LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – After being turned down last year in its effort to locate a new store in the heart of Kelseyville, a developer working on behalf of Dollar General is coming back with a new proposal for a Clear Lake Riviera store and is moving forward on plans it submitted last year for a store in Middletown.

Joe Dell of Cross Development of Plano, Texas, last year submitted a proposal to the county for a new store location at 20900 Highway 29 in Middletown and, this February, came forward with a proposal for another store at 9781 Point Lakeview Road in the Clear Lake Riviera, according to county planning staff.

Cross Development constructs build-to-suit stores for Dollar General, a small box retailer based in Goodlettsville, Tenn.

The firm so far has brought two of the stores to Lake County – in Nice and Clearlake Oaks. Those stores opened in early 2015.

At about the same time as the Northshore stores were opening early last year, Cross Development submitted a proposal for a 9,100-square-foot store on a three-acre parcel at 20900 Highway 29 in Middletown and a store of the same size at 5505 Main St. and 4315 Douglas St. – later renamed Forrest's Road – in Kelseyville.

After significant outcry from Kelseyville residents – citing issues including traffic, locating the store across from the high school and a design that wasn't considered to match with the community's design protocols – the Lake County Planning Commission denied the major use permit and mitigated negative declaration in a unanimous May 2015 vote, as Lake County News has reported.

Planning commissioners at the time agreed not only with the concerns voiced by Kelseyville residents, but voiced dissatisfaction with the performance of the company and its operation of the Northshore stores.

Cross Development appealed the denial to the Board of Supervisors, which voted in August to uphold the planning commission's actions.

Lake County Community Development Department Principal Planner Audrey Knight and Michalyn DelValle, a senior planner who has handled the Dollar General store proposals, told Lake County News that they visited the Riviera site last summer after Dollar General put it forward as a possible alternative.

At that time, the Middletown store proposal was still moving forward through the planning process. However, after the Valley fire struck the south county – including Middletown – in September, Knight said county planning officials decided to put that project on hold due to the population not being able to support it at that time. They asked for a grace period and Cross Development agreed.

Now, the Middletown store plan is moving forward once again, and has a date with the Lake County Planning Commission on Thursday, April 28.

The meeting will be held in the Board of Supervisors' chamber at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The use permit for the store is to be heard by the commission at 10 a.m., with the parcel map discussion planned for 10:15 a.m.

DelValle said there have been no modifications to the store plan since July.

The plans call for the store to be located on less than one acre of the 3.70-acre parcel owned by Louise and Raelene Neve of Petaluma.

Cross Development is proposing to divide the parcel and create a parcel map so that it will not need to have the 30-foot setbacks that Cal Fire requires on the property, DelValle said.

A letter submitted to the county in April 2015 from Dave Carstensen of Caltrans District 1's Transit, Regional & Community Planning division said that, based on staff's review of the plan, they wanted a number of revisions “to benefit the safety of the traveling public on State Route 29, plus vehicles, bikes and pedestrians having access to and from the project site.”

Carstensen asked the county to make several revisions conditions of project approval, including placing the project's sidewalk within the Caltrans right-of-way, with a 6-foot width; removal of oak and walnut trees on the east side of the highway; construction of an 8-foot shoulder on the east side of Highway 29; use of center line striping to replace a proposed left-turn pocket striping detail; extend an existing culvert inlet and headwall; the addition of a stop bar, highway signage and striping to the plan per state highway design standards; and the requirement that Cross Development obtain a Caltrans encroachment permit for all work to be performed within the Caltrans right-of-way.

DelValle said the developer has communicated to the county that, if the project is approved, the plan would be updated to meet the Caltrans requirements.

The store's present design is still not exactly in line with what the county would ideally prefer.

Originally, the store was facing toward the highway, and Knight said the county asked that the design be flipped around to make it more consistent with community design guidelines.

“We want a traditional storefront with sidewalk and circulation,” Knight said.

Now, however, the modified plan has the store sitting sideways to the highway, an orientation that planners still don't consider the best fit.

DelValle said she intends to ask the planning commission to be the design review body for the final store plans, which would mean the commission would have the say on how the store is oriented.

Another consideration for the site is that it is in a flood zone, so likely will require some fill, DelValle said.

New plans for Kelseyville

After the planning commission turned down Cross Development last year, the firm immediately began looking at other sites, and the Riviera location was in their pool of possibilities, Knight said.

The new Kelseyville proposal has the store located on a one-acre site that is composed of three parcels at the corner of Point Lakeview and Soda Bay roads, near some other commercial sites.

DelValle said the plan calls for doing a lot line adjustment to reconfigure the property, owned by Linda and Robert Harvey of Napa.

As with the other stores, this one is to follow Dollar General's 9,100-square-foot formula, DelValle said.

She said she is still waiting for comments and input from a variety of agencies, and estimates that it will be at least two months before the proposal makes its way to the planning commission.

Agencies invited to comment include the county’s surveyor, assessor and air quality departments; the Kelseyville Fire Protection District; Caltrans; and the Clear Lake Riviera Community Association, which DelValle said has asked for regular updates as the project progresses, and also asked about the length of the public comment period and where comments should be directed.

Because the site has a septic system, Lake County Environmental Health has been asked if additional site studies will be needed, DelValle said.

Knight said that when she and DelValle visited the Riviera site last summer, they cautioned Cross Development about the community's specific design elements.

Looking at the plans, Knight said it appears that Dollar General has incorporated some of the red Spanish roof tiles included in those design elements into the store plan.

She said the plan also calls for removing an existing structure to make room for the new store, as it was considered too much effort to reconfigure that current building.

