CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Tuesday the Clearlake Planning Commission finished preparing its recommendation for the Clearlake City Council regarding design guidelines submitted by the Clearlake Vision Task Force.
The recommendation is expected to go before the Clearlake City Council at its next regular meeting on Nov. 14.
The design guidelines describe allowable uses for future development on the lake and land sides of Lakeshore Drive within the design district, which is designated between Olympic Drive and Old Highway 53.
The commission is recommending the following as permitted uses on the land side of Lakeshore Drive: retail trade and services, personal services such as beauty care; parking lot, public or private; ATM machines, residential development above one or two levels of business; eating establishments including drinking establishments, outdoor eating area and drive through service; boat and water oriented rentals.
Recommendations for conditional use on the land side include indoor recreation, amusement and cultural facilities; portable sidewalk vendors, drinking establishments, retail trade greater than 5,000 square feet; transient lodging, cultural or visitor center and eating establishments with drive through service.
On the lake side, recommended permitted uses include retail trade with complimentary outdoor merchandise displays; bait and tackle shop; portable vendors, eating establishments, boat and water oriented rentals; and cultural or visitor center.
Conditional uses include drinking establishments, transient lodging, indoor recreation, amusement and cultural facility; marinas and other similar facilities; and retail trade and service, without outdoor storage or display, or a combination of separate structures on one lot of record exceeding 3,000 square feet.
City Manager Joan Phillipe said the recommendation to the council will include information pertaining to discussion of eating establishments with drive through services.
Commissioners Al Bernal and Bill Perkins, the latter of whom was not present during the commission's recent workshop addressing details of the recommendation, voted to remove, thereby prohibit, such business within the design district.
During the workshop, public comment was offered suggesting that the prohibition of such a business would be unwise.
Bob Mingori pointed to the high expense typically associated with franchise development, noting the city could retain control of aesthetics through conditional use regulation.
He indicated it would be against the city's best interests to eliminate the possibility of such an opportunity and deny any developer who may have such an interest in the future.
Chairman Alvaro Valencia and Commissioner Cheryl Hutchinson voted to retain the recommendation resulting in a tie vote and retention of the recommendation. Commissioner Carl Webb was absent from Tuesday's meeting.
In other business, the commission approved a mitigated negative declaration of environmental impact on a previously prepared initial study pertaining for 13885 Lakeshore Drive, the location of Clear Lake Cottages and Marina.
The declaration includes 26 issues of mitigation and is available for public review at Clearlake City Hall.
Phillipe said the action was to “clean things up” and move forward with the project.
The commission also granted a request for variance on an “oddly shaped” property at 15225 Highlands Ave.
The variance allows for a setback reduction of 1 foot, 6 inches, totaling 13 feet, 6 inches, down from the required 15 feet. Applicant Frank Metcalf intends to place a singlewide mobile home on the polygon-shaped lot.
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