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Clear Lake outreach survey shows majority support for property‑based fee; consultants recommend feasibility work
Summary
A county-commissioned survey and focus groups found majority support among responding property owners for fees to fund Clean Water/ stormwater work around Clear Lake; consultants recommended a feasibility study for a $22.50 annual assessment and staff will share detailed response maps on request.
Lake County Water Resources presented results on Nov. 18 from a mailed survey and focus groups assessing public perceptions of Clear Lake water quality and support for funding options.
SCI Consulting mailed roughly 7,100 surveys and received 809 responses (reported margin of error ~3.4%). The survey tested two hypothetical annual assessments for a typical single‑family home: $9.75 (estimated $500,000 annual revenue) and $22.50 (estimated $1.15 million). According to the consultant’s summary, the lower rate received about 64.5% support and the higher rate about 59.8% — both above a simple majority threshold used in the analysis.
Consultant Chris Coulter summarized focus‑group findings that residents view human actions — runoff, septic systems and illegal dumping — as important drivers of Clear Lake water quality, and that messaging emphasizing tangible, visible projects (trash capture, septic repairs, drainage maintenance) resonates with voters. Coulter said the next step should be a feasibility study focusing on a property-related fee at the $22.50 level.
Board members and residents requested more detailed data. Supervisor Sabatier asked whether respondents were geographically clustered and whether wealthier areas dominated responses; the consultant said mapping and demographic analysis exist and will be provided. Several public commenters asked for the full survey instrument and write‑in comments; staff and the consultant said those materials would be shared.
Betsy Khan and others noted there were more negative write‑in comments than positive ones (166 negative vs. 140 positive write‑ins) and urged the board to review all underlying data before deciding whether to pursue a ballot measure.
Next steps: staff said they will provide the full survey instrument, write‑in comments and geographic/demographic response maps and will proceed with feasibility analysis if the board directs further work.
