LAKEPORT — The large Cristallago golf course, resort and housing subdivision got generally bad reviews at the first public input hearing on the project”s environmental impact report (EIR), held Thursday before the Lake County Planning Commission.
Of the five people who spoke to the commission during two hours of discussion, all had negative things to say about the project. Speakers including Lake County Special Districts Manager Mark Dellinger, Lake County Sierra Club Chair Victoria Brandon and area residents expressed concerns about whether the development is in line with the county”s general plan, traffic, noise, and impacts on the environment and on area wildlife.
“Under land use issues and environmental analysis in the EIR, it says the project as described is not consistent with the general plan, and that there will be significant unavoidable impacts,” Brandon said.
The deadline to submit written input about the Cristallago EIR is Jan. 8, 2009. After that, the input will be presented to the planning commission and a final EIR will be prepared with any additional problems the developers need to address, according to Lake County Community Development Director Rick Coel.
Cristallago is planned for approximately 860 acres west of Highway 29 in the unincorporated area north of the Lakeport city border. The project proposes 650 homes and 325 resort units around an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus signature golf course, along with 587 acres of open space that do not include the golf course.
Lakeport resident John Lee, who owns property near the proposed project, said he saw no report in the EIR about how the development would affect surrounding agricultural land.
“How can regular homeowners hope to hold out in the face of other developers who come in and want to build close to or adjacent to the project? If land values rise, people will have to sell,” Lee said.
Brad Peters, another neighbor of the proposed project, said the EIR did not give enough consideration to increased traffic and noise expected in the area.
“Also lighting ? it”s pitch-dark there, and there”s no way in that area to mitigate any type of light that”s not significant. The EIR missed in some areas,” Peters said.
Dellinger said the development would require expansion of the North Lakeport wastewater system, which is currently under a connection moratorium. Cristallago”s developers proposed to use treated wastewater to irrigate the golf course.
“We can”t go forward without capital improvements being made. The idea they have proposed about the tertiary system is a very intriguing strategy, and it may work. But clearly we have to make sure we have the capacity to meet out contractual obligation to the Geysers,” Dellinger said.
Developer Jim Burns spend half an hour at the outset of the meeting on a PowerPoint presentation that detailed the project”s highlights. The meeting was broken in half when the commission broke for lunch, despite objections from the audience. Brandon noted that approximately half of the audience did not return after the break.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
