The hearing scheduled for next week follows an Aug. 21 public hearing by the county's Planning Commission, which is recommending the county approve a text amendment to the county's zoning ordinance that specifically looks at closure, conversion or cessation of the use of mobile home parks.

The board has discussed the ordinance before, most recently at its July 10 meeting, when the supervisors held a public hearing and passed a resolution of intent to move forward with reviewing the ordinance.

At that time, Senior Planner Penelope Shibley of the Community Development Department, who drafted the ordinance, told the board that the ordinance echoes most of state law but fine tunes gray areas.

In particular, the ordinance includes a requirement that, in cases where mobile homes can't be moved because of issues such as the age of the home, park owners must purchase the mobiles at “in-place market value” to assist residents in the relocation process.

An occupancy rate in a park of 20 percent or higher would require the park owner to sent a report to the Community Development Director explaining the vacancies, according to the ordinance.

If the empty spaces are the result of a plan to convert the park, the owner would need to apply for a use permit approved by the Planning Commission to move forward with those plans, the ordinance explains.

That application would include an impact report on the conversion to be completed, which would include detailed descriptions and information about the park's mobile homes. The ordinance also requires that the report include an analysis of the estimated costs of moving mobile homes and personal property to comparable parks.

Shibley told Lake County News that mobile home parks represent a significant housing inventory for the county.

About 100 mobile home parks are located in Lake County's unincorporated areas – not counting the cities of Lakeport and Clearlake – with about 2,000 mobile home spaces, Shibley said. She added that some of those parks are mixed use, and include RV spaces.

Shibley said that Supervisors Anthony Farrington – who sits on the Mobile Home Task Force – and Denise Rushing asked Community Development to create the ordinance out of concerns over some recent park closures.

“We have one in particular that's been a bit of a contentious project, which has been the Nice Holiday Harbor,” said Shibley.

“The owners want to convert and sell to a developer to do a resort,” she explained.

The residents were evicted, but three remain and are fighting the eviction proceedings, said Shibley, including 82-year-old Virginia Mayo.

Mayo told the Board of Supervisors July 10 that she has lived in the park for 23 years, has a monthly income of $876, no savings and has put an estimated $30,000 in improvements in her mobile home over the years.

“Right now, I don't know where to go or what to do,” Mayo said.

She can't move her older mobile home because county ordinances won't allow mobiles of that age to be relocated, she said.

Shibley said there are other parks that, through attrition, have lost their tenants and not replaced them, but she added they haven't seen aggressive conversions outside of Holiday Harbor.

“There hasn't been a study done on how many parks have been vacated,” she said.

There also are cases such as Lake Village Estates in Clearlake Oaks. A representative told the Board of Supervisors July 10 that the 44-acre park has no intentions of converting, and actually plans to expand from 159 spaces to 282.

The hearing will take place at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors' chambers in the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

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Robey, now in his third term as District 1's supervisor, told Lake County News this week that he has decided not run again. His current term runs out at the end of 2008.

“I''ve been thinking of retiring for some time,” said Robey.

Despite the fact that the deadline to file to fun for Robey's seat is months away, four potential candidates – Voris Brumfield, Don Dornbush, Susanne La Faver and Robert “Bobby” MacIntyre – have confirmed with Lake County News that they will run for District 1 Supervisor.

Robey's colleagues, Rob Brown and Anthony Farrington, are running for reelection; Brown has confirmed with Lake County News that he is running, and a campaign fundraiser for Farrington is scheduled later this month.

By the time his term runs out, Robey will be 62, which is the age he's had in mind for retirement.

“I've got other things I want to do, too,” he said.

That includes traveling and doing some fiction writing, said Robey.

He said he plans to continue teaching computer classes at Mendocino and Yuba Colleges.

Accomplishments and challenges 

By the time his final supervisorial term runs out, Robey will have spent 28 years in public service.

