Planning commission approves lakebed encroachment permit and variances for Disney Boat Rentals at 2200 Lakeshore Boulevard

Lake County Planning Commissioners on May 22 approved a lakebed encroachment permit and two variances to the county shoreline ordinance to allow Disney Boat Rentals to install two floating docks and associated moorings at 2200 Lakeshore Boulevard in Lakeport.

The commission also adopted the project's Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) and attached conditions, after staff said the city of Lakeport was lead agency for the overall development and the county is a responsible agency under CEQA for the shoreline work. The approvals are subject to a seven-calendar-day appeal period to the Board of Supervisors.

The project, presented by Michelle Iris, Lake County resource planner, covers shoreline work that lies within the county's jurisdiction even though the broader development was approved by the City of Lakeport. Iris told the commission the encroachment permit would authorize two floating docks: a customer dock (approximately 230 feet long by 8 feet wide with an 8-foot-wide pop-out and a dock building) and a separate fuel dock (about 150 feet long by 8 feet). Work is limited to an October 15'December 31 construction window established by California Department of Fish and Wildlife to protect the Clear Lake hitch fish species.

Iris said the shoreline ordinance (Chapter 23) generally limits docks to 100 feet measured from the lakeward reference (0 Rumsey) but that the applicant proposes a 125-foot length for one dock. She explained the project would remove approximately 508 square feet of riparian habitat and 3 square feet of aquatic habitat (including tules), and that the design includes a revegetation plan with a 3:1 replacement ratio for tules (about 1,500 square feet of restoration and roughly 9 square feet of tules) and other mitigation spelled out in the IS/MND prepared by the city.

Applicant Brandon Disney said his family business, in operation since 1983, bought the lakeside parcel in 2021 and that the county-jurisdictional elements are limited to the docks. Disney described design choices intended to reduce environmental impacts and preserve trees, and said of additional safety devices: “We're more than happy to add more buoys.” Water resources technician Scott Webb told commissioners the depth at the end of the customer dock would be about "3 and a half feet" at 0 Rumsey.

Public commenters raised traffic, water quality and wildlife concerns. Dr. Eric Woycek questioned the sufficiency of the IS/MND regarding traffic, air quality and fuel-storage impacts. Margo Kambara urged broader environmental outreach and asked who would ensure long-term success of the revegetation plan; Iris replied the MMRP requires measurable success criteria, annual monitoring reports and review by the county and California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Iris also noted AB 52 tribal consultation had taken place: Scotts Valley and Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians were consulted and a construction monitoring agreement with Scotts Valley Pomo is included in mitigation.

Commission action and conditions: the commission adopted the MMRP, approved the requested variances from Chapters 23.6 and 23.26 of the shoreline ordinance (separate docks for fueling and an extended dock length), and granted the lakebed encroachment permit. Conditions require fuel-spill response equipment, nozzle drip controls and fire suppression for fueling operations, restriction of fueling operations to trained employees (no public fueling), adherence to the October'December construction window, submittal and implementation of the revegetation plan and annual monitoring reports, and tribal cultural resources monitoring per the AB 52 consultation.

The planning commission noted the approvals are limited to shoreline and lakebed encroachment aspects under county jurisdiction; building permits and other city entitlements remain under the City of Lakeport. The applicant and any interested person have seven calendar days to appeal the commission's decision to the Board of Supervisors.

Votes at a glance: the planning commission voted to adopt the MMRP and to approve both the variances and the lakebed encroachment permit; the clerk announced the typical appeal period for these shoreline decisions.

Ending: Commissioners said they appreciated the coordination between county staff and the City of Lakeport on the CEQA document and mitigations. The project will proceed to implementation subject to the adopted conditions and the appeal period.