LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Planning Commission on Wednesday gave unanimous approval to businesswoman Kathy Fowler's plans to build a new office for used car sales next to her existing dealership on Parallel Drive.
Fowler is planning to build a 547-square-foot used car sales office at 1277 Parallel Drive and 1305 Todd Road Extension, the nearly one-acre lot located between Kathy Fowler Auto Center and Taco Bell.
The site also will have 43 paved parking spaces and outdoor display of vehicles for sale.
Kathy Fowler Auto Center General Manager Tim Wynacht told Lake County News in a followup interview on Thursday that construction on the site should begin after the start of the year, and will be a part of the current business.
No firm date for the opening has been set, although they had had their sights set on this coming spring, he said.
“The rain really messed us up,” Wynacht said.
It will be the second used car sales business in the city, according to city Planning Services Manager Andrew Britton, who said the other is West Lake Auto Center at 2195 S. Main St.
Britton said that in 2005 the planning commission approved a larger project that Fowler had proposed at the same site.
That earlier plan had included a 3,592-square-foot auto dealership with 47 parking spots for both new and used cars, plus site improvement, according to city documents.
Wynacht said that the 2005 project did not move forward due to the economy.
The commission's approval for that prior project has expired, Britton said at the Wednesday meeting.
While the new project is smaller overall, it has many similar components to the earlier version, Britton noted, with the plans complying with the city's design review and use permit provisions.
Britton said the project will benefit the Lakeport business community. “It certainly enhances the city’s economic development situation. I think we're all aware that car sales are a good thing for the city’s tax base.”
As such, Britton said planning staff recommended the project's approval subject to 43 conditions. Such conditions are standard for building projects.
Commissioner Ken Wicks asked about the traffic flow in and out of the project site, which will share a driveway with Taco Bell. “Has there been any real concern because they're so close together?”
Britton said there is a potential for conflict, with one of the recommended conditions being that if conflicts arise with vehicles entering or exiting the two businesses, that Fowler will install a stop sign, stop bar or other appropriate signage or pavement marking near the dealership’s entrance.
He said there is a similar situation at the Bruno's Shopping Center, where there is an exit into a main driveway from a side driveway, and painted cross hatching on the pavement helped alert drivers to the need to move through the area.
Fowler, joined by Wynacht and project architect Vincent Price, spoke to the commission briefly on Wednesday.
She said she kept the property for a long time. “I thought it was going to be something different.”
Price added, “We’ve been looking at a vacant dirt parking lot for so many years now.”
He called it a “win-win situation” for the auto center and the community at large. Price said they worked diligently with city staff “to develop a project we thought would enhance the community.”
Commissioner Suzanne Russell gave full support to the project. “It’s a brilliant move to do used cars there,” she said.
With so many other dealerships going away, “It's a perfect addition to our city, and I for one really appreciate it,” Russell added.
Russell asked about who owned the paved driveway that will be used to enter the project site and which is used for Taco Bell. Wynacht and Price confirmed that Fowler owns that area. Britton added that there is a written easement agreement. Taco Bell, Fowler added, actually paved the entry.
Commissioner Ross Kauper asked about a construction schedule.
Price said he had spoken with building official Tom Carlton about starting paving as soon as possible, but “that was before the rains came.”
Now, he said, they need to reevaluate their schedule, as they don't want to track mud around.
Wicks asked if the California Environmental Quality Act information on the project – which had been considered as part of the previous project's incarnation – was up-to-date.
Britton said that, generally speaking, it was. “The CEQA checklist that is currently approved by the state and in use, it’s changed since 2005. It now includes a category that directly addresses greenhouse gas impacts.”
Because this new project has a footprint that's less than 2,500 square feet, Britton said it's categorically exempt from CEQA. However, the project was still sent to Sonoma State University and Big Valley Rancheria for review.
Wicks said he wanted to let the public know that planning staffers did their due diligence. “What we received was very well done.”
Russell moved to approve the applications for architectural and design review and a use permit, which Kauper seconded and the commission approved 5-0.
Also on Wednesday, the commission unanimously approved a use permit sought by Jason Norris of the House of Living Rhythm to allow the reestablishment of commercial activities – in particular, wellness-based and community-building events – in conjunction with an existing residential use in an older church building at 100 N. Forbes St.
The commission also granted Norris a zoning permit for acoustic-based live entertainment.
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