Lake County planners approve tentative parcel map and CEQA exemption for 8855 Red Hills Road

The Lake County Planning Commission on July 10 approved a tentative parcel map and a Class 15 CEQA categorical exemption for a 10.13‑acre property at 8855 Red Hills Road in Kelseyville, allowing the site to be divided into two parcels while noting no new development is proposed.

Assistant Planner San Paulo Guerrero told commissioners the property contains two single‑family dwellings, two septic systems and a single well and that the applicant seeks to formalize the existing arrangement by creating Parcel A (5.03 acres) and Parcel B (5.10 acres). Guerrero said the proposal includes an easement for shared driveway access and an easement to allow both parcels access to the existing well. “For no development is proposed,” Guerrero said in his presentation, and he recommended adoption of CE24‑44 under CEQA Guidelines section 15315 (Class 15, minor land divisions) and approval of parcel map PL2565/PM24‑02 with the conditions listed in the staff report dated July 10, 2025.

Commissioners asked staff to correct the draft condition wording that implied each parcel would have its own separate well and sewer. Director Turner clarified that both parcels have existing on‑site wastewater systems and that the recorded map will include an easement describing shared access to the single well. “A small domestic well can be shared with up to four parcels,” Turner explained while discussing how future accessory dwelling units would be handled if proposed.

A commissioner moved to find the project categorically exempt from CEQA and to approve CE24‑44; another commissioner seconded, and the motion carried. A second motion to approve the tentative parcel map PL2565/PM24‑02, as applied for by Steven Mitton and subject to the staff report findings and conditions (as amended to clarify on‑site wastewater and the well‑sharing easement), also passed. The commission recorded that a 15‑calendar‑day appeal period to the Board of Supervisors applies to the decision.

The staff report noted the site is zoned Rural Residential with a B‑5 special lot size/density overlay (2.5‑acre minimum lot size), partially within a scenic combining district and within a high fire severity zone adjacent to the Cal Fire Kelsey station. Staff told commissioners the subdivision conforms to applicable sections of the Lake County Subdivision Regulations (Chapter 17) and zoning ordinance (Articles 8, 30 and 34). The map will be recorded with conditions that reflect the amended wording clarifying each parcel must have on‑site wastewater and documenting the recorded easement for shared access to the existing well.

The applicant and any interested party were reminded that appeals must be filed with appropriate forms and fees by 5 p.m. on or before the fifteenth calendar day following the commission’s final determination.