CLEARLAKE — Several projects are under construction in the City of Clearlake. Senior Building Inspector Scott Spivey recently provided an update on some of the projects currently underway.
Rite Aid is in the process of relocating its retail store from its current location in the Burns Valley Shopping Mall. Construction of its new building, located on the south eastern lot of the Olympic Drive and Old Highway 53 intersection, is ongoing. Spivey said all permits and building plans have been approved. The roof has been finished; however, he said the project is far from being complete. The project also consists of road improvements in the area of Burns Valley Road, Olympic Drive and Old Highway 53, where a traffic signal will be installed. Late October is the estimated completion date.
Carl”s Jr. fast food restaurant is under construction on Dam Road at Highway 53. All plans have been approved and all permits have been issued. Spivey reported that the interior framing work has been completed as has the electrical, plumbing and mechanical aspects of the project. Exterior and interior finish work is expected to be complete within the next two weeks.
According to Spivey, the developer will not be required to install a fire sprinkler system because a fire flow test, which measures the amount of water released from a fire hydrant, exceeded requirements set forth by the fire department. Spivey said McDonald”s and Jack in the Box also met the requirements and did not have to install a fire sprinkler system either.
Spivey further reported that Carl”s Jr. will not be allowed to open until the developer completes improvements to accommodate for future traffic at the intersection of Dam Road and Dam Road Extension. Plans have been approved, he said, but widening the road entails a lot of work.
Aaron”s Furniture has plans to locate behind Carl”s Jr. Spivey reported that the developer has submitted plans, which are currently in the plan-checking stage. The store is expected to be about 7000 square feet.
Spivey also reported that permits and plans for the structural aspects of the Walgreens and Starbucks projects have been approved and are awaiting financial payment. The projects also consist of a sewer study, which is currently underway. “There is a problem with the collection system in the Meadowbrook area. What the sewer study is doing basically, is looking at how to solve the problem,” Spivey explained. “It”s not that (the projects) are going to cause that much more run-off, it”s just the more you add to a system that already has a problem, the more you have to come up with a solution.”
City Administrator Dale Neiman said the sewer study is expected to be complete within the first week of July.
Neiman also said that a public hearing is expected to take place in August regarding the development of the Airport Property, which is owned by the Clearlake Redevelopment Agency. The agency is currently working with Katz Kilpatrick and Raphael in defining a project; and is negotiating whether or not to sell the property and on what terms.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com.
