LAKEPORT, Calif. – In a 3-1 vote, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday upheld the Lake County Planning Commission's denial of a major use permit for a Dollar General store in Kelseyville.

Supervisors Anthony Farrington, Jeff Smith and Jim Steele voted to deny the appeal, with Jim Comstock voting in favor of it.

Supervisor Rob Brown had recused himself from the discussion because he owns property close to the proposed store location.

On May 28, the Lake County Planning Commission unanimously denied the major use permit and mitigated negative declaration for the 9,100-square-foot store, proposed to be located at 5505 Main St. and 4315 Douglas St. in Kelseyville.

In July, the Board of Supervisors voted to rename Douglas Street Forrest's Road, for Forrest Seagrave, who was fatally shot during a robbery at his job at Mt. Konocti Gas and Mart in January 2013. The previous Douglas Road address, however, continues to be listed on the appeal documents.

In denying the project the commission cited concerns including traffic volumes on the street, which separates the store location from Kelseyville High School, as well as the store's fit with the community character, as Lake County News has reported.

The May vote by the commission came a year to the month after it had unanimously approved plans for Dollar General's first two Lake County stores, which opened earlier this year in Nice and Clearlake Oaks, and which company representatives told Lake County News are performing above expectations.

However, the performance of those stores in other ways proved to be concerns for planning commissioners, who said they were not pleased with the impacts on those communities.

Community Development Director Rick Coel and Senior Planner Michalyn DelValle, who processed the Kelseyville store application, went before the board to present the appeal matter Tuesday.

Texas-based Cross Development, which builds the stores and then leases them to the Tennessee-based small box retailer, appealed the commission's decision, asserting that the commission hadn't considered all the facts and that the store actually would be a good fit for the community.

However, the three board members who voted to uphold the commission's decision voiced the same concerns as commissioners had when it came to traffic, proximity to schools and community character.

Joe Dell, who is representing Cross Development on the project, was accompanied to the meeting by Amy Herman of ALH Urban & Regional Economics, who did a market study on the proposed store location.

Herman estimated that the store would generate $1.6 million in sales annually from a three-mile radius that included 2,000 households. She said those households have an annual retail potential of $40 million. Based on those sales estimates, Herman said the county could expect $12,600 annually in sales tax revenue.

Farrington questioned Herman about how she conducted the study. Herman explained that she visited local stores but didn't talk to anyone, and that she did not do a traditional retail sales leak analysis due to lack of reliable sources.

Dell said Cross Development had looked at two other locations in Kelseyville – neither of which worked out – before settling on the Main Street location.

He said that both Caltrans and Lake County Public Works determined that a traffic study was not needed for the store proposal. However, he said Cross Development has studied traffic and even parking for projects elsewhere in California.

Dell said the project would increase pedestrian facilities – including sidewalks and crosswalks – as well as Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility, with the addition of a bus stop a condition of approval.

He said the company was willing to work with the county and community to meet a majority of the community design standards that are sticking points, like parking and landscaping, adding that the store could become a vibrant part of Kelseyville.

Asked by Farrington about employee numbers and wages, Dell said stores typically have been six and 10 employees, of which about 40 percent are full-time. He said he didn't have salary and wage range information.

Farrington also questioned why Dollar General didn't show up to the meeting.

During public comment approximately 21 people spoke – some of them more than once – all in opposition to the store proposal.

The biggest issues voiced by community members also focused on community character and their belief that Dollar General didn't fit with it, as well as traffic – especially when schools are in session.

Mark Borghesani, whose family owns Kelseyville Lumber, told the board that Kelseyville is pro business, but they want businesses to fit, and they want the town to keep its look.

He said there has been no contact from the project's developer with either the school district or the Kelseyville Business Association.

Community member Mike Adams said Kelseyville has a fragile economy that could be impacted by a conglomerate like Dollar General, of which he said, “They will be fine without Kelseyville in their list of communities to siphon resources from.”

Kelseyville Unified School District Superintendent Dave McQueen said his focus was on the safety of his students. “That is my main concern – always has been, always will be.”

As he did before the planning commission, McQueen raised issues with traffic in the area, noting the heavy volume in the area of the schools.

There also are illegal activities and loitering that take place in that area off campus that affect students. “I need to have an assurance that my kids are going to be safe,” McQueen said.

Sharron Zoller spoke against the project, showing a stack of petitions with the signatures of 800 community members opposing the project – a copy of which she said was submitted to the Board of Supervisors along with a second group of 130 signatures.

Richard Smith, a business professor who lives in Kelseyville, told the board that big stores like Dollar General take money that would have been spent at other stores and send it out of small communities like Kelseyville.

“I know it's a difficult decision for a Board of Supervisors because we want economic growth, we want competition,” but it's important to look at how much money will stay in the county, said Smith.

Dell said there were six Dollar Generals in the small Texas town where he grew up.

While he said no one wants a child to get hit by a vehicle, “The traffic problems already exist.”

Coel reiterated to the board that the traffic counts hadn't met the threshold to require a traffic study.

Supervisor Jim Comstock supported sending the project back to the planning commission to have the traffic issue reconsidered.

Supervisor Jim Steele, recalling when the Northshore stores were proposed last year, said, “Basically, no one knew what to expect.”

Pointing out that Lake County is a very unique place, Steele said, “The destination economy is very, very important.”

He said he preferred to keep the county's unique look, and pointed out that had Dollar General proposed to be located in another part of the county with a distinct look – like Upper Lake in his district – it would have faced complete opposition.

“There's a place for everything,” said Steele, adding that he wouldn't support the store unless there was an outcry in its favor.

Farrington recounted bringing up concerns last year when businessmen in Nice had appealed the planning commission's approval of the Dollar General store in that town.

“I was hesitant to support allowing a Dollar General in Nice,” said Farrington.

The appeal of the Nice store ultimately failed in June 2014. Only then-Supervisor Denise Rushing voted against it, with Farrington and the rest of the board voting to uphold the commission's decision.

Farrington said he was concerned that Dollar General had no representative at the meeting, adding he believed the analysis of the store location was lacking full data, with the corridor “very unsafe.”

Dell told the board that he believed that, if they were given good information, they would find the store would be a good fit, and asked them to send it back to the commission for more detailed traffic and economic studies.

Farrington said he didn't want to put off a decision, adding that at its current proposed location, he had no desire to send the project back for more study.

“I publicly signaled my concerns about this coming to Kelseyville back in the Nice appeal,” said Farrington.

He added, “There's no right or wrong, it's just a different perspective,” and suggested that maybe Cross Development would look at different sites.

Steele moved to deny the appeal, with Farrington seconding, and the 3-1 vote resulting.

Earlier this year, at about the same time as it began to submit documents for the Kelseyville store, Cross Development began the application process for another store location at 20900 S. Highway 29 in Middletown, a proposal that has raised concerns in that community for similar reasons as it did in Kelseyville.

DelValle told Lake County News after Tuesday's board meeting that Cross Development still hasn't completed that application for the Middletown location.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.