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Clearlake planners gather public input on 47.5-acre airport redevelopment EIR; traffic, housing and retail caps flagged
Summary
At a July 23 scoping meeting, city consultants described a proposed redevelopment of the former Pierce Airport and asked for EIR input. Commissioners and residents pressed for thorough traffic analysis and clarification that the project will not require affordable-housing units; staff said the draft EIR will cap retail at about 400,000 sq ft and estimate up to 2,000 parking stalls.
Consultants and city staff told the Clearlake Planning Commission on July 23 that a draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will evaluate a proposed redevelopment of the 47.5-acre former Pierce Airport site and invited the public to submit comments on the Notice of Preparation (NOP) through Aug. 9, 2024.
Jessica Hankins, a principal with Yuba Planning Group and an AICP-certified planner, opened the presentation by outlining the purpose of the scoping meeting and the role of an EIR under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). "This project is called the airport redevelopment project because it's sited on the old Pierce Airport site," Hankins said, describing the site as about 19 parcels, most city-owned with four in private ownership.
The project team presented a multiuse concept: up to 250 multifamily units at the northern portion; as much as 40,000 square feet of medical facilities on the west side; approximately 4 acres of public open space along Highway 53; and up to 400,000 square feet of commercial and restaurant space clustered at the site's southern end. Planners estimated roughly 2,000 parking stalls as a preliminary figure. Hankins said the site was already evaluated in the city's 2040 General Plan EIR but that a project-level EIR is needed to analyze differences in the new proposal.
The scoping presentation included a CEQA overview, a list of environmental topics the EIR will examine (aesthetics, greenhouse gases, biological and tribal cultural resources, geology, hazards, hydrology/water quality, land use, noise, public services and transportation/VMT) and a schedule: the NOP comment period closes Aug. 9, 2024; the consultants expect to prepare a draft EIR through the coming winter and issue a 45-day public review period in late winter/early spring 2025; a final EIR and a return to the commission were forecast for spring 2025.
During the public-comment period, speakers raised traffic and land-use concerns. One in-person commenter asked about morning congestion on Old Highway 503 near school pick-up times and what type of housing is planned. Another commenter, identified as Mr. Hughes, asked whether a future developer could eliminate the planned housing and substitute more retail, and whether the allowed commercial square footage could exceed the 400,000-square-foot figure shown in the concept plan.
City staff answered that the zoning approach under consideration is a planned-development overlay to provide flexibility, but said the environmental document will effectively cap retail at approximately 400,000 square feet. Staff added that topography and feasibility make substantially greater retail unlikely. In an unattributed statement on the record, staff said, "It is not our intent to develop affordable housing at this location," and described the residential component as market-rate townhome-style development.
Commissioners pressed staff to ensure the EIR gives particular attention to traffic impacts on Old Highway 53 and surrounding intersections, noting existing congestion tied to the hospital and school-peak periods. "My main concern about this entire project is traffic impacts," Commissioner Stewart said, citing heavy peak congestion at the Eighteenth Avenue stoplight and the potential for spillover onto Old 53.
Other commissioner questions raised stormwater runoff, parking-area heat/shading (including whether solar can be integrated over parking), the possibility of future reuse as an airport, and whether underground parking or other design choices should be evaluated in the EIR.
Staff noted the city has been coordinating a Highway 53 corridor study with Caltrans for several years and described planned short-, medium- and long-range intersection improvements, including a planned roundabout near Dam Road intended to relieve pressure at a key intersection.
How to comment: Hankins asked that written comments be sent to senior planner Mark Roberts at mroberts@clearlake.ca.us and that documents will be posted on the city's project web page (www.clearlake.ca.us/475/priorityprojects). The NOP comment period ends Aug. 9, 2024; the draft EIR will have a subsequent public review period.
The commission closed public comment, requested the consultant and staff ensure traffic, stormwater, and parking/solar issues are included in the scope, and agreed to review the draft EIR when it returns. The meeting adjourned at 6:41 p.m.
Next steps: Written NOP comments submitted by Aug. 9 will inform the draft EIR; the consultant expects to post the draft for a 45-day comment period in late winter/early spring 2025, with a final EIR and commission recommendation to the city council projected in spring 2025.
