LAKEPORT, Calif. – Following a public hearing on Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved the final draft of a plan to manage an estimated 10,000 paper subdivision lots around the county, particularly on the Northshore.
Community Development Director Rick Coel and planner Mireya Turner took the plan to the board on Tuesday morning.
Coel and his staff began developing the plan a few years ago in an effort to deal with the thousands of unbuildable lots created in the early 20th century by land speculators.
The lots have continued to create a variety of problems, including high ownership turnover, unpaid tax bills and use for illicit marijuana grows, and are a source of erosion due to factors such as ATV riding.
A key way the plan proposes to deal with the lots is for the county to seek out opportunities – including donations and purchases – to acquire the lots and put them into open space projects, including the county's growing trails system.
The plan also had gone before the board for discussion in November and February. On Nov. 18, the board had given staff the go ahead to bring back a final draft, with the Feb. 24 meeting leading to some additional fine-tuning and the setting of Tuesday's hearing.
Since that last hearing, Coel said there had been two changes, the first being to remove a reference to the Teeter Plan, a complicated funding mechanism for property acquisition.
He said staff also added a few sentences toward the end of the document making it clear there will be an internal review process involving county agencies before a request to accept any paper subdivision lots is brought to the Board of Supervisors.
“We need to have an internal system of checks and balances to look at the potential for any liability in assuming those properties, to make sure it’s consistent with the objectives that are stated at that time, whether it’s one of the pilot projects or another project,” Coel said.
Coel asked the supervisors to approve the plan and find it to be categorically exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act, specifically relating to the class of actions taken by regulatory agencies for protection of the environment.
Supervisor Jim Steele asked if there is a plan to review the document after a period of time.
Coel suggested that the county could treat it like such documents as the county's housing element, which is reviewed every five years.
Another option Coel suggested was to have staff review it when bringing to the board lots to consider acquiring. He acknowledged that staff will need regular guidance from the board on the plan.
Board Chair Anthony Farrington said any board member can bring the plan up for review at any time.
Coel said the plan includes giving the board updates regarding the addition of lots to a trails project that's proposed for Lucerne.
There was no public comment on the plan during the brief public hearing.
Steele moved to approve the plan, with Supervisor Jim Comstock seconding and the board voting 5-0.
Coel thanked Clearlake Oaks residents Chuck Lamb and Holly Harris for their efforts to assist with the plan's development. Lamb and Harris had been part of previous presentations to the board.
“We’ve said this before but they’ve put an incredible amount of time into developing the pilot projects, and advising and researching things for us for this whole plan,” said Coel. “We really appreciate it.”
Steele agreed, noting that after 90 years of dealing with the lots, the county couldn't have developed the plan without the input from Lamb and Harris, which he said should be recognized.
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Supervisors approve plan to manage thousands of paper subdivision lots
- Elizabeth Larson
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