CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The work of drafting a new general plan for the city of Clearlake is under way, with public meetings set to begin later this month.
The first community workshop will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 27, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive. Snacks will be provided.
Future meetings are planned in November, December and the early months of 2013. The plan is expected to be completed by June 30, 2013, according to City Manager Joan Phillipe.
Community members are invited to take part in the workshops on the document, which is the city’s “blueprint.” It’s meant to determine the city’s goals and policies in order to direct future decision making.
Clearlake’s current general plan is about 30 years old, “way past the life of a generally accepted useful general plan document,” Phillipe told Lake County News.
She reported to the Clearlake City Council at its Sept. 28 meeting that the city has been notified twice by the state that the document needs to be updated.
At that same meeting the council approved Phillipe’s proposal to work with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s City and Regional Planning Department to prepare a general plan circulation document and a general plan, as Lake County News has reported.
Working with a team of 14 to 15 graduate students – under the direction of Dr. Cornelius Nuworsoo – the city will pay $40,000 for the new plan, which could have cost the city closer to $200,000 with a consultant.
Clearlake received a Lake County/City Area Planning Council grant to cover the general plan preparation. Phillipe told the council last month, has been a main sticking point to pursuing a new document.
She said getting a good deal on the plan and the grant are both important for the city, which has been struggling financially.
The students already have been collecting volumes of information from the city as well as the Lake County/City Area Planning Council as background information for the plan and to bring themselves current with local planning documents and plans, Phillipe said.
She said she met four of the students last Friday at the Lakeshore Drive Downtown Corridor plan presentation and reception.
“They are enthusiastic,” she said.
More information about the process can be found at the Web site set up for the document’s preparation, www.planclearlake.weebly.com .
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