LAKEPORT — Developers proposing to build a two-story building in Lucerne, which in part would serve the Lake County Mental Health Department, received approval to move forward with the project from the Lake County Planning Commission on Thursday.
The commission voted unanimously to approve a mitigated negative declaration and grant the use permit for specific plan of development for the project following a brief discussion during its regular meeting at the Lake County Courthouse.
Developer Bruno & Associates proposes to construct the two-story, nearly 11,000-square-foot building on two lots on the lake end of 13th Avenue in Lucerne.
The building would include office spaced planned for use by Mental Health as well as smaller retail spaces on the ground floor, senior planner Kevin Ingram told the commission.
The proposed project is an important part of the Northshore Redevelopment Plan and would be the first commercial development in the area known as “The Strand,” Ingram said.
County staff determined potential impacts of the project on certain aspects of the land, such as biological resources, drainage, noise and traffic, had been properly mitigated to insignificant levels by the applicant”s proposal, Ingram said.
The commission approved the mitigated negative declaration, which implies the project would not have a significant effect on the environment. The commission also determined the use permit for the specific plan of development met the requirements of the county”s zoning ordinance and moved to grant the permit.
The county would still need to approve other items, including building permits and the lot merger, before the developers could break ground, according to Ingram.
The commission took action on one other set of agenda items, by voting to deny without prejudice six project applications on which no substantial progress had been made.
Most of the applications were submitted three to five years ago and staff had not received responses after requesting additional project information from the applicants.
County staff discussed one other project with the commission on Thursday: the proposed replacement of an existing bridge over Cole Creek applied for by the Lake County Public Works Department.
The bridge is located on Soda Bay Road near Kelseyville, roughly 400 feet west from where the road intersects with Clark Drive.
Staff supported approval of the agenda items related to the project, but a resident who owns property near the bridge, and on which a portion of the proposed detour route would sit, argued against the traffic diversion plan.
The commission decided not to vote on the issues, instead directing staff to explore the feasibility of another detour route, such as diverting traffic onto Clark Drive.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
