LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Among its last items of business for this year, the Board of Supervisors earlier this month approved a lease agreement for office space for the Public Defender’s Office, but it did so over objections from a longtime defense attorney and a former supervisor citing issues of proximity to a public park and cost.
The Board of Supervisors approved the 10-year lease for the Public Defender’s Office on the second and third floors at 55 First St. in a unanimous vote on Dec. 3. The lease was retroactive to Dec. 1, and will end on Nov. 30, 2034.
The lease document also grants the county the first right of refusal to rent an additional 1,403 square feet in the building once the current tenant’s lease expires no later than Aug. 31, 2025.
Property records say the three-story building was constructed in 1987 and is 21,000 square feet in total size. It is owned by Lakeport Plaza LLC, based in West Sacramento, which was incorporated by Rahul Patel in January, according to Secretary of State’s Office business records.
In February 2023,
the County Administrative Office brought to the board for discussion a report completed by the Boston-based Sixth Amendment Center, or 6AC, a national nonpartisan nonprofit the county hired in August 2021 to conduct an operational analysis of indigent defense services, as Lake County News has reported.
Following that, the board moved to accept the County Administrative Office’s direction toward transitioning from the Lake Indigent Defense contract to the Public Defender’s Office, a model that had been followed unsuccessfully in the early 1980s. That included considering an implementation plan for the public defender services program and reconstituting the Lake County Public Defender Advisory Committee.
In April 2023, the Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution establishing a position allocation for the 2022-23 budget year for the chief public defender.
The Public Defender’s Office, with its own specific budget unit under the County Administrative Office, was included for the first time in the 2023-24 final recommended budget, which was adopted at the board’s Sept. 12, 2023, meeting.
The document’s goal for the department included retaining a chief public defender and completing phase one of the workplace to transition to a statutory office.
At its next meeting on Sept. 19, 2023 the board voted unanimously to hire Raymond Buenaventura, the then-mayor of Daly City, as the chief public defender. His hire was effective Oct. 16, 2023, the day he was sworn in before the board.
The Public Defender’s Office has been operating out of the Lake County Courthouse on Forbes Street and has reportedly primarily used conference rooms.
County Administrative Office staff’s report to the board for its Dec. 3 meeting said its staff has been assisting the Public Defender’s Office with “searching for an appropriate office space for several months,” finding two “viable” spaces.
The one they didn’t propose — and which they did not specifically identify during the meeting — would have required many months of renovation, while they called 55 First St. “relatively move-in ready.”
Buenaventura received the county Space Use Committee’s approval of the location at its Sept. 12 meeting, staff reported.
“The space proposed for lease is 4,716 square feet, which is sufficient to accommodate existing and anticipated future Public Defender staffing requirements,” the staff report explained.
The monthly base rent amount is $9,903.60, static for 10 years — in other words, no consumer price index or other increases, staff reported.
In addition to that base amount, the lease terms require a $1/square foot charge for operating expenses, which encompass electricity, sewer, trash, disposal, water service, elevator service, heating, ventilation and air conditioning maintenance, pest control, basic landscaping and an alarm system.
That brings the overall monthly total to $14,619.60, which comes out of $3.10 per square foot.
Staff said the operating expenses flat fee will be “re-evaluated, and adjusted to reflect actual costs,” at the start of years four and seven of the lease agreement.
Concerns about locationAssistant County Administrative Officer Stephen Carter, who went over the written report’s highlights with the board at the meeting, noted, “Some concern has been raised that some clients may not be able to meet with public defender staff so near a public park.”
Those concerns were raised by Angela Carter — a longtime defense attorney who had, at one time, run the county’s public defender contract — and her husband, Rob Brown, the retired District 5 supervisor.
Specifically, Carter and Brown were concerned because of the potential for sex offenders to visit the Public Defender’s Office in its new location, which is in close proximity to Library Park’s playground.
Stephen Carter, who is not related to Angela Carter, said Buenaventura had provided his assurance that alternative locations are available, such as in the courthouse's conference rooms.
Another issue during the discussion that Brown raised was the version of the lease agreement that was made publicly available before the meeting. Stephen Carter told the board that, during multiple edits, the lease’s termination clause had been inadvertently omitted. He said that was later added back.
The lease may be terminated by mutual consent or by the county giving six months notice. Stephen Carter said the owner found a 30-day termination window to be too short.
Acknowledging that there had been comments made to county leadership about the cost of the lease, Stephen Carter said the county already has $78,000 budgeted, which he said was more than enough to cover it, as the budget also had included remodeling costs. There also is enough in the budget to cover the next fiscal year, he added.
Buenaventura, who thanked staff for their help in the process, said they had looked at four locations.
In addition to 55 First St., those included the Vista Point Shopping Center, purchased earlier this year by the Lake County Tribal Health Consortium; the former Record-Bee building at 2150 S. Main St., which he said required too much renovation; and the former Westamerica Bank building, for which he said the landlord would not commit.
He called it a “saving grace” that they didn’t get those spots and got the First Street location instead. “We will be very happy for the next 10 years to be in that spot. It has everything we need,” he said, pointing to its close proximity to the courthouse.
