LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors this week voted to make permanent a set of rules – created earlier this year in response to the lake’s flooding – that implement speed restrictions on Clear Lake during high water events.
The board approved an ordinance that establishes a “no wake zone” of a quarter-mile from shore where boats must operate at idle speed when the lake passes the elevation level of 8 feet Rumsey.
During this year’s winter flooding, Water Resources Director Phil Moy and Sheriff Brian Martin had taken several versions of an urgency ordinance to the board regarding speeds for motor boats on the lake.
It was also during that time that the board on Feb. 14 approved an urgency ordinance closing Clear Lake to motorized vessels due to safety concerns over flooding, as Lake County News has reported.
Clear Lake’s flood stage is triggered at 9 feet Rumsey; the lake’s elevation was 9.68 feet Rumsey when the board took action to implement the closure, which ultimately lasted for two weeks.
During that time, the lake’s elevation topped out at more than 10.5 feet Rumsey. By the time the lake closure was lifted at the end of February, the lake’s elevation was at around 10 feet Rumsey.
“I’m sure everyone recalls the multiple versions of the urgency ordinance that we went through earlier this year,” Moy told the Board of Supervisors during the Tuesday morning meeting.
The final version of the urgency ordinance was to be used for a permanent ordinance, Moy had said at the time, and that’s what he presented to the board this week.
The ordinance states: “It shall be unlawful for anyone operating a motor boat on the waters of Clear Lake to exceed idle speed when operating said motor boat one-quarter mile or less from the short of Clear Lake if the lake is at a level of 8.0 Rumsey or higher for a 24-hour period.”
Those idle speed requirements remain in effect until Clear Lake reaches the elevation of 7.9 feet Rumsey or lower for a 24-hour period, the ordinance stated. On-duty boats from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are exempt from the rules.
Violations of the idle speed restrictions constitute a misdemeanor and are punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or six months in the Lake County Jail, the document said.
Moy said Martin concurred with the ordinance as written, and County Counsel Anita Grant helped him with the document.
Lakeside resident and local businessman Paul Racine was the only member of the public to offer comment during the discussion.
Racine, who has lived on the lake for more than 40 years, expressed his concern that the trigger point of 8 feet Rumsey is too low.
While he said he had previously supported that elevation as the trigger point for idle speed, he has since changed his mind. “I hadn’t thought it through,” Racine said.
Racine said the impact on the fishing guides and activities on the lake was “severe” as a result of the 8 feet Rumsey rule.
Instead, he suggested that speed trigger point should be at 9 feet Rumsey elevation – the lake’s flood stage – which he said is the lake level when damage starts to happen. Otherwise, he said the rules are “unnecessarily restrictive.”
Supervisor Rob Brown suggested they could raise the lake elevation level for speed restrictions to 9 feet Rumsey and amend it if necessary at a future point.
Supervisor Jim Steele said that there also had been issues with boats going through bird nesting sites in the Middle Creek area. He said that he wanted to look at the issues associated with protecting bird nesting separately, work on signage and let fishermen know about the impacts.
He also noted during the discussion that one of the concerns about speed arose from the amount of debris in the lake from older docks that the wave action broke apart.
Board Chair Jeff Smith pointed out that the idle speed zone would only extend out a quarter-mile from shore, with boats still able to travel at higher speeds in the middle of the lake.
Supervisor Tina Scott said she didn’t see an issue with keeping the ordinance’s elevation level for the speed restrictions at 8 feet Rumsey in order to get people to slow down.
Racine said the biggest impact from the speed restrictions was on the fisherman, adding that the fishing guide business and bass tournaments are “a big deal” on Clear Lake.
“But again, we’re not stopping the fishermen from coming in and fishing. They just have to slow down,” and to be cautious about what’s in the water, said Scott.
Supervisor Moke Simon, who noted that he doesn’t live on the lake, said he was aware a lot of damage had been done from the flooding. “I think this is a well thought out ordinance.”
He said it’s not a matter of shutting down the lake but making people aware that there is a potential issue.
Simon said he respects the fishing industry and the money that it brings to the county, but felt the emphasis should be placed on protecting homeowners. “I think we should take care of the folks that are affected by the water.”
Smith said the biggest impact this winter had been when the board shut the lake down because of the flooding. He agreed with Simon about the need to look out for people’s personal property and suggested that the ordinance offers a compromise.
As he prepared to offer the ordinance for a vote, Steele said he wanted to see if there was consensus to change the lake elevation that would trigger the speed restrictions from 8 feet Rumsey to 8.5 feet Rumsey.
The rest of the board, however, wanted to keep the elevation at 8 feet Rumsey, as staff had recommended.
Steele moved to approve the ordinance as presented by staff. The supervisors approved the ordinance unanimously and advanced the document to a final reading at the Aug. 15 board meeting.
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Supervisors pass ordinance setting speed restrictions during high water events on Clear Lake
- Elizabeth Larson
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