A recent article by Joe Mozingo in the Los Angeles Times painted Lake County as a run-down resort area. “Transients hole up in the old cottage resorts where vacationing families once came to fish and swim. Rotting docks and pier pilings litter the lake”s shoreline. Much of this city, in fact, and others nearby in Lake County, looks as if it was plucked from Appalachia — with weeds and unpaved streets, stray dogs and backyard marijuana crops.”
It is unfortunate that such a negative perception of Lake County is reported in the media by our surrounding neighbors and across the state. This negative press affects tourism, local businesses and property values. But can you blame them? Lake County is such an easy target. It”s always easier to kick someone when they are down. The perception is somewhat justified but not entirely true. It”s like judging Los Angles by touring its ghettos and not the nicer areas of the city.
So the question arises: What is the cause of the perception and what can be done about it?
The heart of Lake County is the lake. It is our biggest asset and is the largest natural lake in California with more than 100 miles of shoreline. When the lake is healthy with clear waters and no weeds, tourism increases and the economy improves. If the lake is choked with weeds or there are blankets of algae floating on the water people tend to stay away and not come back.
Geologists believe that Clear Lake may be the oldest lake in North America — formed 2.5 million years ago. Lakes this old usually are filled in and become meadows, but because of the natural springs and its ability to capture the rain runoff, Clear Lake survives. Because the lake is shallow it is effected by sunlight and nutrients that flow into it with the winter rains. When the nutrients are high, algae forms but if there is no algae then the sun reaches the bottom of the lake and aquatic weeds grow.
The perception is acerbated by the lack of tourism which means resort owners don”t have the income to maintain their facilities, they become cheap rentals or are abandoned. Lack of tourism results in fewer jobs and less money to spend on goods and services provided by local businesses. As a result property values decline or stagnate.
Local government is trying to address this because there are fewer of these abandoned or run down resorts in recent years because the communities have made aggressive action to abate them as well as unsafe properties.
There was an observation by one of the boaters who frequent the lake that this year the lake is very low but clear with no weeds. He said that he believes the lack of algae is because we didn”t get the rain runoff from the surrounding hills which are full of nutrients from chemicals used to grow marijuana.
This may indeed be true, the Lake County Supervisors are aware of how much of this problem is caused by the flushing of fertilizers and other nutrients into the lake from viewing satellite images. They have proposed Measure S in the upcoming election to address the situation. It is somewhat similar to the last proposal, Measure L that was narrowly defeated by only 220 votes. The proposal would impose a half-cent sales tax that would be used exclusively to address issues with the lake. Part of the money will be to remove the levies to restore Rodman Slough which helps filter the lake, part will be used to harvest aquatic weeds and algae as well as inspect vessels for aquatic invasive species that have devastated other lakes in California, Arizona and Nevada. For more information go to www.savethelake.info.
Contributing to nutrients that flow into the lake is the unregulated marijuana grows on private and public land. These operations use concentrated fertilizers and in some cases chemicals that are banned in the United States. The current marijuana ordinance has given the county authority to combat the illegal grows and may have a huge effect on how much nutrients flow into the lake. However, there are efforts by pro-marijuana groups to challenge the current ordinance and abatement that will be voted on at the next election. The voters of Lake County will decide what the future of the lake will be.
The local government can only do so much, but it is up to individuals who can make the real difference. By cleaning up their own properties and supporting local efforts to keep the lake clean and healthy everyone can make a difference. The general economy, property values and the quality of life here in Lake County are all connected to the health of Clear Lake. Be careful on how you take care of our most valuable asset.
Ray Perry is the 2013 Realtor of the Year for Lake County and works for CPS Country Air Properties located in the Riviera Shopping Center. He can be reached at 277-8000.