DelValle said there also is a fault line on the property, which will require hiring a geologist to do a geological report, but planning staff has confirmed that it is not necessary to go to the California State Geologist's Office because of the fault.

Based on the site map, that potentially active fault – which does not have a name – is along the east side, to the east of the parking lot and building, and south of Point Lakeview Road, and measures about 140 feet long.

Dollar General plans for hundreds of more stores across the nation

In March, Dollar General announced that it was planning to accelerate its new store openings nationwide.

To date the company has opened more than 12,000 stores across the United States.

In 2016, Dollar General plans to open approximately 900 new stores and relocate or remodel 875 stores, and is forecasting 1,000 new stores and relocations or remodels of about 900 stores in 2017, which is in line with its growth model of 6 to 8 percent square footage growth.

Dollar General spokesman Dan McDonald told Lake County News that there are not yet specific opening dates estimated for the Kelseyville and Middletown store proposals, which he said are still in the due diligence and analysis stage.

“We're doing our necessary research and pursuing the necessary approvals to see if it's going to be viable,” he said.

Regarding the plans for the two locations, McDonald noted, “These are both very traditional Dollar General stories,” with 7,300-square-feet on the sales floor.

He said they also will include the new Dollar General format, meant to make shopping easier and improve the customer experience. To do that, the design has increased shelf space, offers more cooler doors and makes the architecture of the checkout area more efficient.

“We've had great feedback on the model,” he said. “Customers seem excited about it.”

McDonald could not say whether Dollar General is looking beyond the current plans to more stores in Lake County in the future.

In the past, Dollar General officials have said the stores have performed above expectations, although McDonald was not immediately able to provide details on sales currently.

The company also is moving forward with plans to open a store in Mendocino County’s Redwood Valley, across from the Redwood Valley Market. That proposal which came forward last year at about the same time as the Lake County Planning Commission was denying the Kelseyville store plan.

Redwood Valley residents have come out in loud opposition to the plan, with community members formally organizing to oppose the store.

Last year, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors initially voted against the store, then in a later hearing reversed itself after its members were threatened with individual legal action by Dollar General attorneys.

As a result, Alex and Anthony Chehada, the owners of Redwood Valley Market, filed suit in Mendocino County Superior Court in January, asking the county to set aside the building permit the county issued, as Lake County News has reported.

Brian Momsen of the Ukiah law firm of Carter, Momsen & Knight, who represents the Chehadas, said the case had been due in court on Friday.

However, Dollar General and the county of Mendocino have argued that some of the Chehadas' actions are time-barred and should have been filed earlier, Momsen said.

That's because Dollar General filed a notice of exemption at the county recorder's office that changes the statute of limitations on the case from 90 to 35 days. Momsen said he had asked if that was being done and was told no, and as a result he is arguing that he was purposefully misled by Dollar General.

As a result, the judge issued a tentative ruling – which neither side has opposed – directing Momsen to refile the lawsuit and be more specific about how he was misled. The updated filing must be submitted within a few weeks.

“We're kind of embroiled in these motions right now and we won't have an answer for another six weeks,” Momsen said Thursday.

Unlike how it has been so far in Lake County, Momsen said it's been a “no-holds barred” situation with attorneys in Mendocino County, with one of his partners reporting a Dollar General attorney to the State Bar after that attorney threatened the Mendocino County supervisors.

Regarding the Redwood Valley store – which also is planned to have the traditional store layout with the new format – McDonald said construction is slated to begin in June, with a soft opening late in October and a grand opening in early November.

However, Momsen said of that plan, “They do that at their own risk,” adding that his clients' case hasn't been resolved and that they could always appeal any outcome that doesn't favor them.

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.

Dollar General - Middletown Store Plan

Dollar General - Clear Lake Riviera Plan

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – This week the Middletown Area Town Hall will hold discussions on proposals for a community garden and a Dollar General store.

MATH will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 14, at the Middletown Community Center, 21256 Washington St.

Meetings are open to the community.

On this week's agenda is a presentation by Danielle Matthews Seperas, manager of government and community affairs for Calpine Corp., regarding Calpine's proposal for a community garden project.

MATH also will hold an updated discussion on the proposal for a Dollar General store.

Last year, Plano, Texas-based Cross Development submitted to the county a proposal to locate a 9,100-square-foot Dollar General store at 20900 Highway 29 in Middletown, as Lake County News has reported.

County officials said the plan was put on hold temporarily after the Valley fire last year, but the project is now moving forward again and is set to go before the Lake County Planning Commission on Thursday, April 28.

In other business, MATH will get updates on the May chili cookoff, Trailside Park and the replacement of the Middletown gateway signs.

The MATH Board includes Chair Fletcher Thornton, Vice Chair Claude Brown, Secretary Margaret Greenley, and members Linda Diehl-Darms and Gregg Van Oss.

MATH – established by resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12, 2006 – is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown.

Meetings are subject to videotaping.

For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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 Lakeport City Council is hosting a public safety town hall meeting on April 25.

The town hall will begin at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

The city invites all members of the public to attend.

The Lakeport Police Department staff will make a presentation on a variety of topics including:

– recent legislation that has impacted the community;
– current criminal trends affecting neighborhoods;
– business districts and parklands;
– crime and arrest statistics;
– current staffing levels;
– and community oriented policing programs.

Police staff will discuss recent accomplishments, future police projects and possible future legislative changes that may impact public safety.

Members of the community will have an opportunity to provide input or concerns as well as participate in a quality of life survey.

Those planning to attend are encouraged to bring their cell phone tablet to participate in the survey. Wireless Internet will be available during the event.

Refreshments will be provided.