Today, the Board of Supervisors will consider changing the county”s General Plan to allow Cristallago to proceed. I hope you will all plan on attending to watch these proceedings.
As I have stated before, I am not against development in our county, but this subdivision is not what our county needs. At least not in the way it is currently proposed. All of these developers and their consultants are from out of our county and have no clue what a successful development is about.
We all know that the lake is the No. 1 attraction for tourists and possible home buyers. We also know that the lake is one of the top bass fishing lakes in the United States.
These men began a marketing campaign years ago touting the lake as a “core amenity.” They stated numerous times they would develop a marina on 106 acres of lakefront property by Robin Hill and include a fishing village. Sounded like a real good idea at the time. It would create jobs and attract home buyers. So what happened? They made a conscious decision to pay Jack Nicklaus Design Group over $1 million to have a golf course designed and let the marina go into bankruptcy. Another $1 million is in the works to be paid to the Jack Nicklaus Design Group.
They have taken great care not to show anyone what these “clustered homes” would look like during the day from Highway 29. These homes will be basic tract-style homes packed in like sardines and they want us to believe these homes will look just like Tuscany, Italy. If you have ever been to Tuscany you know all too well that these men do not know what they are talking about.
These homes will be obsolete before they are even built. The state needs to lower the greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2020. They have an opportunity to offset the greenhouse gases this subdivision will create by installing solar panels. But, they call our air quality director “misguided.” Could it be because this will cut into their profit margin? Without the solar panels, each of us in the county will have to get our vehicles smog checked.
More importantly, 300 of the homes will be on toxic soil and we in North Lakeport will all be at risk when they start grading. These men have no experience in dealing with asbestos-laden soil but they tell us not to worry, they have a plan.
Do they really believe baby boomers in the Bay Area would even consider buying a home on such a toxic site? If they do, they are misguided. But to them, it”s all about the money and they do not have the best interest of our county in their minds.
This project needs to go back to the drawing board, and having the marina built out first is a must.
Norm Ihle
North Lakeport
