LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Planning Commission on Thursday gave the go-ahead to Lake County Vector Control's plans for a new building.
The commission approved Vector Control's use permit application and a mitigated negative declaration based on an initial study to build a 6,615-square-foot metal building for vehicle and equipment storage, and a shop facility on its 2.5-acre property at 610 Todd Road in Lakeport.
The district's office and lab work is to continue at its administrative headquarters in Lakeport on Esplanade Street.
While the property is zoned Suburban Reserve-Scenic, Vector Control's continuous use of the site since 1962 allows for the project as a legal conforming use under a general plan provision, according to Community Development Director Rick Coel.
About a year and a half ago Vector Control received a grading permit for the entire site, at which point it redeveloped ponds on the property, Coel said. In the process, the pad for the proposed building was developed.
Coel said the proposed use permit included a provision for drainage plans to be submitted before the building permit is issued.
During public comment, Phil Murphy, a Finley resident and former Vector Control Board member, suggested reorienting the building so as not to preclude or complicate future site development, as Murphy has lobbied to have all of the district's operations moved to that site.
Murphy also claimed that the district doesn't have coherent future development plans, and said he intends to put a measure on next year's ballot to privatize Vector Control and farm out all spraying operations to private contractors. “That would radically alter the needs for this facility.”
Mark Bennett, who lives at 630 Todd Road, on the west side of the Vector Control facility, raised concerns about drainage at his home, which was built in 1990. Bennett said the project will complicate his drainage issues.
Lakeport area Commissioner Don Deuchar, referring to Bennett's letter to the commission seeking a site review, said, “The drainage is an issue. The initial study didn't adequately address it.”
“What would you like us to add?” Coel asked. Deuchar said he wanted to hear from Vector Control.
Bill Vanderwall, the civil engineer working with Vector Control on the project, told the commission of the drainage issue, “There is a problem. It's an existing problem.”
He said water comes from Todd Road – not the Vector Control property – and floods the area.
Vanderwall suggested that a small v-ditch could be placed along the back of Vector Control's property line, “but it won't solve the problem.”
He said the drainage from the building pad will go into a storm drain system already in the ground on the property and be moved to a holding pond at the back of the facility.
Coel told the commission that the only thing the county could do was to ensure the project mitigates its own impacts, and not require Vector Control to fix existing off-site problems.
Bennett said he wanted a pipe dug from his property and connected directly into Vector Control's stormwater system. Vanderwall said the gravity wouldn't work for that, and Commission Chair Joe Sullivan was concerned that such a plan would overwhelm the system.
When Murphy raised the issue of flipping the orientation of the plan, Coel said there are compounding issues, including aesthetics, with planners wanting it oriented a specific way so as to shield it from the nearby residential area and minimize visual impacts.
During the discussion, Deuchar asked Bennett if his property always has flooded. Bennett said yes, when normal rains occur it floods, and if it keeps raining, it stays flooded.
The commission ultimately approved the project unanimously with the addition of Vanderwall's v-ditch proposal, to be placed along the western property line.
Commission has concerns with subdivision plan
Also on Thursday, the commission voted to approve a mitigated negative declaration but voted down the tentative subdivision map on a parcel split that Damon Fanucchi applied for at 15385 Stonefield Court in Middletown.
Fanucchi was seeking approval to divide his 0.82-acre parcel into two parcels as part of his Cobb Vista Subdivision.
In 2007, the commission had voted to require Fanucchi to install curb, gutter and sidewalk as a condition of his development. Fanucchi appealed to the Board of Supervisors, which in a 3-2 vote upheld his appeal.
Instead of being required to do the curb, gutter and sidewalk improvements, the board allowed Fanucchi to instead create a 12-foot unpaved shoulder along the roadway.
However, the commission on Thursday was concerned about lack of consistency with county plans and safety for pedestrians, with Sullivan raising the issue of the commission's attempts to enforce county planning conditions being undermined.
Fanucchi said there isn't a lot of foot traffic, and he was attempting to keep the area's rural appeal.
Sullivan said Fanucchi should be required to follow county rules. “You've been able to piecemeal it,” he said, with the lots getting smaller and problems being compounded. The result was the commission's ability to regular such projects being taken away.
Fanucchi asked Sullivan for his suggestion, and Sullivan suggested withdrawing the application and returning with another solution.
When Fanucchi said these concerns should have been dealt with earlier, Sullivan said the commission had attempted to do just that – but Fanucchi had appealed to the board. The fact that Fanucchi was seeking a subdivision map was bringing the whole matter up again, Sullivan said.
Fanucchi asked if he was supposed to do curb, gutter and sidewalk for all of the properties that ran along that area. Sullivan replied that if Fanucchi had come to the commission with a seven-lot subdivision up front, he would have had to make those improvements.
When Fanucchi suggested the treatment of his project wasn't consistent, Sullivan said a line had to be drawn, once again reminding him that he had appealed the requirements previously.
Fanucchi said he could have developed the area more, and if these rules were to be enforced, it should have been done previously. Sullivan reiterated that the attempted enforcement was appealed.
Coel said that with the parcel sizes now getting down under one acre, the subdivision ordinance would require some improvements for pedestrians. He suggested measures like striping.
Fanucchi said requiring curb, gutter and sidewalk now would look like a patchwork, and he added that he and others don't like the looks of such improvements.
Sullivan was concerned that striping wouldn't help with roadway safety. “We're stretching it now. We're getting to seven lots,” he said, noting there has to be a solution at some point.
Fanucchi said it was too late to redo his plan. “It's never too late to do the right thing,” replied Sullivan.
Commissioner Gil Schoux said if people want curb, gutter and sidewalk, they can move to Napa. But if they want to live in a rural area, they can be in Middletown, with Schoux adding that he wouldn't buy on a street with curb, gutter and sidewalk.
If that's the case, said Sullivan, the county's subdivision ordinance needs to change so that the commission has something it can enforce.
Deuchar agreed, noting that the difference between bigger and smaller lots; smaller lots without improvements have the potential to start looking “like a junkyard.”
Commissioner Bob Malley said he could understand the arguments on both sides of the issue, pointing out that in 2007 the Board of Supervisors allowed Fanucchi to do the project without sidewalks.
Malley suggested Fanucchi should be allowed to continue, but if the parcels fall below a quarter of an acre, something would need to be done.
Malley moved to approve the mitigated negative declaration, which was approved 3-2, with Sullivan and Commissioner Gladys Rosehill voting no.
When Malley moved to approve the tentative subdivision map, however, it was voted down, with only Malley and Schoux voting yes.
Coel said the decision can be appealed to the Board of Supervisors.
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Planning commission approves Vector Control project; votes down Middletown subdivision map
- Elizabeth Larson
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