Council approves sale of Old Highway 53 parcel to Danco Development despite neighborhood objections

Clearlake council voted to approve a purchase agreement for city-owned property at Old Highway 53, moving forward with a developer’s plan for a 22-lot subdivision and recommending that the Lake County Development Agency Oversight Board approve the sale.

The motion, recorded in the minutes as Resolution SADash2021DashO4, was moved and seconded and passed by voice vote. Staff and the developer described the proposal as a subdivision of larger lots under a map adopted in July 2006, with homes described by the developer as roughly 3,000-square-foot ranch-style houses on lots in the roughly 51,000-square-foot range. The developer said entitlement work would begin immediately and could take six to 12 months, with construction intended to start early next year and proceed concurrently with an affordable housing project to capture efficiencies.

The decision followed written public comments from neighbors across the street at 2895 Old Highway 53. In an emailed comment read into the record, Lindsey Heap said she and her family moved to the area for its rural character and asked the council to consider alternatives to a dense subdivision: "Putting 22 homes affects all of our livelihoods" and she urged the city to be "open to all possibilities of this land," including stables or 4-H uses. Sean Heap, in a separate email, wrote that the property "would be great for 4-H" and that additional homes would increase traffic and erode the county’s rural character.

City staff responded that the redevelopment agency acquired the parcel after a prior developer lost it and that the property is being offered at a reduced price (comments in the record reference an offer of $100,000) to encourage housing development. Laura, speaking for staff, said that market value would typically be higher but that the lower offer is intended to leverage public investment to produce needed housing rather than leave land idle. She also said the sale must be approved by the Lake County Development Agency Oversight Board and that a separate county public hearing and 10-day notice will be scheduled, likely in January.

Council members expressed support for adding market-rate housing in town, citing local workforce needs. The motion recorded Councilman Kramer as the mover and the vice mayor as the second; the roll-call in the transcript was by voice with 'Aye' recorded and the motion passed.

What happens next: the sale approval by the city’s successor agency now moves to the county oversight board for a formal hearing and vote; staff said they expect that hearing to be scheduled within weeks. The developer indicated entitlement could take up to a year before construction begins. The council did not adopt any conditions in the meeting minutes that would change the buyer’s stated plan.