CLEARLAKE — The Clearlake City Council will resume its discussion of the Provinsalia Project on Thursday in Council Chambers at Clearlake City Hall. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. and discussion of the project will commence following approval of the consent calendar and an item pertaining to abatement procedures.
Staff is recommending that the council provide approval on several aspects of the project including certification of the draft and final Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs), amending the General Plan land use designation from managed development-resource protection area to specific plan, adoption of the draft Provinsalia Specific Plan and rezoning the property from resource protection to specific plan.
A public hearing, which allowed members of the community an opportunity to speak to the project, was conducted on Feb. 12. The council took comments from the public and closed the public hearing. The item will resume with comments from the council. The council does have the option to re-open the hearing to allow for further comments from the public.
A presentation was made at the Feb. 12 meeting highlighting several aspects of the project as well as mitigation efforts addressing numerous concerns that have been presented by the public throughout the long duration of the project”s planning process. Some, but not all, of those mitigation results are as follows:
* Geology and Soils ? No land clearing or grading other than those activities listed as exemptions by the Clearlake Municipal Code or as determined by the City Engineer shall occur unless such clearing or grading is in compliance with an approved soil erosion and sediment plan. Additional measures or modifications of proposed measures may be required by the City Engineer prior to the approval of a soil erosion and sediment control plan.
Grading guidelines are such that the overall shape, height and grade of any cut or fill slope shall be designed to simulate the existing natural contours and scale of the natural terrain of the site. Graded slopes shall be landscaped. Natural drainage courses shall be preserved whenever practicable, consistent with the need to minimize flood and erosion hazards. Stream banks shall be stabilized with landscaping, rock or other materials that harmonize with the natural setting and contain flows and control erosion.
During construction, measures shall be taken to control runoff from construction sites consistent with National Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES) requirements imposed by the State Regional Water Quality Control Board. Grading operations shall avoid the rainy season (approximately November to March) whenever possible.
* Hydrology and Water Quality ? In compliance with the requirements of the State General Construction Activity Storm Water Permit, the project applicant must prepare a site and construction phase specific Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) in conformance with the California Storm Water Quality Association Construction Handbook. The site specific SWPPP must describe the site, including a description of the erosion and sediment controls proposed, the means of waste disposal, implementation of approved local plans, control measures of post construction sediment and erosion, maintenance responsibilities and non-storm water management controls. The SWPPP shall be submitted to the Clearlake Engineering Department.
* The golf course shall be designed to reduce to minimize the total acreage of managed turf. By reducing the amount of managed turf, the need for fertilizers and chemicals would be minimized and the size of natural areas would be maximized. The golf course shall be designed to retain natural surface drainage patterns with buffer areas.
Retention basin volumes shall be sized to accommodate the difference between the calculated development runoff and the pre-development runoff. Sizing of the basins will be accomplished during project design, when exact tributary areas from the development area to each basin are determined.
Drainage from all paved surfaces, including streets, parking lots, driveways and roofs, shall be routed either through swales, buff strips or sand filters or treated with a filtering system prior to discharge to the storm drain system. Landscaping shall be designed to effect some treatment, along with the use of a Storm Water Management filter to permanently sequester hydrocarbons, if necessary.
Along with other mitigated solutions identified in the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program document, are nine pages of mitigation results pertaining to biological resources, such as trees and plants. The document, in its entirety, is available for public review at Clearlake City Hall during regular business hours.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
