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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council has directed staff to craft a new ordinance laying out requirements for maintaining and securing vacant properties in the city.

Clearlake Finance Director Chris Becnel took the proposal to the council at its Thursday meeting. The discussion begins at the 2:29:34 mark in the video above.

After the recession, Becnel said the city saw an increase in neglected properties.

He presented ordinances from the cities of Richmond, Vallejo and West Hollywood which addressed such issues in their respective communities.

The idea, said Becnel, is to create specific guidelines for handling vacant properties so that the city doesn’t have to rely on a general nuisance ordinance.

He said the city wants to make sure owners clearly understand their obligations to secure and maintain properties within a specific period, and keep safety issues under control.

Becnel said the city doesn’t have the specific authority to remove squatters from properties that have been abandoned for awhile. To do that, they would need to get owners to post the property and provide authority to police to go in and remove trespassers.

The proposal includes a requirement to register vacant properties for a fee, he said.

“A lot of these owners have not looked at these properties in a number of years,” said Becnel. “They just kind of walk away and ignore them.”

He said staff was seeking direction from the council, including things council members would like them to include. “This would be the first step in a two-pronged approach.”

The second part, he said, will be dealing with the many substandard properties across the city that are occupied by renters or owners.

The initial ordinance also would look at undeveloped properties, requiring them to keep vegetation cut back sufficiently so people can’t camp out without being discovered, Becnel said.

Councilman Phil Harris said such neglected properties are a huge problem in the community, and he added that the proposed ordinance is a major step forward.

“Let's get as tough as we can possibly get on this,” he said.

The initial proposal also included a requirement to rebuild properties in a certain number of years, which raised questions for some council members.

Becnel said the idea is to require a rebuild rather than leaving a property vacant, mainly because if someone has insurance, the whole intent is to replace what was there. He said many people who lost homes in the county’s wildland fires took the insurance money and left.

He added that the city also needed to replace old housing stock.

Vice Mayor Bruno Sabatier asked about the city’s power to enforce such rules. Ahead of discussion on the proposed ordinance, the council discussed 10 property abatement cases where the owners ignored the city.

Becnel said the properties the council discussed earlier in the meeting involved owners who hadn’t been around for a long time, who had died, left the area or simply ignored the city.

“I don't know that this will necessarily solve this problem,” Becnel said.

While the city couldn’t solve a problem 30 years in the making, it can start to get a handle on it moving forward, Becnel said.

Becnel asked the council members to send him their comments and he would start to cobble them together into a proposal.

Harris said he appreciated they were not reinventing the wheel. “We’re just trying to figure out which wheel fits.”

Councilman Nick Bennett said a lot of the structures in question aren’t fit to be boarded up. “The majority of them need to be gone, period,” he said.

Public Works Director Doug Herren cautioned that once the city gets to the point of boarding up properties, it assumes responsibility for them.

“This is not about the city going out and boarding up houses,” said Becnel, but about creating an obligation on the part of owners to secure their properties. The city would only deal with such properties as a last resort.

Becnel thanked Bennett for raising the issue of properties that aren’t worth saving, and he suggested that maybe they needed to consider that in the draft ordinance.

At the Thursday meeting, the council also presented a proclamation declaring Sept. 22 as Native American Day. Members of several local tribes were in attendance to receive the document, along with City Manager Greg Folsom, who is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

In other business during the five-hour meeting, the council received an update from Becnel on Measure V, the one-cent sales tax measure for roads the city’s voters approved last year; appointed Stephanie Codling to the city’s marketing committee; approved a first reading of an ordinance setting procedures for expediting permitting processes for electric vehicle charging systems; approved the commitment of Community Development Block Grant Program income funds; and discussed a request to refund a portion of assessments the city collected in a tax default sale.

