LAKE COUNTY – Following 20 minutes of discussion Tuesday, the Lake County Board of Supervisors decided to re-open the public hearing portion of an appeal to stop the development of an 11-acre ski lake in Middletown. The discussion will continue Dec. 9.
Middletown residents Milton and Ellen Heath filed an appeal after the Lake County Planning Commission approved Kurt Steil and Gary Johnson”s proposal to create the ski lake on 534 acres on Butts Canyon Road in Middletown. The project would involve merging two parcels and subdividing the plot into five parcels, and constructing a dead-end road longer than 1,000 feet that would lead to the property.
“First of all, there is no urgency to approve this ? another couple of weeks won”t matter. Second, this is the first time we”ve had a project like this. It”s been compared to an ag pond, but ? it”s not quite like anything that we have provisions for in our zoning or planning rules and regulations. It”s kind of a precedent setting thing, and I think it deserves the board”s full knowledge of all the facts,” Board Chairman Ed Robey said.
Robey is also the supervisor for Dist. 1, where the project is proposed. He said at the outset of the discussion that he wanted to re-open the hearing for public input after running into Callayomi County Water District Manager Frank Haas at the post office since the board”s last discussion of the project on Nov. 18. The item on the board”s Tuesday agenda advertised the board would discuss and deliberate on the matter.
“There was testimony given last time that the water basin out there is shared with the Callayomi County Water District, and if they have input, I think in order to be apprised of all the facts, we need to hear it,” Robey said.
The board heard 5-and-a-half-hours of public input on the matter during the hearing earlier this month, with area residents expressing concern that the ski lake would deplete water resources in the area and create noise and traffic problems.
The board had received a letter from the water district that was on record in the hearing, and Supervisor Rob Brown asked if the district would have new information to offer or if it would only clarify its expressed viewpoint in the letter.
Robey said the information would be more substantial than a clarification, and said the water district board planned to meet Dec. 11 to discuss a large packet of information it had recently received on the proposal. Robey requested the board of supervisors continue the public hearing to Dec. 16 to allow the district”s input.
Citing the district”s letter, Supervisor Jeff Smith said there had been enough input and said he didn”t want to set a precedent for public hearings to be re-opened in the future based on the perception that someone could offer new information.
“This isn”t someone. This is a public agency,” Robey said.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington said he would like to see more public access to the project, and questioned whether ski lake would be the best use of the water.
“I have a hard time supporting enough water for 80 to 100 homes that is only going to benefit five homes,” Farrington said.
After the board continued the matter to allow more public input, Steil said from the audience that he believed he would be “blindsided” by any new information from the water district at the Dec. 9 hearing.
Smith said the board should not hesitate to give the developers more time to respond, as well. Robey, who will retire his Dist. 1 Supervisor seat in January, said he would like to make the decision before leaving.
In other business, the board approved a $30,000 annual contract with the Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce after a discussion about whether the board should use public money to fund an organization that would endorse a political candidate.
In the November 2006 Dist. 3 Supervisor race, the chamber endorsed incumbent Gary Lewis, who lost the race to Denise Rushing.
Chamber CEO Melissa Fulton said 44 percent of the organization”s members reported in a December 2007 survey that they did not support the chamber”s endorsement, and said the chamber would not be endorsing political candidates in the future.
An urgency ordinance prohibiting future water hookups in Spring Valley was re-instated to prevent regulation by the California Department of Public Health, despite input from two residents who said the moratorium was unnecessary.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