He was elected to the first Clearlake City Council in November of 1980. On July 1, 1981, the county stopped providing services to the new city's area.

“We had six months to put the city together from scratch,” he said.

He added, “It was a very interesting time.”

Robey served three terms on the council, from 1980 to 1988. His experience in Clearlake included being recalled with the entire City Council and, then, summarily being reelected to the council.

He left the council under his own steam in 1988, after he moved outside of the city limits to Lower Lake, where built his home.

However, that same year he was appointed to the Lake County Planning Commission under then-Supervisor Voris Brumfield, and stayed on the commission through 1996, serving under Brumfield's successor, Supervisor Helen Whitney.

He left the commission in 1996, when he was elected District 1 Supervisor.

During his time as supervisor Robey has championed the county regaining water rights to Clear Lake, mindful growth and environmental stewardship.

In an editorial published earlier this year by Lake County News, Sierra Club Lake Group Chair Victoria Brandon credited Robey for his behind-the-scenes efforts to win local support for Congressman Mike Thompson's Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act, which passed Congress last fall.

The bill designates 275,830 acres in Thompson’s Congressional District One as federal wilderness, including 51,671 acres – primarily in the Cache Creek and Snow Mountain areas – in Lake County.

He's also had his share of defeats while on the board.

In October 2005, he voted to support a temporary ban on genetically modified alfalfa, such as the Roundup Ready alfalfa produced by Monsanto, due to concerns about genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

The board defeated the ban, but earlier this year a federal court judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had illegally deregulated the alfalfa, and placed an injunction on the product until the USDA conducts a full environmental study.

In October 2005 and again in February 2006, Robey championed a “time-out” ordinance on large residential development applications. The measure was meant to last 45 days and allow the county time to finish up its General Plan update without approving projects that could potentially have conflicted with the new plan.

The February 2006 attempt at the timeout – which opponents called a moratorium – didn't even come to a vote when Robey saw he didn't have the four votes needed to adopt the emergency ordinance.

The county's General Plan update is still only in draft form, and has not been finalized by the Board of Supervisors.

Robey did at one point look at state office, running for State Assembly in 2002, the same year as his colleague, Rob Brown, also made a bid to fill the Assembly seat Virginia Strom-Martin left due to term limits.

Patty Berg received 44.8 percent of the vote to Robey's 24.4 percent in the primary, according to Secretary of State records. While Robey received the second-highest amount of votes for a Democratic candidate, it wasn't enough to earn him a spot in the November 2002 election.

Instead, Berg faced off with Brown – who won the Republican vote with 35.4 percent – and Green Party candidate Doug Thron. Berg won that election with 48 percent of the vote to Brown's 40 percent.

On the Saturday of Labor Day weekend 2002, while working in his office at the county courthouse, Robey said he began feeling ill. Luckily, county Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Cox happened to be in his office across the way, and took Robey to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, where doctors found he had suffered a heart attack.

Robey was flown to Santa Rosa, where he had two stents put in. He said he's had no heart problems or other serious health issues since then.

Coincidentally, not long before Robey's heart attack Brown suffered a heart attack as well.

Staying above the fray

Looking ahead, Robey said he would be interested in continuing to serve on boards such as the Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO).

He's also said he might be willing to endorse a candidate at some point next year after the candidate filing period is closed and the campaign starts, but only after he's evaluated all of the candidates.

Robey said he wants to treat everyone fairly at this early point in the campaign.

“I want to stay above the fray for now,” he said. “I want to encourage anyone who wants to get involved with public service to run.”

He added that he's happy to share information with anyone who is interested in running.

Tomorrow, meet the candidates who are running for District 1 Supervisor.

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A graphic illustrating the Ridgeline Trail system. Courtesy of Chuck Lamb and Holly Harris.

CLEARLAKE OAKS – The hilltops that parallel Highway 20 along the county's Northshore offer some of the county's most breathtaking vistas, complete with Mt. Konocti's handsome profile and a view of a huge portion of Clear Lake.