The council also accepted the donation from the Voerge family of a property located at 14180 Division Ave.; approved a resolution to adopt a list of approved projects for submission to the California Transportation Commission for SB 1 funding; and approved a resolution authorizing submittal of an application to the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

Also on Thursday, the council met the winners of the city’s photo contest, presented a certificate of appreciation to Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg for his work with Lake County Youth Services and the Clearlake Youth Center, got an update on the Wildlife of Clearlake Youth Art Project, held a public hearing to confirm administrative penalties on a number of abated properties and finalized several abatement cases.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A 19-year-old Kelseyville man was injured on Sunday night in a two-vehicle crash in Lakeport.

Elias Alvarez suffered major injuries in the wreck, which occurred at 7:50 p.m. Sunday on northbound Highway 29 north of 11th Street, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.

The second vehicle involved in the crash was driven by 52-year-old Rebecca Series of Napa. The CHP said Serris sustained minor injuries.

The CHP said Alvarez was driving a 2003 Chevrolet SUV in the No. 1 lane and Serris a 2014 Toyota in the No. 2 lane, both of them traveling northbound, when Alvarez allowed his vehicle to veer into Serris’ lane.

Alvarez’s SUV struck Serris’ Toyota, with the impact causing Serris’ vehicle to spin out of control into the center lane, according to the CHP report.

The CHP said Alvarez’s SUV continued up the dirt embankment on the east side of the roadway and hit a tree.

Alvarez was trapped in the driver’s seat of his Chevrolet and had to be extricated by firefighters with the Lakeport Fire Protection District, the CHP said.

A Lakeport Fire ambulance transported Alvarez to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, where a REACH air ambulance picked him up and transported him to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, according to the CHP and scene reports.

Serris was treated for minor injuries at the scene, the CHP said.

The CHP said both Alvarez and Serris were using their seat belts at the time of the wreck.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office will participate in the Pink Patch Project during the month of October.

The Pink Patch Project is a collaborative effort between more than 110 public safety agencies throughout the United States to bring attention to breast cancer awareness, according to Sgt. Corey Paulich.

During the month of October, which is “Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” Paulich said Lake County Sheriff’s deputies will wear pink patches on their uniform shirts. The pink patches are intended to encourage public awareness about early detection and treatment of breast cancer.

As part of the program, the Lake County Deputy Sheriff’s Association is selling collectible pink patches to the community, Paulich said.

Paulich said the proceeds will be donated to the Sutter Lakeside Hospital Foundation to support the funding of a new Breast Cancer navigator position that the hospital is implementing.

The Breast Cancer navigator will contact patients who receive an abnormal mammogram as quickly as possible to explain in easy to understand terms what lies ahead as far as further testing and treatment options, Paulich said.

If you are interested in purchasing a patch come by the Sheriff’s Main Office, located at 1220 Martin St. in Lakeport.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A Napa man involved in a solo-vehicle crash near Middletown last month has died.

Stephen Mann Jeffries, 61, succumbed to the injuries he sustained in the wreck on the afternoon of Sept. 16, according to Officer Kory Reynolds of the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.

Jeffries was driving his 2007 Nissan Pathfinder westbound on Butts Canyon Road, west of Oat Hill Road, when he lost control of his vehicle, veered across the road, went off the roadway and onto the dirt shoulder before hitting a tree, as Lake County News has reported.

He was transported via air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of major injuries, officials reported.

The CHP did not have additional information this week on what led to the fatal crash.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In honor of National Fire Prevention Week, the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit will host open fire stations on Saturday, Oct 14.

The stations will be open from 9 a.m. to noon in Lake, Napa, Sonoma and Yolo counties.

“Open fire stations provide the community and fire service personnel an opportunity to discuss fire and life safety actions, outside of an emergency incident,” said Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit Chief Shana Jones.

Chief Jones invites all to visit the fire stations on Oct. 14, take a tour, see the equipment close up and visit with Cal FIre personnel.

The 2017 National Fire Prevention Week theme is “Every second counts! Plan two ways out!”

Review with your family at least two ways out of your home, in case of an emergency, and discuss with the family where the “meeting place” is once everyone is out of the home. Remember once you’re out of the home/building stay out.

