LAKEPORT — The Lake County Planning Commission Thursday unanimously supported a staff proposal to allow some permit holders an extra two years to begin construction on their projects.
The commission discussed the proposal during its hour-long regular meeting Thursday morning at the Lake County Courthouse.
Staff has drafted an ordinance that would grant a temporary two-year time extension for people with approved entitlements, such as conditional use permits and general plans of development, to get their projects under way.
Permit holders currently have two years from the date of approval to begin project construction, a vesting of their land use entitlements. If the two years expires, they have to re-file an application and repeat the public review process, even if they propose no changes to the original project.
Staff hopes the two-year extension would help permit holders and give them more time to “ride out the current economic storm,” which has delayed the start of construction on at least a dozen approved projects, Community Development Director Rick Coel said.
Other California jurisdictions have created similar extensions, Coel said.
The commission voted 5-0 to recommend the Lake County Board of Supervisors (BOS) approve the proposed ordinance.
The commission again acknowledged the realities of the current economic climate with its recommendation on another proposed ordinance.
Staff has suggested amending the Zoning Ordinance to allow an additional year for legal non-conforming commercial uses to be re-established. Currently, if a legal non-conforming use is abandoned for one year, any subsequent use of that property must conform to the regulations of its zoning district.
However, the economic downturn has created difficulties for some property owners trying to get new tenants to re-establish the non-conforming use, Coel said. Staff suggests increasing the timeframe to two years.
In addition to the non-conforming use issue, staff”s proposed text amendment would also change Zoning Ordinance language regarding cargo container use.
Cargo containers are currently prohibited in all zoning districts but the Heavy Industrial (M2) District.
The proposed amendment would allow cargo containers to be used as accessory storage buildings as long as they are screened from public view or covered with wood siding and a roof. County staff could then review the containers similarly to storage sheds.
The commission unanimously recommended the BOS approve the text amendment, which pertains to both topics.
Staff will propose to the BOS an accompanying amendment to the county building code requiring that cargo containers used as sheds be able to unlock from the inside, Coel said.
Earlier in the meeting, the commission gave its support to an application regarding the Harbin Hot Springs resort in Middletown.
The property owner, Heart Consciousness Church, proposes to remove 18 recreational vehicle employee housing units and replace them with 15 cabins for resort patrons. The church also seeks to designate roughly 0.25 acres of the property for use as a private cemetery with 27 single-depth plots.
The commission unanimously approved of the application for a use permit for a specific plan of development for the site and additionally recommended the BOS approve a minor modification to a previously approved general plan of development for the site.
The commission also considered a proposed property swap between the county and a private owner.
Staff has proposed exchanging 3.27 acres of county-owned property in eastern Clearlake Oaks for 0.43 acres of privately-owned land in the town”s downtown area.
The county could use the property as a parking area associated with nearby county boat launches.
The commission gave support to the move by voting unanimously to report that the proposal is in conformity with the Lake County General Plan.
There will be no commission meeting Sept. 8.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
