LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — In an action that Board Chair Bruno Sabatier called a “milestone,” the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the purchase of a property to be the site of a new park in Cobb.
The vote was 4-0 to purchase the 13-acre property at 16540 State Highway 175 for $300,000, with a second unanimous vote to approve a resolution accepting the grant deed recordation. Supervisor Moke Simon was absent.
Public Services Director Lars Ewing said the Cobb area is one of the few, if not the only, general plan areas in Lake County without a community park.
As an introduction to the brief public hearing for the purchase, Ewing gave an overview of the process that led to the final action at Tuesday’s meeting.
In February 2023, the board granted conceptual approval of the property purchase and appointed a negotiating team, Ewing said.
The Cobb community has had an ongoing desire to have a park of their own, which Ewing said is referenced in their draft area plan along with a draft parks, recreation and trails master plan.
After the board’s conceptual approval of the purchase, Ewing said Public Services staff worked on a variety of things — including a preliminary title report, an appraisal that valued the property at $390,000, septic and building inspections, hazard tree assessments and removal of abandoned vehicles.
Ewing said that, ultimately, the property’s owner, the Robert Vardanega Revocable Trust, accepted the county’s $300,000 purchase offer.
He thanked county staffer Celia Hoberg, — who has a background in real estate work — for her efforts in the process.
Ewing said that in June the Lake County Planning Commission determined the acquisition to be in conformity with the Lake County General Plan and categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.
County staff has had tribal consultation with the Middletown Rancheria and the Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians at a conceptual level and also have worked with a landscape architecture firm to prepare a preliminary concept plan for potential park development, Ewing reported.
The board approved $1 million for the project. With the purchase, closing costs and appraisals, Ewing said they have $650,000 to $670,000 left over, which won’t cover all of the construction costs. There also are planning, environmental studies and design still to do.
Ewing said the intent is to get it to a point that infrastructure and other necessities are in place so they can open the park to the public. That will be phase one. For phase two, Ewing hopes to secure grant funding.
Following the purchase approval, Ewing said Public Services staff will initiate a public outreach process to develop both an interim and long-term park use plan, continue consultation with both tribal nations, refine the concept design for future park use by the public, and perform appropriate environmental resource surveys/studies, all with the intent to progress to a public opening of the property.
Ewing said the property is in an area where the county doesn’t have a maintenance yard, so there will be an impact with annual costs, which he said he would discuss with county administration.
Supervisor Jessica Pyska, in whose district the park site is located, said there has been a “big push” to complete the process. She recognized Hoberg for her work, with Ewing adding that Hoberg was “the workhorse” of the project.
Supervisor Michael Green said he was excited to support it. Sabatier agreed.
“Parks is economic development and it’s what attracts people to want to live in areas,” Sabatier said, adding that not having one is definitely a disservice to attracting people to want to build and live in a community. He said he’s looking forward to seeing how it develops.
During the discussion, Sabatier noted wanting to try to connect the new park’s trails to Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest. Pyska said county staff is working on that.
The only public comment at the meeting came from longtime Cobb resident Robert Stark, who assured the board that the park project is thoroughly supported in the community.
In the 49 years he’s lived there, Stark said it had been a longtime wish. “The community is very enthusiastic about this.”
Pyska moved to approve the purchase agreement, which Green seconded and the board approved 4-0. Pyska then offered the resolution to accept the grant deed recordation, also approved unanimously.
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