MIDDLETOWN — A 380-lot Valley Oaks subdivision that will bring more commercial development to the Middletown area moved to into the final stages of approval Thursday, when the Lake County Planning Commission directed planning staff to prepare a final draft of the project”s environmental impact report (EIR).
Letters from public officials and members of the public that express valid concerns will be addressed in the final draft of the document, according to Lake County Community Development Director Rick Coel. Concerns expressed publicly include increased traffic, whether the project will be completed given current economic conditions and the growth rate expected in the area.
Lake County Senior Planner Emily Minton said a concern is considered valid “if it has to do directly with something that”s analyzed in the EIR, or if it”s a potential environmental impact or concern. Some letters we got were more comments on the project itself and didn”t address anything in the EIR. But Catherine (Lee) said that every letter will be responded to,” Minton said.
Lee is a consultant with the consulting firm PMC, which was hired in August 2006 to prepare the first draft of the report. She will work with county planning staff to prepare the final draft.
The project is proposed adjacent to the gated Hidden Valley Lake subdivision in Middletown. In addition to the 380 homes, developer Ken Porter of the Sonoma firm Kimco Development is proposing to develop up to 120,000 square feet of retail space that includes a grocery store and drug and general merchandise store, among others.
A movie theater, motel and offices are planned for an additional 85,000 to 110,000 of commercial space in the project. Also included in the project is a 49-bed senior care facility, 2.5 acres of senior housing and 3.5 acres of medium density housing.
The rate at which the Middletown and Coyote Valley area is expected to grow is still in question. Sierra Club Lake Group Chair Victoria Brandon urged the commission to reconsider the assumption in the economic section of the report that assumes the population will grow between 5.75 and 6.6 percent annually when the project expands sewer system capacity in the area.
“That is an unrealistic projection ? We will have to discuss at the next planning commission hearing whether that should be amended or not,” Minton said.
Commissioner Cliff Swetnam expressed concern about whether the land would be left scarred after the ground is prepared, in the event the project is not completed. Minton said the final EIR will also recommend that Porter pay performance bonds to guarantee the county”s ability to restore the land and prevent erosion if that should happen.
Minton said a performance bond is usually calculated at 150 percent of what it would cost the developer to complete the project. Porter told the commission he plans to complete the project in phases. Minton said when the final EIR goes before the commission for approval, the commission will discuss whether performance bonds can be calculated for each phase.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
