LAKE COUNTY — The Board of Supervisors (BOS) Tuesday indicated support for the concept of a health resort and spa proposed for northern Lucerne.
“The goal will be to have travelers spend a week in our world-class natural setting and come away happy, relaxed and having new health knowledge in areas that can change their lives,” project developer Dr. Bob Gardner said after the BOS meeting.
Gardner and his daughter Erica are working on bringing their idea for the Utopia Mine Resort to fruition.
And their concept cleared a necessary hurdle Tuesday morning, when the BOS voted 4-0 to approve the general plan of development and other action items related to the proposal. Supervisor Denise Rushing, in whose district the resort would sit, was absent.
“It”s everything we”ve talked about for years,” District 2 Supervisor Jeff Smith said.
The resort would consist of as many as 100 condo units and 25 cabins on land east of Highway 20 between Foothill and Roland drives in Lucerne. Some lakeside “honeymoon cottages,” water-sports areas and a pier could be built on the west side of the highway.
Gardner said he plans for a majority of the spaces to be available for public rental while up to one-third could be owned privately or through a time-share.
Other proposed amenities include a lodge with meeting and convention rooms, a spa and an amphitheater.
Guests would have access to numerous exercise areas, including a gym, pools, and trails for hiking, cycling and horseback riding, according to Gardner.
Health programs, focusing on issues such as weight control, couples communication and pain management, would also be available, he said.
Most of the resort would be situated on a “southerly facing plateau” about 100 feet above the highway, Gardner said.
Specific building plans would have to be approved by the county.
Community Development Director Rick Coel described the BOS actions Tuesday as setting “the regulatory umbrella that establishes the range of uses” for the property.
Gardner, who lives in Clearlake Oaks and practices in Lucerne, said he hopes to use Lake County builders, investors and medical professionals. Once operational, the resort could create 27 new full-time jobs, he added.
“The idea is to keep the money local,” Gardner said.
Developers are currently working on architectural and business plans, and they hope to break ground by spring 2013, Gardner said.
Construction would be divided into two phases, according to Gardner.
Phase one would consist of the lodge, gym, pools, hiking cabin and some of the “fourplexes” (clusters of four condo units per building), Gardner said. It would cost an estimated $6 million and could be completed by the end of 2013, he added.
Phase two would follow and create the spa, medical offices, 25 cabins and lakeside recreational facilities.
Gardner said the developers plan to “utilize environmentally friendly materials and progressive construction techniques.”
