- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Clearlake City Council discusses Sulphur fire rebuild zoning issues
City Manager Alan Flora asked the council for the discussion and direction to allow the Community Development director to review and approve “legal nonconforming status” projects and permits in the fire area if they don’t impact the community’s health and welfare.
The October 2017 Sulphur fire burned 2,207 acres in Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks, destroying 162 structures.
The fire was determined to have resulted from a broken power pole belonging to Pacific Gas and Electric in the area of Pomo and Sulphur Bank roads in Clearlake Oaks.
Flora said rebuilding has been slow for many reasons, including underinsured property owners, the high cost of construction and delays in settlement fund payments by PG&E to fire victims.
Initially, he said the city offered a 15-month window after the fire for property owners to have newer zoning requirements waived if what they were rebuilding was consistent with the structures that had been there before.
During that 15-month window, only about 15 to 20 homes were rebuilt. Flora said he did not have more recent numbers on the rebuild, but said there have been quite a few more done over the last few years.
Flora said many of the properties in the fire area don’t meet current zoning requirements, with very small lots that make it hard to build to modern standards.
He said the city’s policy has mostly been to allow the homes lost to the fire to be rebuilt close to how they originally were constructed.
His written report to the council explained, “The area was developed before modern zoning and the properties are considered legal nonconforming. The zoning ordinance allows a legal nonconforming use to be replaced within six months of a disasters such as the Sulphur Fire, but if a permit is granted after six months, it must meet current regulations. In response to this the City allowed up to nine months, and granted a one-time six month extension to legal nonconforming status, for a total of 15 months.”
His report also explained that some insurance companies have been slow to pay, with some property owners recently receiving significant funds from the PG&E settlement.
As a result, the city is getting additional interest from property owners about rebuilding consistent with what initially was on the property, Flora reported.
Councilwoman Joyce Overton said she had spoken to someone earlier in the day who wanted to rebuild but was having trouble finding a contractor, which has been another issue.
Mayor Dirk Slooten said he’d spoken to some fire survivors who hadn’t yet received any funds from PG&E. He said he favored extending the consideration on a case-by-case basis.
During the discussion, Flora explained that some property owners have tried to live in RVs on properties for an extended period of time. If a property owner has an active building permit, they can get a temporary permit to live in an RV while constructing a house, but there is a time limit on it. City rules would not allow people to live in RVs on properties on a long-term basis.
Regarding the nonconforming uses, Flora said, “I would like to continue to see it interpreted pretty narrowly,” and on a case-by-case basis.
In response to questions from Lake County News during the meeting, Flora said he did not have detailed information on how many property owners were eligible for the PG&E funds.
He also did not have a number for how many rebuild projects are in the pipeline or how many of the properties are considered nonconforming.
Flora said there will be a lot of properties where the homes won’t be rebuilt, noting that 25 foot by 100 foot residential lots “never made sense.”
The legal nonconforming allowance going forward will probably benefit about a dozen people, he said. “I don’t expect it to be 50 or 100 people to be honest with you.”
He suggested the city could review the policy again after a year.
The council agreed to continue to allow staff to review and approve such rebuild projects on a case-by-case basis for another 12 months, and gave that direction to Flora.
In other action on Thursday, the council heard a presentation from the Public Works Department and its new director, Adeline Brown; honored city volunteers; held a public hearing to confirm assessments totaling $29,383.90 for city funded abatements for properties at 14095 Villa Way, 14101 Villa Way and 14775 Highlands Way; and approved a resolution to extend the term of the existing commercial cannabis development agreements for seven years while temporarily reducing the production fee.
A proclamation to honor the late Judge Richard Freeborn was rescheduled for January, and a discussion of a potential annexation of 302 acres at 2050 and 2122 Ogulin Canyon Road was put on hold while the property owners, who proposed the action, conduct more work on the proposal.
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