LAKE COUNTY — The Lakeport City Council approved to enter into a professional service agreement with a consulting firm specializing in planning, development, and authorized the allocation of funding for the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR) Program during the regular scheduled city council meeting Tuesday.
The Professional Service Agreement with Sacramento based Mintier Harnish is for the development of objective design and development standards for the city’s zoning ordinance and updates to its accessory dwelling unit rules.
Lakeport Community Development Director Jenni Byers said A three-person committee made up of city staff reviewed the proposals and selected Mintier Harnish as the top consultant for this project.
The city received $65,000 from the Local Early Action Planning Grants (“LEAP”) for projects that assist in the preparation and adoption of planning documents and process improvements. Earlier this year, the city council authorized $11,712 of those grant funds to be used in the implementation of the SmartGov e-permitting function.
Byers added that Lake County submitted an application for a Regional Early Action Planning Grant (“REAP”) for which the City of Lakeport is eligible for in the amount of $29,862.23.
“The selected firm proposed a budget of $65,140,” Byers said. “ The combination of these two grants would accomplish the proposed project and we (would) still have some grant money to spend.”
According to Byers, the Request for Proposal (RFP) for this project generated two proposals with notification from one firm declining to submit.
Councilmember Mireya Turner said this company is very agile in hearing what the community has to say and has a lot of experience from a number of different sized jurisdictions.
“I was really excited to see Mintier Harnish rise to the top on this one because they have been responsive and creative,” Turner said.
In terms of the CDBG-DR program, the city of Lakeport is eligible for $2.4 million as part of the Multi-Family Housing Program. This funding must be used to develop this type of housing. The program is administered through the state department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Byers said there is still time to decide which final project would be the best use of the funds, but added staff needs a city council resolution by March 15.
“The city has several developers interested in proposing housing projects for these funds. The city does not need to determine the use of the funds at this time, but the funds must be spent within the city of Lakeport,” Byers said.
These funds are available due to the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire, which threatened the city Lakeport for over a week and resulted in the mandatory evacuation of all city businesses and residents.
Several portions of disaster recovery funds have been allocated through the CDBG program Byers said.
The city has until the end of the 2022 year to decide what these funds will be used for. Lakeport city staff is aiming for June of 2022 to submit an application that will narrow down a decision on which project they will use these funds.
City Council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesday of each month. Regular Council meetings begin at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chamber, 225 Park Street but during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lakeport Council meetings are conducted through a digital platform. Please visit https://www.cityoflakeport.com/city_council/index.php for more information on how to participate.
