By Russell Cremer ? Reader”s views
I have attended a number of planning commission and city council meetings regarding the Provinsalia project, including the last two for each entity. I wonder whether some of the folks who have recently written letters to the Record-Bee have attended the same meetings that I have. I certainly have not heard the same things they have.
Referring to Herb Gura”s letter in the March 24 Record-Bee, I never saw the developer”s lawyer sitting at the council table during the meetings I attended. However, it was stated the city had their own legal representative present at one of the meetings. Could that be who Mr. Gura was referring to? As to rushing to the vote, I believe the project has been in process for more than four years. That is hardly rushing it. As to two of the council members being absent on the night of the vote, four council members were present (one absent) during the presentations prior to the vote and during the vote on the first resolution. That one council member chose to leave after the first vote went 3 – 1 against his position, was his choice, not the remainder of the councils. As to the city having to commit to maintain city streets in the Provinsalia development, it was repeatedly and clearly stated that approval was contingent, along with many other things, upon there being a community service district formed that will collect monies from the residents of the development to pay for maintenance of the streets.
Mr. Gura is correct on one thing. There has been a large contingent of people at the meetings voicing their opposition to the project; many, if not most of whom, are not residents of Clearlake. Outside the council chambers, I have found it to be a different story. I have, over the past several months, talked with many people about this project. The overwhelming majority sees the need for the Provinsalia project to balance the future housing needs in Clearlake and is strongly in favor of it.
Vice-Mayor Thein”s comments prior to the vote on Feb. 26, were very well thought out and on the mark. Thein remarked as to how she initially was not in favor of the project. She noted however, how over the past several years negotiations with the developer have resulted in a project that is good for the City of Clearlake while minimizing the environmental impact through requirements for passive solar systems in the houses, by requiring more trees be planted to replace those removed for development than are required in the CEQA guidelines and also requiring additional trees on each lot, as individual houses are built. She is right. This project is good for Clearlake.
Russell Cremer
Clearlake