The following are the Cal Fire stations hosting open houses on Oct. 14.

Lake County

Station 31: Middletown, 15522 Lake St.

Station 34: Kelsey Cobb, 8948 Highway 175

Station 40: Clearlake Oaks, 140 Spring Road

Napa County

Station 12: Yountville, 7401 Solano Ave.

Station 25: Napa, 1820 Monticello Road

Sonoma County

Station 41: Santa Rosa, 2210 W. College Ave.

Station 42: Occidental, 3100 Acreage Lane

Station 43: Hilton, 12604 River Road

Station 44: The Sea Ranch, 960 Annapolis Road

Station 45: Cazadero, 4600 Cazadero Highway

Station 46: Glen Ellen, 14000 Sonoma Highway

Station 47: Petaluma, 655 Lohrman Lane

Station 48: Healdsburg, personnel and equipment will be at the Healdsburg Fire Department Open House, 601 Healdsburg Ave.

Station 49: Cloverdale, 1001 South Cloverdale Blvd.

Yolo County

Station 37: Brooks, 14023 Highway 1

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors this week will discuss wildland fire-related issues including the Hoberg’s Resort cleanup, honor the youth organization 4-H and hold a second reading on a marijuana cultivation ordinance.

The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 and online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.

At 9:10 a.m., the board will present a proclamation designating the week of Oct. 1 to 7, 2017, as National 4-H Week in Lake County.

In an untimed item, the board will get a status update on the Hoberg’s Valley fire clean-up of structural debris, soil and concrete sampling, and erosion control.

In another untimed matter, the board will consider and discuss the need for development of standardized language which would allow local disaster survivors to reside – or continue to reside – in RVs, manufactured housing units purchased from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other types of nonstandard housing for a time limited period.

Also untimed at the Tuesday meeting is a second reading of an ordinance amending Article 72 of the Lake County Code to allow the outdoor cultivation of medical marijuana, or cannabis, in "RL" Rural Lands and to create a certification of compliance process for cannabis cultivation.

The full agenda is posted below.

CONSENT AGENDA

7.1: Adopt proclamation designating the week of Oct. 1 to 7, 2017, as National 4-H Week in Lake County.

7.2: Approve Minutes of the Board of Supervisors meetings held July 18, July 25 and Aug. 1.

7.3: Adopt resolution reappointing Anita L. Grant as county counsel for the county of Lake.

7.4: Adopt resolution amending the FY 2017-18 budget to incorporate the list of projects proposed to be funded pursuant to the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (SB1).

7.5: Adopt resolution increasing the change fund for the department of Animal Care and Control.

TIMED ITEMS

8.2, 9:06 a.m.: Swearing-in of newly appointed Deputy Sheriff David Pike.

8.3, 9:10 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the week of Oct. 1 to 7, 2017, as National 4-H Week in Lake County.

8.4, 9:15 a.m.: Consideration of appointment of ad hoc committee to meet with the Lake County Chamber of Commerce regarding the advancement of our community via a pro-business climate.

UNTIMED ITEMS

9.2: Consideration of and report/status update on Hoberg’s Valley fire clean-up of structural debris, soil and concrete sampling, and erosion control.

9.3: Consideration and discussion of the need for development of standardized language which would allow local disaster survivors to reside (or continue to reside) in RVs, manufactured housing units purchased from FEMA, and other types of non-standard housing for a time limited period.

9.4: Consideration of appointment to the Lake County Resource Conservation District.

9.5: SECOND READING - consideration of ordinance Amending Article 72 of the Lake County Code to allow the outdoor cultivation of medical cannabis in "RL" Rural Lands and to create a certification of compliance process for cannabis cultivation.

9.6: Consideration of proposed findings of fact and decision in the appeal of Joan Sturges (AB-17-03).

CLOSED SESSION

10.1: Conference with Legal Counsel: significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9 (d)(2), (e)(3) – Claim of PG&E.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.