LAKE COUNTY — An appeal by neighbors overlooking a seven-acre solar array project at the Southeast Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant in the unincorporated area of Clearlake was denied Tuesday in a 3-2 vote by the Lake County Board of Supervisors. Supervisors Jeff Smith and Ed Robey voted to uphold the appeal; supervisors Rob Brown, Anthony Farrington and Denise Rushing voted to deny it.
Clearlake resident Bill Sullivan, who owns property across the street from the treatment plant, appealed a Feb. 14 Planning Commission decision to approve the solar project on the grounds that it would destroy his view of the rolling hills from his house. County Counsel Anita Grant told the board that under state law, it could not deny a use permit for a solar energy system unless the installation created a public health or safety problem.
“Planting trees in front of this is just not going to be effective. I have a two-story house and I”m going to see every panel. I still don”t know why it takes seven acres to produce one megawatt,” Sullivan said, after Grant re-read the portion of state law that limited the board”s decision. The discussion began a week earlier at the board”s April 8 meeting. Several homeowners in the area spoke against the solar project at the first meeting. No one spoke at the second hearing.
Among concerns expressed at the first discussion was a January notice mailed to neighbors announcing that the Lake County Planning Commission would hold a public hearing on the solar project. An approximately 3-inch by 3-inch map of the project area did not outline where the solar panels would stand. Community development department maps of the project showed that the panels would stand 120 feet from the road that separates the treatment plant from a residential area.
“I”ve got to say, this is one of those instances where the process has let down the folks out there. I have no doubt about that,” Dist. 2 Supervisor Jeff Smith said. The project is located in his district, which includes a large portion of unincorporated Clearlake.
The county entered into a 25-year agreement with Northern California Power Agency (NCPA) after the board approved the solar project at the Clearlake wastewater treatment plant and two others.
Answering an e-mail from a constituent, Smith said, “We do not make deals with big companies ? I had no idea how close they (the solar panels) were to the houses. I raised that question in November ? I strongly raised it. The NCPA is not a big company from the outside trying to come in and take advantage of Lake County. This is a partnership we”re trying to work out with the NCPA, and I”m disappointed with the way this part of it has gone.”
Board Chairman Ed Robey said an aerial photo of the project showing where the panels would go did not show the homes across the street during the November discussion.
“This is where the system breaks down. There wasn”t clear information about the proximity of the neighbors,” Robey said.
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