Who is the Lake County Sierra Club?
In 1996 my husband and I moved to Clearlake as full-time residents. Since that time, we have supported and seen many changes to our city. Yet, for the population of Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Lower Lake, Hidden Valley and Middletown there is little or no retail to service the south county. The south county makes up about half of the county”s population. We realized a need and kept hearing over the years that the old airport location would be the prime area for redevelopment. Needless to say, when the proposal of a major center, of which Lowe”s would be the primary store, we were extremely pleased. Then at the 11th hour, the Sierra Club placed a lawsuit against this project. So, what is going on with the Sierra Club suing the City of Clearlake?
The Clearlake City Council, a publicly elected set of representatives, and their planning commission held public hearings over a period of months. They determined, as part of their redevelopment plan, to go forward with a regional shopping mall on a piece of city-owned, blighted and environmentally damaged property. There were no homes to move or farmland to destroy; just a large piece of property ideal for this plan. All interested parties, including the Sierra Club, had plenty of time to be heard by these elected officials. The Sierra Club leadership did not get their way so now they are suing the city and, by extension, the residents of Clearlake.
I question whether this is the will of the whole Sierra Club membership or an agenda for a few? Did they report to their contingency to warrant this action or is this a personal agenda of a few of the Sierra Club members?
It will cost the city and its residents an unknown sum of money and more lost time in moving forward with redevelopment, which they badly need and deserve. It will also cost city residents more lost services, as the city has to make further budget cuts to cover costs of the lawsuit. Either that or the city will have to give in to the Sierra Club”s extortion. So who are these people? They are not publicly elected officials. As far as I know they held no public meetings to discuss their decision to sue the City of Clearlake. My question is who are they?
Arlene Carter
Clearlake
