CLEARLAKE ? City Attorney Mala Subramanian concluded Thursday that the council did not violate the Brown Act.
The second reading, which rezones the property from resource protection to specific plan, was conducted on a motion put forth by Councilmember Curt Giambruno and second by Vice Mayor Judy Thein. The motion passed 3-2 with councilmembers Joyce Overton and Roy Simons casting dissenting votes.
The item was carried over throughout the course of several meetings in order for the Clearlake City Council to gain a written legal opinion in regard to possible Brown Act violations.
In casting her vote, Overton said that she was voting no on the project at this point but could change her mind in the future should the project come back with her concerns addressed.
The Provinsalia Project has caused much controversy within the community throughout its public hearing process. It was alleged that the council had violated the Brown Act in not allowing adequate opportunity for public comment.
Subramanian provided a written opinion to the council indicating that the Brown Act was not violated. “The City Council”s actions at its meeting on February 26, 2009 did not violate the Brown Act or due process rights of any individual. The Project was considered by the Planning Commission and the City Council at several meetings that contained numerous hours of unlimited testimony from the public. The public was provided with ample opportunity to comment on the Project by submitting written or oral comments at any of these meetings,” Subramanian states in the document.
The council took comments from the public again on Thursday prior to conducting the second reading. Only proponents of the project spoke including Konocti County Water District Board President W.T. Cole. “We believe that all of this construction will be the type of development beneficial to the city and the residents,” he said. “This is a good project and I encourage you to go for it. We”ve known about this Provinsalia Project for years and we built our district with this project in mind.”
Hank Montgomery, a Spring Valley resident and member of the Konocti Unified School District Board of Trustees, also spoke in favor of the project, urging the council to keep in mind its economic benefits.
Thein offered comments addressing the threat of a recall that has surfaced within the public in regard to the actions taken by the council. “The city council has also received threats of actions for recall if we do not rescind our votes. This I would like to address. I can only speak for myself,” she said. “Sometimes as a member of the city council we have to make difficult, hard decisions, which may be unpopular with some as we cannot please everyone. Decisions I make, I make to the best of my ability for what I believe to be for the right reasons. As I have stated from the time when I originally ran for city council several years ago up until now, I will never compromise my values or my integrity, especially for my own personal gain. If I were to compromise my integrity for fear of a recall, I would not be worthy of the seat I hold, which represents the citizens of Clearlake and I would be bringing dishonor to the oath of office that I took. Therefore my vote tonight is cast solely by my own decision for what I believe to be right without bias.”
Councilmember Roy Simons said he doesn”t believe that population growth brings benefits stating that productivity does. He also voiced a concern for the wages that construction workers will be paid on the project. He suggested that the city turn its focus on tourism.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
