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The commission gave unanimous consent for the new drive-thru at 15090 Olympic Drive, proposed by Pascal Hue De Laroque, who owns a drive-thru in Clearlake Oaks, Marcel’s French Bakery & Cafe, as well as a coffee shop by the same name in downtown Lakeport.
The city’s zoning code defines drive-thrus as a “special use” that are required to secure a use permit.
Senior Planner Mark Roberts’ written report to the commission noted that drive-thrus are recognized as having some “objectionable characteristics, such as noise, idling vehicles and traffic conflicts,” so that “special regulation review” of these special uses is necessary.
Assistant Planner Susanna Amaro-Gutierrez told the commission that the drive-thru aspect of the project triggered review, otherwise, it would have been an over-the-counter business license check.
Roberts told the commission that Hue De Laroque’s proposal does not currently include indoor or outdoor sitdown dining.
The building that will be used for the shop – previously a single-family residence – was remodeled in 2017 for the use of a bakery, Classy Cakes, which operated in that location until recently, according to the staff report.
Roberts said the project involves minor renovations, including the installation of a drive-thru window on the west side of the building and new signage, upgrading the exterior lighting fixtures, trimming the overgrowth off the entryway tree, installing a brand-new security system with generous coverage of traffic on Olympic Drive, and other aesthetic improvements.
He said there will be one-way traffic through the drive-thru, with customers to enter through the existing 19-foot-wide driveway located on the eastern portion along Olympic Drive. They would exit on the western portion of Olympic Drive through another existing driveway which is 35 feet wide.
Commissioner Lisa Wilson asked if a traffic study was conducted for the project. Roberts said no, as it wasn’t required.
As proposed, Hue De Laroque’s drive-thru would accommodate stacking of up to seven vehicles at a time, with two employees present at any given time, according to the staff report.
Commissioner Erin McCarrick asked Hue De Laroque if people would be able to wait for orders in parking spaces. He said they would have stalls to pull into, so they would be able to stack a total of 15 vehicles.
Commissioner Fawn Williams asked about signage to indicate the one-way traffic through the site. Hue De Laroque said he plans on putting up “do not enter” signage and paint on the pavement to direct traffic.
During public comment, Roberts read emails that included messages from two individuals who are negotiating with the city to open a drive-thru coffee kiosk, a Mudslingers franchise, near the recycling center in the Burns Valley Mall.
They said their project will not have an impact on traffic on Olympic Drive, and questioned the close proximity of Hue De Laroque’s project to theirs; mapping shows the two sites are about a third of a mile apart. One of the Mudslingers representatives asked for his project to be denied.
On the issue of fairness raised by Mudslingers, Commissioner Robert Coker asked if it’s fair to allow the Mudslingers drive-thru to locate near the Sisters Coffee House, which also is in the Burns Valley Mall.
Roberts said the city gives everyone equal opportunity to apply to open a business, operate, bring revenue and better the community.
“I’m good with that answer,” Coker said.
Commission Chair Kathryn Davis asked Hue De Laroque if he would still want to do a drive-thru if it weren’t for COVID-19.
He replied that he wanted to put in a drive-thru in Clearlake two years ago, before he opened his drive-thru in Clearlake Oaks, but at that time there wasn’t a location available.
Davis also asked him about his hours of operation. He said he wants to operate 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week.
McCarrick moved to approve a resolution approving the use permit application, which Coker seconded and the commission approved 5-0.
City Manager Alan Flora told Lake County News that Clearlake has only one other drive-thru coffee shop currently operating, Catfish Coffee. A Starbucks on Dam Road that hasn’t been built yet also has been permitted for a drive-thru.
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Narcan, also known as Naloxone, is a medication used to reverse the effects of opioid drugs, including overdose.
Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said the incident involving the female inmate, whose name was not released, occurred on Saturday.
Paulich said that at 2:40 p.m. Saturday jail inmates reported to a tower officer that there may be an inmate overdosing in a female dorm.
He said deputies rushed to check the status of all inmates and found a female inmate lying on her side.
The woman didn’t appear to be breathing and was blue in the face, Paulich said.
Paulich said the correctional deputies administered a dose of Narcan. They also requested jail medical staff respond as well as paramedics.
When nurses from jail medical staff arrived, Paulich said they found it necessary to administer two more doses of Narcan to the inmate.
Shortly afterward, the Narcan began to take effect and within 10 minutes the inmate began to slowly regain consciousness and was breathing on her own, Paulich said.
Paramedics from the Lakeport Fire Protection District arrived and transported the inmate to Sutter Lakeside Hospital by ambulance. Paulich said the woman was treated and later returned to the jail facility.
