John and Joanne Van Eck's riding academy project on Steelhead Drive in Kelseyville will go before the board at 10:30 a.m.

This will be the project's third appearance before the board; it's also has gone before the Planning Commission twice. Public hearings on the project began last August, as Lake County News has reported.

The Van Ecks' plan includes a nine-stall commercial riding stable, an academy to serve up to 15 students and a 2,276-square foot clubhouse facility with a large commercial kitchen on their 76-acre property. The permit also would allow for three large events a year.

In a memo to the board for Tuesday's meeting, Community Development Director Rick Coel reports the Van Ecks have now stated they do not want the project to be limited to 15 students per week.

“While this number is consistent with their initial operation plans, they wish to be on record that they would likely need to increase this number after the operation is established, during a future review,” Coel's memo states.

Neighbors, led by Jim Clement, appealed the Planning Commission's February approval of the project's minor use permit, saying it would have too great an impact on their neighborhood, located along Kelsey Creek and sitting along a narrow, dead-end road.

Planning officials have pointed to poor planning from previous decades – allowing a subdivision and an agricultural property to sit side-by-side – as part of the conflict's root cause.

The Van Ecks have said that they want to be able to assist disabled children by giving them equine therapy opportunities, as well as making their property available, for free, to local nonprofits for fundraisers.

Many of their neighbors, however, have contended that the Van Ecks are actually intending to turn the property into a major events center, and plan eventually to seek a major use permit to do so.

Representing the Van Ecks in their project proposal is Mary Jane Fagalde, Lake County's former Community Development Department director.

During her tenure, which ended last year, the Van Ecks had put in their original permits. She also had approved farmworker housing in duplex form. Current Community Development Rick Coel said in a previous meeting that was not the interpretation he would have made on farmworker housing, which typically is a single-family residence, not a duplex.

Supervisor Anthony Farrington, who lives in the Steelhead Drive neighborhood, has recused himself from considering the issue.

At a hearing last month before the board, neighbors complained that the project so far already had degraded the subdivision's road, and they questioned the need for such a large carriage house with a commercial kitchen. That hearing had followed a visit to the Van Ecks' property.

Coming to the Van Ecks' defense were several people, among them businesswoman Kathy Fowler, who sits with Joanne Van Eck on the board of the Lake Family Resource Center.

She said the Van Ecks do a lot for the community that most people never see. “They come from a good place,” she said.

Van Eck neighbor Paula Borg, however, faulted both the county and the Van Ecks for a “pattern of unacceptable behavior” in dealing with the project, including building the farm labor quarters on “misleading” information and with no report from the agricultural commissioner, and allowing construction of an arena more than 14,000 square feet in size without a public hearing.

“The impacts of this project are devastating for this neighborhood,” Borg said.

She pointed to the single-family home requirement for farmworker housing, and said the Van Ecks' son was one of those living in the housing. An additional farmworker unit was renamed a granny unit and, eventually, a hardship guest house in order to meet requirements, Borg said.

“It's amazing to me what the county has allowed,” she said.

Sierra Club Lake Group Chair Victoria Brandon raised concerns on the project that dealt with the narrowness of the road and the fact that heavy rains in previous years have inundated the area.

“As far as I'm concerned the question is not about the Van Ecks,” said Brandon.

Rather, she questioned the site's appropriate use, suggesting the proposal was too intensive for a minor use permit. She also was concerned about the closeness to Cole Creek, which also overruns the property in the winter, as well as the proximity to Clear Lake State Park.

When agricultural land and dense residential developments get too close, these are the kinds of conflicts that arise, she said.

Joanne Van Eck told the board she has held special events at her home before, and never abused the requirements.

She said she wasn't claiming to be an events center, that her goal was merely to help nonprofits and disabled children. Because she lives on the property, Van Eck said she had no intention of letting things get out of hand, and only planned to do three special events a year.

Van Eck expressed exasperation when she described what she's gone through to carry out her plans, which she said have adhered to county rules.

“I cannot believe what has gone on over the past two years,” she said, saying people were flying over her property and getting into her trash. At one point, she said Community Development informed her that they had lost her file and she needed to go through the application processes again.

“Just give us the permit and let us try,” she said.

Supervisor Denise Rushing said the conflict started decades ago, when the subdivision was permitted next to agriculture. The proposed use just exacerbates the conflict, she said.

Traffic volumes on the residential street was the biggest conflict for Supervisor Jeff Smith, who said he believed there was a resolution possible, and that he saw everyone's point of view.

Board Chair Ed Robey questioned the idea of the clubhouse being an accessory use to the riding arena. He read a planning definition of accessory use that didn't include a commercial kitchen, which the Van Ecks have said was required by county health officials.

Walking to the microphone and shaking her head, Fagalde told Robey that there are several types of accessory use, and that the definition he suggested didn't apply.

Supervisor Rob Brown said the traffic issues need to be addressed, and he wanted to limit the size of the clubhouse and require an annual review of compliance with the rules.

The board then continued the matter to this Tuesday.

Community Development's memo for Tuesday's meeting includes several stipulations to control impacts on the neighborhood, including having traffic enter the property from a different driveway.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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