a BMW had driven up the dirt roads and told the Riveras just where they were. To their surprise, they ended up popping out on Highway 16.

Harris is excited about the third workshop, set to be held this spring. She said a draft of the master plan will be presented and open for comment by any stakeholder. The plan will be submitted to the county’s Board of Supervisors for approval this summer.

To get involved please visit www.KonoctiTrails.com to register and receive biannual updates.

E-mail Tera deVroede at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

Community members gather to share their ideas about the regional trails system at the Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum in Lower Lake, Calif., on Saturday, January 23, 2010. Photo by Tera DeVroede.