A Clearlake Oaks couple is working to create a trail system offering those views along with linkages to local campgrounds, wilderness areas and vineyards.

The Ridgeline Trail project is the brainchild of Chuck Lamb and Holly Harris, whose concept of a non-motorized recreational trail system has gained approval from county officials and community groups.

The trail would link trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding, with the added goal of integrating blueways – or waterways – as part of the Clear Lake Shoreline Water Trail.

The Ridgeline Trail would run “roughly parallel” to the 23-mile stretch of highway between the intersection of Highway 53 and Highway 20 and Upper Lake, but will follow a longer, more circuitous route through the mountains.

Harris and Lamb's proposal suggests that the system would offer recreational and educational opportunities to county residents as well as a potential ecotourism destination for visitors.

To make the trail as low-impact as possible, Harris and Lamb said they're seeking to use existing trails, fire roads, fire breaks, power line trails and property easements.

In areas where they can't get landowner support, Harris and Lamb have proposed that the trail could utilize areas along High Valley Road and Bartlett Springs Road, and possibly Pacific Gas & Electric easements.

Plans call for using county boat launches and parks as staging areas for connector and blueways trails to prevent the need for creating additional parking and facilities.

On July 24 the Board of Supervisors gave the concept its approval, and OK'd a resolution approving an application to the National Parks Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program.

A report to the board from County Public Services Director Kim Clymire said the grant would fund 300 hours of county staff time in developing a project master plan and finding funding resources.

Harris told the supervisors that Sheriff Rod Mitchell offered inmate workers to assist with working on trails and campsites.

Clay Shannon of Shannon Ranch and Richard Kuehn also have pledged their support, said Harris, which include offering trail easements.

The board greeted the project with enthusiasm.

“I think it's a fantastic idea,” said Supervisor Jeff Smith.

Supervisor Denise Rushing added, “This would be a world-class trail system, and there are not many in the world like this.”

Harris and Lamb reported that the concept has received widespread support from Congressman Mike Thompson, Assemblywoman Patty Berg, the Lake County Sheriff's Office, Northshore Fire Protection District, North Shore Business Association, Clearlake Oaks/Glenhaven Business Association, Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Chamber of Commerce, Land Trust, Lake County Tribal Health and Sutter-Lakeside's Wellness Program, among many others.

The project enjoys a great deal of county support as well, with its steering committee composed entirely of county staffers, including Clymire, County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox, Supervisor Denise Rushing, Amanda Thompson of Community Development, Jackie Armstrong of Public Services, Debra Sommerfield of Economic Development, Deputy Redevelopment Director Eric Seely, and deputy Water Resources Director Pam Francis.

The project's benefits are many, according to Harris and Lamb. The trail system will offer opportunities to learn about the county's natural resources and biodiversity, expand local recreational opportunities, encourage entrepreneurial ventures into ecotourism and recreation, bring more customers to current businesses and offer more healthy activities to area residents, especially youth.

The trails also serve a very important function for preservation and conservation, Harris and Lamb said. Creating access now will help ensure it isn't lost later. They also believe that increased use of rural areas will help cut down on illegal off-highway vehicle riding, illegal garbage dumping and other illegal activities.

Developing the trail systems also will give public agencies greater access to remote areas for firefighting and rescue activities, said Harris and Lamb.

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The city and the fire protection district have been in negotiations for some time over the parcel sale, which actually is a land swap.

Lakeport had to go through a lengthy mapping process of a large city-owned piece of property that included a site on Larrecou Lane that is the proposed location of Lakeport's new fire house.

In exchange for the Larrecou Lane site, the fire district is offering the city a 2.5-acre parcel it owns on Bevins Court.

On Tuesday, City Attorney Steve Brookes took to the City Council Resolution No. 2303, which authorizes sale of the Larrecou property.

Brookes told the council that an appraiser who had looked at the two properties was candid about the difficulties in reaching a fair appraisal, since both parcels are quite different.

