LAKEPORT — A major construction project in the Clearlake area that was halted when the construction company went bankrupt, is closer to starting again after the Lake County Planning Commission Thursday voted to approve a major use permit for a new contractor.
Teichert Construction was awarded the road improvement contract by Caltrans to finalize construction on Highway 53 following Sierra Equipment Rental”s bankruptcy declaration.
The construction project consists of shoulder-widening, extending some existing left-turn pockets, adding left- and right-turn pockets in some areas and installing a stoplight at the Olympic Drive intersection. It is estimated as 50-percent complete.
The construction company, which is based out of Sacramento, applied for a major use permit to open a contractor”s yard on Park Place Boulevard across from the highway to store bulldozers, trucks, erosion control and other heavy equipment near the project.
Sierra originally applied for a major use permit at the same site after using the location without approval. Buildings and facilities are already in place, so further construction at the site is not needed.
Teichert indicated the construction yard would be active for a maximum period of two years. The construction company stated mitigation measures were in place to keep Park Place Boulevard consistent with county road standards.
The commissioners voted 4-0 to approve issuing a mitigated negative declaration for the project and approved the major use permit.
District 3 Commissioner Olga Martin-Steele was absent from the meeting.
In other matters, the commission approved issuing a major use permit for Value Propane to store propane on a leased property.
The leased property on Loasa Road in Kelseyville is owned by Lake County Walnuts, Inc. A large propane tank and a storage facility on the property would be used by Value Propane as part of its propane delivery service.
County staff stated the propane storage would not pose a threat to the surrounding area, which is heavily agricultural. An official with Value Propane said the large propane tank was rebuilt and will be maintained by the company.
The commissioners voted 4-0 to approve issuing the major use permit.
A mitigated negative declaration was adopted for a proposed project to split a 36-acre parcel located at 3275 Hill Road in Lakeport into separate 33.6-acre and 2.6-acre parcels.
The larger parcel would be zoned agricultural while the smaller would be zoned suburban reserve residential. A vineyard was suggested for future use of the larger parcel.
The commissioners found the project would not have a significant impact on the environment and adopted the mitigated negative declaration by a 4-0 vote. The commissioners also found the tentative parcel map was in conformity with the county code.
Kevin N. Hume can be reached at kevin.n.hume@gmail.com or call directly 263-5636 ext. 14. Follow on Twitter: @KevinNHume.
