LAKEPORT ? The Lakeport Planning Commission unanimously agreed that the new Mendocino College education center complies with the general plan and is suitable at the Parallel Drive site in Lakeport on Thursday.
During the meeting that lasted less than 10 minutes, the commission addressed the college issue and nothing else.
The site is on the west side of Parallel Drive and about 750 feet north of the junction of highways 29 and 175. The new center will be built about 1.4 miles south of the current Lake Center.
Mike Adams, director of facilities planning at Mendocino College, said the old building has limitations and it”s not built to the specifications schools require.
“The standards for schools are much higher all the way down to the foundation,” Adams said.
It would cost about the same to retrofit the old building as it would to build the new center, Adams said.
After looking at 15 sites during a two-year period, the college district decided on Parallel Drive in Lakeport, Adams said.
The college proposed to buy the 31-acre undeveloped site and build an administration office, classrooms, a library and a food service facility. The buildings would take up 5,000 square feet. A driveway from Parallel Drive and parking is included in the plan. The site has an area college officials think is suitable for future expansion of classrooms, offices and parking. Extra buildings could occupy 15,000 square feet.
The college district deemed the Parallel Drive site superior because of its proximity to the current Mendocino College Lake Center, good access from Parallel Drive, availability of utilities, the level topography and sufficient land for expansion.
The commission meets next on Dec. 9.
Contact Katy Sweeny at ksweeny@record-bee.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
