LAKEPORT — The city”s plan to annex 197 acres south of its current boundaries cleared a necessary hurdle Wednesday evening with the Lakeport Planning Commission unanimously recommending a mitigated negative declaration for the project.
Staff suggested that the initial study and associated mitigation measures prepared for the project represented the required amount of environmental review.
“We believe the initial study is adequate,” Community Development Director Richard Knoll said.
Mitigation measures are intended to reduce potential environmental impacts to a less than significant level. Proposed measures for the project aim to protect agricultural, biological, cultural and geological resources.
Representatives of several groups, including the Sierra Club Lake Group, spoke at Wednesday”s public hearing, asking the commission to recommend a full environmental impact report (EIR) for the project.
Adoption of a mitigated negative declaration could negate the need for an EIR.
About a half-dozen people expressed their concerns about the annexation plan to the commission, but perhaps the harshest criticism came from the jurisdiction that currently holds the land the city hopes to incorporate.
The 54 parcels along the South Main Street and Soda Bay Road corridor (between the city limits and just past the sharp bend on Soda Bay Road) proposed for annexation are currently under the county”s control and County Administrator Kelly Cox offered strong words on the issue.
In a letter submitted to the commission and read aloud by county representative Alan Flora at the meeting, Cox stated that the lead agency”s ability to craft an adequate environmental document ? has been blurred with dollar signs and is ultimately in question.”
Some tax revenue generated by those parcels would shift away from the county and to the city if the area were annexed.
The land does sit within the city”s sphere of influence, which staff said signifies the “ultimate future boundaries of the city.”
Cox also called into question the city using annexation to address its desire for more commercial land and urban development. He suggested that filling the estimated 78 acres of vacant commercial land currently available in the city would be a better plan.
“If that isn”t convincing enough, a quick drive along Lakeport”s existing commercial corridors, including Main Street, High Street and 11th Street, identify dozens of additional vacant storefronts at the ready for commercial activity,” Cox stated.
The county, in the end, asked the commission to demand an EIR to address problems with the city”s plan.
“The proposed annexation project involves the focusing of commercial development into the South Main Street area rather than focusing on smart, compact, infill development as consistent with the city”s General Plan, and at the expense of prime agricultural land and sensitive habitat,” Cox wrote.
City staff reaffirmed their support of the initial study throughout the meeting and the commission ultimately concurred, voting unanimously to recommend the city council adopt a mitigated negative declaration for the project.
The Lakeport City Council could discuss the issue at the Nov. 1 regular meeting.
The city would have to submit an annexation application to the Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) for review and approval.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
