LAKE COUNTY — The Lake County Board of Supervisors and city councils from Lakeport and Clearlake raised questions Tuesday around a consulting firm”s pitch to charge developers for traffic improvements related to new construction.
Paul Miller, representing the Roseville transportation consulting firm Omni-Means, Ltd., made a PowerPoint presentation to the municipalities in a joint meeting. Fees would cover traffic signals, road widening, turning lanes and other road improvements needed because of new construction.
“What we want to present to you today is a program that looks at the entire system, whether it be the needs of the state highways, county roads or the two city street systems,” Area Planning Commission staff consultant Phil Dow said.
Dow headed up a two-and-a-half-year project to find money for road improvements needed for the next 20 years. Omni-Means was hired to develop a traffic model for the county, Lakeport and Clearlake. The report projected that more than $133 million in improvements would be needed countywide to accommodate population growth through 2030.
Miller said a citizen building a house or a new business would pay a fee depending on where the construction would occur. Fees for five proposed zones ranged between $4,376 in the Kelseyville Rivieras and Cobb area and $17,613 in Lakeport. A sixth zone would cover the cost of improvements to state highways, at an estimated cost of more than $116 million.
Miller said 25 percent of the fee would pay for state projects.
“I have a problem giving the state money for state projects. I think the state needs to figure out the problem,” County Supervisor Anthony Farrington said.
Miller told the board that the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) is under-funded, and federal transportation funding is also facing a shortfall. Miller said passing a sales tax is difficult because it requires a two-thirds majority vote.
“We”re facing the same thing with our sewer hookups right now. If we don”t raise the fees, we”re going to be having problems with the sewer, and is that fair to the folks that we represent?” County Supervisor Jeff Smith said.
Supervisor Denise Rushing expressed concern that higher fees in the City of Lakeport might create incentive for people to build homes in outlying areas.
“The fee structure has to encourage what we really want to have happen, which would be infill where there are already populated areas,” Rushing said.
Supervisor Ed Robey said after the meeting that he is waiting to see a comprehensive list of all proposed road projects.
“I support the concept, I just want to make sure it”s something that is reasonable ? in other words, meets our needs, but it”s not going to make it impossible for someone to build a home,” Robey said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
