LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — With the construction of Lakeport’s new courthouse set to start early next year, the Lakeport City Council held a discussion on Tuesday about possible traffic improvements to facilitate the higher traffic volumes expected in the project area.

The 45,300 square foot courthouse will be built on a five-acre site at 675 Lakeport Blvd. The cost is $73.1 million.

The Judicial Council of California reported that the project is now in the design-build phase, with construction expected to begin in February 2024 and to be completed in October 2025.

City Manager Kevin Ingram updated the council on the courthouse project and asked for direction on which traffic improvement options to take in Lakeport Boulevard.

Those improvements will be focused mainly on the area around the intersection with Larrecou Lane, which also is an access street to the Lakeport Senior Center and the city’s corporation yard.

Ingram said the main access to the courthouse site is a private driveway from the top of the hill along the eastern boundary of the property to Lakeport Boulevard near the intersection with Larrecou Lane.

“That was not originally the city’s preference” for the site access, but Ingram said that’s the direction the state’s studies are taking them.

Initially, the city wanted the Judicial Council to consider changing the access to the west side of the property, which would go around the county-owned agriculture building. However, he said the state has not been open to that option.

Now, the state is picking up the pace on the courthouse project, and the state’s traffic studies are showing minimal impact on traffic. Over the years, Ingram said the city has expressed its dissatisfaction with those findings.

With the state telling the city that it only has a small amount of money for roadway improvements, Ingram said the city has looked at the Lakeport Boulevard corridor and developed four options.

The first option, which Ingram said city staff didn’t support, is a traffic signal at Lakeport Boulevard at Larrecou Lane.

Ingram said there are no stoplights in Lakeport now, explaining they require maintenance estimated at $150,000 to keep them calibrated.

In addition to that ongoing cost that the city would have to absorb, Ingram said a traffic signal would be obtrusive to the corridor and its businesses — which include two grocery stores — especially on the east side.

The second option, and a less obtrusive one, is a small roundabout at the Lakeport Boulevard and Larrecou Lane intersection, Ingram said.

Ingram said the main problem with the roundabout option is expense due to acquiring the right of way. As a result, it’s likely to exceed the $500,000 for intersection improvements the Judicial Council has tentatively offered.

The third option is a two-way stop, with controlled access. Ingram said a new stop sign would be placed at the bottom of the courthouse driveway, across from the existing stop sign on Larrecou.

Ingram said that option likely would require some geometric redesign of Lakeport Boulevard. It would need a deceleration lane and a dedicated turn lane to turn into the site. A challenge would be pedestrian access, with city staff having discussed a lighted crosswalk.

The fourth option is a four-way stop. “That would certainly meet the needs when the court is in session,” said Ingram, but it would stop traffic along that entire traffic corridor around the clock, seven days a week.

Ingram said the third and fourth options could fit into the state’s $500,000 proposed budget, while the city would have to fund the traffic signal and roundabout options.

Councilman Kenny Parlet raised an issue with why the city should pick up the entire tab for the road improvements, since it’s a county courthouse. Ingram said it was a valid point, and that the county hasn’t yet been asked to contribute.

Councilman Michael Froio said they don’t want to see the courthouse leave the city. He said the city needed to try to plan for the future and determine the best ingress and egress, as the state is determined to build the courthouse in that location.

Councilmember Kim Costa pointed out the potential traffic challenges with vehicles coming off the overpass a block away.

Mayor Stacey Mattina said the additional traffic would mean that left hand turns to get out of store parking lots would be very difficult, forcing vehicles to turn right toward Main Street.

Froio pointed to the “Lakeport Hub” project, consisting of a new hotel, stores, restaurants and a gas station, that’s proposed to be built at 1842 Todd Road.

With all of that new development going on in the area and impacting traffic, “This thing is looking like a mess,” Froio said.

Ingram said there are positive aspects for traffic flow by having a roundabout at the intersection with Lakeport Boulevard and Bevins Street

He said he believes the court is underestimating the amount of money that will be required to dig into the hill to do the deceleration lane for the courthouse driveway.

While he said the Bevins Street and Lakeport Boulevard intersection is a critical piece for developing the traffic corridor, the state has made it clear that it’s off the table in connection to the courthouse project.

Costa moved to direct city staff to work with a traffic engineering consultant to develop preliminary design and detailed cost estimates for the two options the council favored following discussion — a roundabout and a two-way stop.

Parlet seconded and the council voted 5-0.

Ingram said city staff would get to work on that process and return to the council with options to review in a few months.

On Tuesday the council also welcomed new Community Development Department Administrative Specialist Mel Olea.

An MIT graduate who grew up in Lake County and has worked in the Bay Area, Olea told the council, “I’m really happy to be back to where I have roots.”

He said his family and friends are here, “And now my work family's here.”

Mattina quipped that Parlet nearly fell out of his seat when he heard Olea had attended MIT.

In other business on Tuesday, the council approved setting a public hearing next month for the purpose of certifying a mitigated negative declaration with a mitigation monitoring and reporting program, adopting a general plan amendment and zone change to revise the zoning associated with the Martin Street Phase III Residential Project.

That 40-unit project will be built by AMG & Associates LLC at 519 S. Smith St., next to the Phase I and II of the Martin Street Apartments, also built by AMG.

Council members also approved authorizing Ingram to execute the professional services agreement with Community Development Services for federal grant business financial assistance program services, and conditionally awarded a construction contract to James Day Construction Inc. dba Coastal Mountain Electric for the Silveira Community Center Electrical and HVAC Project.

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.