Lakeport >> The Board of Supervisors is slated to revisit a proposed Dollar General in Kelseyville.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the board will consider an appeal of the Lake County Planning Commission’s unanimous denial of a major use permit filed by Cross Development, which would construct and own the building for Dollar General to rent. The bargain store chain, with headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, is on a mission to open 730 new stores nationwide this year. They already opened a store in Nice and another in Clearlake Oaks.
Commissioners, as well as the dozen or so town residents who spoke at the late May meeting, cited vehicle and pedestrian traffic issues due to its proximity to Kelseyville High School as a concern. The location is directly across from the school on two parcels at Douglas Road and Main Street.
Furthermore, the national retailer’s design, the planning commission said, clashed with the community character of downtown Kelseyville, which is lined with mostly small businesses. The Kelseyville Dollar General would stand at 9,100-square feet — making it nearly 2,000-square feet larger than the company’s average store.
Planning commission staff made several recommendations to modify the project to address compatibility concerns which included planting larger shrubs and trees, prohibiting a freestanding sign, providing additional pedestrian access and reducing the number of parking spaces.
Instead of making the changes, Cross Development filed an appeal saying, “We believe that the project will not negatively impact the high school in terms of traffic and pedestrian circulation and can, in fact, serve to promote a vibrant downtown in Kelseyville.” It was a claim they based off of their own findings in their Initial Study (IS15-03) and traffic analysis.
Supervisors have postponed the appeal hearing multiple times this summer because of scheduling problems. The agenda item now set for Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Lake County Board of Supervisors Chambers inside the county courthouse, located at 255 N Forbes St. in Lakeport.
