LAKEPORT >> A public hearing regarding the proposed Papers Subdivision Management Plan was held by the Lake County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
Originally brought before the board in November, then again in February, the plan will be implemented after it met with approval at Tuesday’s hearing.
According to Lake County Community Development Director Richard Coel, the only main changes made since the plan was discussed in February were the removal of references to teeter funding and additional language regarding the internal review process, which will include several county agencies.
Goals of the management plan focus on using the lots to address environmental concerns by curtailing off-highway vehicles use and the erosion it causes; mitigating banking for oak woodland and habitat preservation; developing trails in conjunction with the Konocti Regional Trails (KRT) plan; stopping illegal dumping, as well as reducing illegal marijuana cultivation and camping.
The project will begin on a portion of Mountain View Road above Clearlake Oaks and will create a “community pathway system connecting the town into the hills,” Lake County Community Development Director Richard Coel explained. The goal of this project is curtailing the use of off-highway vehicles, illegal dumping and stormwater pollution.
According to Coel, the area “has all of the major problems that we want to mitigate through this plan.” Including no physical access to build houses, no access public water and small lots.
There are approximately 10,000 Paper Subdivision lots throughout the county, which were created in the early 20th century, Coel said. Of those, approximately 220 are located in the Clearlake Oaks area.
“Modern building and fire codes, adopted to ensure safe and functional residential developments, along with sewer and water standards have made these lots prohibitive to develop,” Coel said.
During the November meeting, Coel explained that “over the past 90 years, these unbuildable lots have created myriad problems, ranging from economic to environmental and illegal. Uninformed out-of-area buyers have invested in these lots, thinking they were getting a great deal on a piece of land, only to find no water, sewer, roads or power.”
The use of off highway vehicles and illegal marijuana cultivations has caused erosion, which in turn has caused higher nutrient loading into the lake, as well as runoff from illegal dumping. “There is a number of things the county has done over the years, but what we have never done consolidate a strategy,” Coel said. No members of the public offered comments on the management plan.
The board unanimously approved the plan with a 5-0 vote.
Contact J. W. Burch, IV at 900-2022.
