Clearlake commission approves Burns Valley Sports Complex plan despite tribal calls for full-site monitoring

The Clearlake Planning Commission voted 5–0 on April 25 to adopt Resolution PC 2022-24, approving a mitigated negative declaration, a mitigation monitoring plan and conditions of approval for the Burns Valley Sports Complex at 14885 Burns Valley Road.

City staff told the commission the project includes baseball and softball fields, soccer fields, playgrounds, restrooms and concessions, and noted the broader plan calls for a separate recreation center with an estimated cost of about $16 million. Staff said the sports complex itself is projected to cost about $8 million and listed funding sources that include a federal grant routed through HUD secured with assistance from Congressman Thompson, a California State Parks contribution and local commitments.

The hearing’s central contention centered on tribal cultural resources. Archaeologist Dr. White told the commission his fieldwork included 33 trenches and identified “two prehistoric Native American, tribal cultural resources,” both buried more than 16 inches below the surface and likely more than 5,000 years old. He described the sites as chipstone deposits in an old Miller Creek corridor and recommended avoiding impacts by capping and filling those…