LAKE COUNTY — The Lake County Planning Commission approved five-year extensions of use permits for billboards owned by Lamar Advertising at its Thursday meeting.
The first application concerned two billboards at 10705 and 10720 Clayton Creek Road in Lower Lake; the vote was 4-1. The second application was for signs at 47 and 53 Soda Bay Road in Lakeport; the vote was 3-2.
Senior Planner Kevin M. Ingram said in a presentation that Section 45.22(f) of the Lake County Zoning Ordinance allows previously approved use permits for billboard signs to be renewed for an additional maximum term of five years per extension.
“A billboard constitutes ?off-site advertising,”” he said. “It advertises something that is not physically in the area.”
In keeping with a policy adopted in September 2008 as part of an update to the general plan, the applicant will be required to modify the lighting upon each of the billboards so that lighting fixtures are placed on top of the signs and directed downward. All lighting must be hooded, shielded or opaque and no unobstructed beam of light be directed at the billboard”s face.
District 4 Commissioner Cliff Swetnam voted against each extension, stating that “Anything designed to draw the attention of the driving public away from the road is a hazard.”
District 3 Commissioner Clelia Baur voted in favor of five-year extensions for the billboards on Clayton Creek Road; however, she said that the Soda Bay Road billboards were overwhelmingly large and badly placed.
District 2 Commissioner Bob Malley also raised a concern that Lamar Advertising had made changes to the billboards that are located on Soda Bay Road. As noted in a report by Associate Planner Brian Horn, one of the billboards was altered from the original approved configuration, which was for 400 feet. The depiction of a wine bottle and additional sign face increased square footage of the billboard beyond the allowed 400 feet. “If we approve this, I want to include a letter notifying the owner that if any changes are made, he must notify the planning department,” Malley said.
Horn”s report noted that the applicant had agreed to return the billboard to its previous configuration.
In other actions, the commission voted 5-0 to approve an improvement deferral agreement for required improvements to Robin Hill Drive in Lakeport. The applicant was originally required to pay a pro-rata share of $16,775 into a fund designated for improvement of Robin Hill Drive prior to recordation of the final map. However, given the depressed economic climate, the permit holder requested approval to enter into an improvement deferral agreement with the county so that the final parcel map could be recorded and the pro-rated share of Robin Hill Drive improvements would be paid at a later date.
The commission voted 5-0 against a requested deviation from a condition imposed upon property on Grange Road in Middletown, that a private access road leading to the property be offered for public use. The application stated that the owner had not been able to secure required permissions from the property or lien holders on either side of the access road.
The recommendation by Community Development Director Rick Coel was that the commission deny the request. “The department is concerned with setting a precedent for deviation requests,” Coel said. “An offer of dedication has been a consistent requirement.”
In its final action Thursday, the commission voted 5-0 to approve a general plan conformity report for a proposal by the Anderson Springs Community Services District to construct a 175,000-gallon water storage tank and refurbish or replace an existing tank at 11168 Van Dorn Reservoir Road in Middletown.
The district also proposes installation of up to nine fire hydrants within the distribution system of the Anderson Springs subdivision in public rights-of-way.
