KELSEYVILLE – It”s a meadow that for over 60 years has seen little action, other than herds of deer, bales of hay, kites, and a hike that inspired a marriage proposal.
Locals have for years cherished the open space, a golden field that can be seen from across the lake, over a bay called Horseshoe Bend, hugged by the scenic Soda Bay Road that winds past Clear Lake State Park and ends up at the neighborhood of Buckingham, where homes are among the most pricy in the county.
Now the field is being developed, but most nearby residents breathed a sigh of relief at a recent Buckingham Homeowners Association meeting when developer and eight-year Buckingham resident Dennis De La Montanya explained his vision for the proposed “Lake Vineyard Estates” development.
“It”s a pretty unique project. We worked together with the seller, who has had the property in the family for about 60 years, to come up with a design that will preserve the bulk of the open space and not change the nature of the neighborhood,” said De La Montanya at his home Friday.
The property sold to the developer for a little over $1.5 million, and the 11 one-acre lots are in the process of being approved by the Lake County Planning Department. The lots will accommodate one home each and will be up for sale as early as summer 2008. The 30-acre meadow is zoned as residential for up to 60 homes on 1.5-acre lots, but De La Montanya says he will stick to his plan of 11 lots and hopes to get an 18-acre portion rezoned for a vineyard on the south-facing slope.
“By doing it this way, we were able to afford the purchase of the land, while keeping most of it open. Ideally, we wish we could keep the meadow as it is, but we couldn”t afford to do it that way. We don”t anticipate making a lot of money off the sale of the lots,” said De La Montanya.
The property is not a part of the Buckingham Homeowner”s Association, but community interest educed De La Montanya to give a presentation at their monthly meeting.
Association president Bob Olsen said the community looks favorably on the development because it will be low-density and will only slightly increase traffic.
“The zoning there might have permitted more homes but he”s chosen to put in 11-and on nice large lots. Overall it was exactly the kind of development that we think is good for Buckingham, so, ”well done” is our opinion,” said Olsen.
De La Montanya purchased the property from the Evans-Hofmann family-third-generation Buckingham Peninsula residents. Meredith Evans Drake”s grandfather bought the meadow in the early 1950s. Nearby resident Marie Hughes says the family has long been known for their environmentalism and desire to preserve the meadow.
Evans Drake said she worked with her uncle John R. Hofmann to find the right kind of developer when they had to put the property on the market due to “family decisions.”
“We had two developers interested who couldn”t understand why we wanted to keep it open, so we were very, very happy when Dennis came along,” said Evans Drake.
De La Montanya said his family had always enjoyed the open meadow and when they first saw the ”for sale” sign they were concerned it could be bought up by someone who would develop the entire property.
“We got together with the seller and found we all had the same goals-we didn”t want to see the urbanization of this neighborhood,” said De La Montanya. “So we worked with a partner, who also lives in the neighborhood on West Lake Drive, to come up with a development plan for 11 homes.”
The lots will sell for “over $200,000” and De La Montanya says he expects the buyers will build “the most expensive non-waterfront homes in Lake County.” It is not known at this point whether the community will be gated or not.
At least three nearby neighbors have voiced concern over increased traffic from future residents and grape-harvesting trucks. De La Montanya says the traffic will be minimal, and will not affect the lower portion of West Lake Drive, where residents have worried about traffic on the steep, windy road. The proposed “De La Montanya Way” will likely dead end at that part of West Lake Drive, with a crash gate for emergency fire engine access. De La Montanya Way would be accessed via Point Drive, which connects to Peninsula Drive and then both East Lake Drive and West Lake Drive.
A resident who lives next to the meadow on Peninsula Drive, Marie Hughes, thinks De La Montanya “made a wonderful presentation of the development” at the Buckingham Homeowner”s Association and her only concern is that of the proposed De La Montanya Way cul-de-sac or hammerhead. “I think it should go all the way through to West Lake Drive for safety and welfare reasons,” said Hughes.
Long-time Kelseyville resident Hank Smith is one who regrets seeing any change to the field. He grew up hiking through the field up to Buckingham Point, and camping out underneath the stars. “It”s a beautiful open field-it”s sad to see it being turned into little suburbia. I”ve seen huge herds of deer up there, coyotes, foxes, and a mountain lion,” said Smith, who chose the top of the meadow as the perfect spot to pop the question to his wife 19 years ago.
Contacted Elizabeth Wilson at ewilson@record-bee.com.
