- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Clearlake City Council agrees to study annexation proposal
At its July 21 meeting, the council heard a presentation from Brian Pensack, a partner in Lake Vista Farms — which owns two parcels totaling 302 acres at 2050 and 2122 Ogulin Canyon Road — and the group’s planning consultant, Richard Knoll.
Pensack and his partners are asking to be added to the city’s boundaries.
Lake Vista’s property, which is zoned industrial, is located to the east of the current city limits. It’s not in the city’s sphere of influence, which at present is the same as the boundaries of Clearlake.
If the city ultimately pursued the annexation proposal, it would be the first one since Clearlake incorporated in 1980. It’s also more than twice the size of the South Main Street annexation the city of Lakeport is pursuing.
The process of investigating the annexation also will include determining the cost and who will bear it.
Knoll said the group submitted a cannabis project application to the county of Lake, which the Lake County Planning Commission approved. However, an appeal by neighbors resulted in the Board of Supervisors denying the project on appeal.
“Subsequent to that action, we started discussions with the city of Clearlake,” Knoll said.
Initially, they talked about water supply and availability of water before progressing to a discussion about annexation, Knoll explained.
Knoll said they’ve submitted a letter to the city. They’ve also spoken to John Benoit, the executive director of the Lake Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, which is tasked with overseeing annexations.
Benoit, Knoll said, would prefer the city be the applicant for annexation projects. “It’s actually been that way for a number of years.”
Knoll said there are two ways to conduct an annexation, one through a city applying through a resolution for annexation, and one where a property owner can apply.
The process would require the city to amend its sphere of influence, designating the property under the general plan and prezoning the property.
If the city didn’t support pursuing the annexation itself, Knoll asked that it would send a strongly worded letter of support for LAFCo to consider it.
Knoll said the city has a mixed use zoning district that might be appropriate for the site.
He said Lake Vista Farms was in the planning process with the county for more than three years. “It's a very expensive process. That did not pan out. This opportunity has presented itself.”
Knoll added, “We respectfully ask that you take a serious look at this.”
Pensack told the council that their project “didn’t turn out as we had hoped,” but they were trying to turn lemons into lemonade and had met with both Mayor Dirk Slooten and City Manager Alan Flora.
He said the property is beautiful land and lots of things can be done with it, and he noted the city has a desire for light industrial in the Ogulin Canyon area.
When he met with Slooten at the property a few weeks before the meeting Pensack said Slooten suggested one use could be a 100,000 square foot facility for wine storage, which Pensack found to be an interesting idea. There also is a proposal for housing.
Councilman Russ Cremer asked if they were going to come back with a cannabis plan. Pensack said they had been beaten up over cannabis, and Cremer responded by saying he did that to himself in how the project was handled.
Knoll said if the owners do sell the land, the zoning permits cannabis. Cremer said not all of the city’s industrial zoning allows cannabis.
Councilwoman Joyce Overton asked about the potential cost and noted that the annexation process “takes some time.”
“It’s not something that’s super easy,” Flora acknowledged. “I haven’t been through this specific process before.”
Overton asked Pensack if they had gone to the county to discuss doing something different with the property.
“There’s really no options at the county for us,” Pensack said.
Overton asked how long it could take to update the sphere of influence. Flora said it’s estimated to take six months.
Knoll noted that the property owners are “in a hurry” to move forward.
Slooten said the city doesn't have enough industrial zoning and industrial zoning creates jobs, which was his interest.
During public comment, City Clerk Melissa Swanson read an email from Vicki Crystal opposing the proposal and raising concerns about water availability. She said Pensack started his own problems by allowing a cannabis grow on his property before it was permitted by the county.
Dave Hughes, one of the neighbors who had opposed the Lake Vista Farms cannabis project, said there are 135 vacant acres of industrial property in the city now.
While he said he would love to see a wine storage facility. “We need to be careful what we're doing.”
Erin McCarrick, a city planning commissioner and a member of the local cannabis industry, said she didn’t necessarily have an opinion on the annexation proposal but she urged the city to put conditions into its requirements for transparency.
“Cannabis has silver linings. It’s controversial but it also has silver linings,” she said.
Cremer said he is OK with adding the property to the sphere of influence so the city had more control. He was glad to hear Pensack wanted to be out of the cannabis business and added that he liked the ideas proposed.
Overton also said she was OK with moving forward. She loved the idea of industrial uses as she said it’s very profitable and a lot less headaches for landowners.
By consensus, the council agreed to have staff move forward on exploring the proposal further.
Flora said they can do a workshop before a future council meeting to discuss it.
“We have a lot to get our arms around right now,” he said.
“Expanding too much of our boundary I think is something we should be careful about,” said Flora. “We have a very odd city boundary.”
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