Escrows on both properties are now open in order to facilitate the swap, said Brookes, with both properties carrying $350,000 in title insurance. The city and the fire district are splitting the costs of the property transfer, said Brookes.

As part of its effort to partner with the city, the fire district has agreed to forward money to help the city with upgrades to its sewer plant, Brookes said.

Because the Larrecou property had once been the site of city sewer ponds, a rudimentary toxic screen of the land was required, said Brookes. So far, that screen has raised no issues that would stop the fire district going forward with its plans.

The City Council unanimously authorized the sale and the resolution, which gives Mayor Roy Parmentier, Brookes or City Manager Jerry Gillham authority to execute the escrow documents on behalf of the city.

The city gave no time frame as to when the land swap might be completed.

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LAKEPORT – The Lakeport City Council decided in closed session Tuesday night to open negotiations on the sale of its Vista Point Shopping Center with a Sonoma County developer.

City Attorney Steve Brookes reported Wednesday that the council directed him and City Administrator Jerry Gillham to begin negotiating with Matt Riveras, one of two developers who submitted a proposal to purchase the center, located on Lakeport Boulevard near Highway 29.

Brookes said Riveras has developed a few shopping centers and also owns a house in Lakeport's Lands End neighborhood. Riveras also is the son-in-law of City Councilman Buzz Bruns.

Riveras appeared at the City Council meeting and spoke briefly during public comment, asking the council to choose his proposal and encouraging them to check out his qualifications.

Barry Johnson, owner of Willopoint trailer park and a partner in the purchase of the now-closed Outrageous Waters property in Clearlake, was the other developer to submit a proposal.

Like Riveras, Johnson also spoke briefly to the council Tuesday night, explaining that he had development experience in both Lake County and other areas of the state, including Los Banos, where he developed a Wal-Mart. Johnson said the packet of information he provided to the council also included a letter of support from Meridian Investments, which holds the lease on the Vista Point center.

Brookes said he sent out about 17 letters earlier this summer inviting purchase proposals for the 9-acre parcel, which includes the 113,288 square foot shopping center. City documents report that a March 2006 appraisal of the property valued it at $900,000 “as is.”

“We had a lot of interested parties, but only two made submittals,” said Brookes.

The city isn't just selling the land but also the lease for the shopping center, which is held by Oakland-based Meridian Investments and has a remaining 21 years before it runs out, according to city documents. The lease's 2006-07 payment was $42,337.37, and increases by 5 percent annually.

Riveras and Johnson submitted bids for the center in the same amount, which Brookes said the city was not yet prepared to disclose.

“The council made a determination not to award on price alone,” said Brookes, adding that the city wanted the property – where part of the roof has fallen in – rehabilitated “sooner than later”

When the council went into closed session Tuesday night, two of its members sat out of the discussion due to potential conflicts of interest under Fair Political Practices Commission requirements, said Brookes.

Councilman Jim Irwin had a prior contractual agreement with Riveras regarding a fence between homes he and Riveras were building in Lakeport's Lands End area, Brookes explained. The agreement included a $500 contribution for a common fence.

Irwin's connection with Riveras was tenuous, but to be careful Brookes urged Irwin to recuse himself.

In the case of Councilman Buzz Bruns, his reason for recusing himself was much more straightforward because of his family relationship to Riveras, Brookes said.

Brookes said the city's discussion about selling the shopping center started in 2004. However, before it could put the property up for sale, the city needed a parcel map, because it had acquired the land in chunks over the years.

“The big hang up was the parcel map took much longer,” said Brookes.

The city hired an engineering firm who had several other jobs ahead of it. Also, Brookes said, it was a complex survey job.

That same parcel map was necessary to address other city projects, including the delineation of a parcel on Larrecou Lane that the city plans to trade to the Lakeport Fire Protection District for the site of its new main firehouse. In exchange, the city will receive a fire district-owned property on Bevins Court.

