LAKEPORT — The Lake County Planning Commission Thursday voted unanimously to recommend to the Board of Supervisors a series of modifications to the general plan for the proposed Cristallago development in Lakeport.
The commission considered staff recommendations on the Cristallago project, along with four other topics, during a three-hour regular meeting at the Lake County Courthouse Thursday morning.
County principal planner Emily Minton told the commission that changes to the county”s general plan policy as well as changes to the Cristallago development plan were made in conjunction with a settlement reached by the developer, the county and the Sierra Club.
The Sierra Club filed a case in the Lake County Superior Court after the BOS voted to approve the development plan in March, citing that the project would have significant environmental impact.
Cristallago”s proposed development would include 325 resort units, an 18-hole golf course, clubhouse, activity center, restaurant, a nature preserve and a subdivision with up to 650 residences on roughly 860 acres located on Hill Road in Lakeport.
The amendments to the county”s general plan expanded on the requirements for proposed mixed-use resorts, Minton told the commission.
The modifications to Cristallago”s development plan included elaborations on sustainability and accessibility issues such as use of solar technologies, trail access and bus services.
The agreement also stipulated that certain resort facilities, such as the golf course and spa, would be open to Lake County residents, not just resort residents and visitors.
Commissioner Clelia Baur said she was “happy to see this thing resolved so well.”
The commission voted 5-0 to recommend the BOS approve the amendments to the county”s general plan and the modifications to the Cristallago plan.
The issues will appear before the BOS for approval in early 2011, Minton said.
The commission also voted to approve a short-term extension of Lakeport Outlaw Karting”s current use permit.
Karting operates a go-cart track on South Main Street in Lakeport, which has been used for the past four racing seasons.
The current use permit is extended to March 24, at which time the commission will reconsider Karting”s permit status.
The extension is contingent upon the company taking steps to improve several on-site issues, including installing permanent restrooms by the end of 2011.
The commission voted to approve a use permit for Riviera West Mutual Water Company, allowing for the installation of a sprinkler irrigation system and water tank on property on Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville.
The sprinkler system would utilize filtered backwash water, associate planner Brian Horn told the commission.
The company”s current use permit allowed the filtered backwash water to be disposed into Clear Lake but the company began disposing the water to soil on an adjoining lot several years ago, Horn said.
Tom Smythe, president of the company, told the commission he did not know why the company changed its disposal practices, citing testing requirements as one possible reason.
The company”s current disposal practice violates state requirements, and the proposed project would seek to correct those violations, Smythe said.
Horn told the commission that an initial study of the proposal indicated that the project would not have a significant negative impact on the local environment.
Smythe, who also works as a Water Resources engineer for Lake County, said steps were taken during the county”s review of the company”s application “to avoid that conflict of interest.”
The commission decided to continue the public hearing of a grading permit applied for by the owner of a large parcel in Lower Lake after a 90-minute hearing Thursday.
Associate resource planner Ronald Yoder told the commission that landowner George Seferoglou cleared oak trees, brush and other vegetation from nearly five acres of his property without obtaining a grading permit.
Yoder said the unauthorized grading began in April 2009, and continued through October of that year even after he cited Seferoglou for violating the grading codes.
Seferoglou said he was unaware at the time he needed a grading permit to clear vegetation from those portions of his land and that his young adult son completed the tree removal work in 2009.
Yoder told the commission he repeatedly informed Seferoglou”s son of the permit requirements.
“It looks like you did whatever you wanted,” Commissioner Michael van der Boon told Seferoglou Thursday.
The commission postponed making a decision on Seferoglou”s request for a grading permit to clear another 2.4 acres of his property. The commission will address the issue at its Jan. 13 meeting, at which Seferoglou”s son has been asked to appear.
Upon staff recommendation, the commission decided to continue the third item on Thursday”s agenda until Feb. 24. The item concerned an application filed by Pivniska Trucking regarding a project on Highway 20 in Upper Lake.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