“We do not have the results of what she may have taken,” Paulich told Lake County News.
Deputies conducted a search of the dormitory as well as the inmates but didn’t locate any contraband. The inmates from that dorm were tested to determine if they recently used drugs, but all tests were negative, Paulich said.
Paulich said sheriff’s correctional staffers use several different methods in an attempt to keep contraband from entering the facility, but controlled substances are easy to conceal and hard to detect.
He said this was the third time Narcan has been administered at the jail in the two years the sheriff’s office has provided Narcan for use by its personnel.
Law enforcement agencies in neighboring counties also are using Narcan in medical emergencies.
In Mendocino County, the sheriff’s office began to issue Narcan to deputies in April 2019 as part of their assigned personal protective equipment due.
Since then, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has reported numerous incidents during which deputies have administered Narcan to individuals having drug-related medical emergencies.
The Mendocino Sheriff’s Office also reported that in December Narcan saved a jail inmate there. The corrections deputy who found the inmate also later needed a dose himself after having been exposed to a plastic bundle that had been in the inmate’s possession and which was found to contain fentanyl, a powerful and deadly opiate.
In Sonoma County, the sheriff’s office reported its first use of Narcan in July, when a sheriff’s deputy used it to save the life of a man who had just been arrested.
By that time, Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputies had been carrying Narcan in their patrol cars for about six months, the agency reported.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office reminded the public that taking any medication or pills that have not been prescribed to you by a physician or provided to you by a pharmacist is dangerous.
Opiates such as fentanyl can be fatal with the ingestion of only 2 to 3 milligrams, Paulich said.
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MATH will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb.11, via Zoom. The meeting is open to the public.
To join the Zoom meeting click on this link; the meeting ID is 935 1671 5770. Call in at 888-788-0099.
At 7:10 p.m., the group will discuss and vote on a proposal to change the MATH meeting to the third of the month.
MATH also will host a discussion on stop signs in Middletown.
There also will be opportunities for public input and discussion of items to place on the March 11 agenda.
The MATH Board includes Co-Chairs Rosemary Córdova and Monica Rosenthal, Secretary Lisa Kaplan, and Ken Gonzales and Paul Baker.
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.
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The company said the ongoing strategy detailed in its 2021 Wildfire Mitigation Plan is meant to help keep customers and communities safe by enhancing its Community Wildfire Safety Program.
The 1,013-page plan can be found here.
It is subject to public review and approval by the CPUC. Customers and communities can follow the proceeding and offer comments through the CPUC website.
The Community Wildfire Safety Program, which PG&E launched in March 2018 – five months after fires caused by its equipment tore through the North Bay, including Lake County – is designed to address the growing threat of severe weather and wildfires across PG&E’s 70,000-square-mile service area that stretches across Northern and Central California.
“The last few years have demonstrated how California’s wildfire season continues to grow longer and more devastating. We are continuing to evolve to meet the challenging conditions to more effectively reduce wildfire risk,” said Sumeet Singh, senior vice president and chief risk officer. “We are accountable to our customers and our communities that we are privileged to serve. The safety actions and programs outlined in our Wildfire Mitigation Plan provide details for our continued commitment to the critical work of providing safe and reliable service.”
PG&E said its new plan focuses on key areas including reducing wildfire potential by inspecting and repairing equipment, conducting enhanced vegetation management, and investing in grid technology and system hardening; improving situational awareness by installing weather stations and high-definition cameras throughout PG&E’s service area, investing in PG&E’s Wildfire Safety Operations Center that monitors high-fire threat areas in real time, and investing in meteorology to monitor weather conditions; and continuing to make the PSPS program better and build on the improvements from the 2020 program by upgrading the electric system to ensure PSPS is a last resort and improving support for impacted customers and communities when PSPS is necessary.
In Lake County, upgrades that PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras said are part of the plan include the building of two new microgrids, one in Lucerne and one in Middletown.
Contreras pointed out that PG&E’s efforts to continue to improve the PSPS program also impacted Lake County, where far fewer customers were impacted by proactive power shutoffs in 2020 than in 2019.
As of the end of 2020, Lake County had 30 weather stations and seven cameras installed and being used by PG&E to monitor conditions. Contreras said 12 of those weather stations were installed in 2020.
PG&E said the forecasted cost of wildfire mitigation programs described in the plan is about $3 billion each year for two years – 2021 and 2022.
The costs reflect what the company said is its best estimate of the costs for the proposed programs as of Feb. 5. Actual costs may vary substantially depending on actual conditions and requirements.
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