Brookes said Riveras' plan included possibly bringing in new tenants.

He said the council is anxious to get moving on the sale. Brookes said the council directed him to meet with Riveras to see “if we could get something accomplished” – including setting up a timetable for negotiations leading to a sale.

Brookes said of the shopping center, “Our hope is it is developed to the highest and best use that it can and that its physical appearance is improved.”

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CLEARLAKE – After two years of being open to the public only four days a week, Clearlake's City Hall is back on a five-day-a-week schedule, following lengthy negotiations between the city and its employees union.

As of July 30, city hall is open 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, said City Administrator Dale Neiman.

In 2005, city hall was closed to the public on Fridays “so that the staff could be more productive – that was the theory,” Neiman said. “But the staff still worked five days a week.”

Then, last June, city hall staff went on four-day, 10-hour shifts, with everyone taking Friday off, Neiman explained.

But when Neiman arrived earlier this year, he said it quickly became apparent to him that the four-day schedule had created a customer service issue for the city's residents.

So for the past three months Neiman and city administration negotiated with the city's employee associations to adjust schedules so city hall would once again be open on Fridays.

In the agreement worked out, Neiman said some people will continue working the 4-10 schedules, with others working five-day, eight-hour shifts.

Under the current memorandum of understanding between the city and its employees union, Neiman said he can grant different shifts or flex time to certain employees. Keeping the 4-10 schedules in the mix will allow city hall's opening hours to be open 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., he added.

“It's worked out and I think we're providing better service to the public,” he said.

One of the sticking points in negotiations with the employees, said Neiman, was that when holiday hours were accrued, staffers on the 4-10 schedules would receive 10 hours versus eight for each holiday.

At 12 holidays a year, that came out to 120 hours of holiday pay for the 4-10 schedule, rather than 96 hours on a regular five-day, eight-hour shift structure, Neiman explained.

Employees didn't want to give that up, said Neiman. “That's why it took so long.”

He said the employees union received no concession on the holiday pay issue, because the City Council never formally approved the four-day work week that gave rise to it. Because the council didn't approve the work schedule, the extra holiday hours can't be given, Neiman said.

Mike Minton is the representative for the Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3, which represents about 50 city employees, including police, Public Works and City Hall staff.

Minton said the employees agreed with the city that City Hall should be open five days a week, and had no issues with that change.

The sticking point in the negotiations, said Minton, was Neiman's insistence that they also resolve the holiday hours and changing the hours of Public Works employees as part of that discussion, rather than taking up those issues at negotiations for the new memorandum of understanding between the city and union.

In the case of Public Works employees, Neiman said he was concerned about them being on a four-day schedule because of safety concerns in the winter months, where their longer work days could put them out in the streets after dark.

“It's not us that's holding this process up,” said Minton.

Neiman said that he did want those issues worked out before discussing the successor memorandum of understanding.

The Public Works scheduling issue hasn't been entirely resolved, said Minton.

Neiman concurred, saying the union and city need to discuss it further. “I think a reasonable solution can be worked out.”

However, in the mean time, Public Works staff will stay on the four-day schedule through the summer, and on Oct. 15 will go back to the five-day work week.

Minton said the old memorandum expired June 30. “We were ready to sit down at the table prior to that.”

If Neiman had continued pushing on the Public Works and holiday pay issues outside of negotiations, Minton said he was prepared to go the legal route. “We would have been in court probably getting an injunction to stop him.

“We still may, depending on what he does,” said Minton, who said the union also might file an unfair labor practice complaint for the city's failure to negotiate.

Neiman said dates are now being set up to discuss the memorandum of understanding with the union, but it won't be immediate.

“I told them I wouldn't be in a position to start negotiations until after the budget was adopted,” he said, adding that he also wants to have a better understanding of the city's finances before entering talks with the union.

With budget hearings scheduled later this month, beginning Aug. 16, that likely pushes negotiations into September.

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