“We want to be good neighbors to our community and to the people that are at the park. We recognize what the law is and we will abide by the law,” Buenaventura said, adding that, at the same time, his office will take care of clients, no matter what charges they are facing.
Buenaventura said his staff is bursting at the scenes — suffocating in the space they are in currently — and ready to move. “I think it’s time,” he said, adding they can’t afford to wait any longer.
He said he believes the First Street location is “the ideal spot” for the location.
Board Chair Bruno Sabatier said he appreciated the ability to terminate the contract, as with the new courthouse being built on Lakeport Boulevard, there might be better options for the Public Defender’s Office in the future. While now it’s an easy walk, that won’t be the case when the new courthouse is completed.
Stephen Carter said in his “conversations” with Lakeport City Manager Kevin Ingram, Ingram had no issues with use of the building for the Public Defender’s Office.
“His only concern was the proximity to the park and certain clientele, which once I provided him that answer, did not have any further objections,” Stephen Carter said.
Separately, Ingram told Lake County News that the county had not made a formal inquiry or request for comment on the matter to the city.
However, he said County Administrative Office staff reached out to him on the day of the board meeting, and Sheriff Rob Howe also had contacted Police Chief Dale Stoebe.
“Our response was that the Lakeport Police Department actively enforces restrictions for registered sex offenders violating mandated distance restrictions from City Parks, specifically those involving children’s play structures,” Ingram wrote in an email.
When Lake County News asked how the county reached out, and if it was last minute, Ingram responded, “I would say that last minute is accurate. I would not say that they were even conversations, more of a note that it would be appearing on the 12/3 agenda and they had a couple of folks bringing up concerns about 290 registrants [registered sex offenders] being in close proximity to the park.”
Changing law regarding proximity to parksSabatier said the state law has changed somewhat recently about where registered sex offenders can be based on different tiers. He asked if staff wanted to elaborate.
“We actually did do some research,” said Buenaventura.
He said the laws have changed when it comes to convicted sex offenders and if you can ban them from the park. The law is that you cannot, he said, explaining that the California Supreme Court overturned such a law that allowed for that, claiming it was creating a homeless issue. They can, however, be ordered by a judge or parole board not to go to some spots.
Buenaventura’s comments appeared to refer to Proposition 83, or Jessica’s Law, passed by voters in 2006. The state Supreme Court found the law unconstitutional because it caused some offenders to become homeless and unable to access certain services.
Buenaventura said there is an entrance on the opposite side of the building that such clients can use to enter, and they don’t have to go near the park. At the same time, public defenders can meet them off site and occasionally even go to their homes.
He said they can accommodate clients and be good neighbors in the community.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Division of Adult Parole Operations said they enforce rules that cover where registered sex offenders can live, which now can be no closer than half a mile to schools. Issues with parks became too broad.
Courts also can impose additional parole conditions keeping convicted sex offenders from living near parks and schools on a case-by-case basis.
‘The devil you don’t know’During public comment, Angela Carter — who has been an attorney in Lake County for 33 years — said she practices almost exclusively criminal defense with these kinds of clients.
“It’s not the devil you know, it’s the devil you don’t know,” she said, referring to registered sex offenders who she said, when they are released from prison, have a parole condition requiring them to be 2,000 feet from a park.
Based on the mapping, the new office location is a few hundred feet from the park playground with play structures for the “littlest members of our community” and the restroom they use, she said.
She said she has clients who are registered sex offenders who come to her, and that attorneys don’t always have their full rap sheets available.
“These folks need an office. They really, really do,” she said of the Public Defender’s Office.
Angela Carter said she has spoken to many sex offenders over the years, noting, “It’s an impulsivity control thing. I don’t think anyone would deny that. I don’t think setting up a circumstance where those impulsivity problems come to fruition is a good idea. Just exercising my moral obligation to say so.”
Her husband, retired District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown, spoke next. Brown pointed out that the three-minute limit for public comment had emerged from times when people were lined up to speak on controversial topics.
“It was never intended to silence the public when there’s two people here,” he said, adding that keeping the rule in place appears to be a way to keep the “annoying public” from expressing their opinions, and the board might want to rethink the policy at some point.
Brown, a longtime bail bondsman who helped build the interview center for child sex abuse victims at the District Attorney's Office, said he was glad they were talking about the registered sex offenders issue.
He said that, in full disclosure, the city manager of Lakeport knew about the situation “because I brought it up,” adding he was glad they had spent the morning trying to resolve it.
Brown noted that while his wife cares about the law, he doesn’t, he doesn’t think sex offenders should be allowed near the park and that leaders have an obligation. While some criminal behavior can be solved, he said the impulsivity of child sex abuse cannot be.
With that being said, “I highly doubt you’re going to change your mind,” Brown said, noting a comment made by Stephen Carter earlier in the discussion about the building owner planning to be there that afternoon to sign the contract.
Brown also took issue with the rental cost. Usually, the more square footage there is, the less the cost. He pointed to the board’s July 2021 approval of new office space for the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office at 325 N Forbes St. The lease for that property was capped at $1.11 per square foot for a total of $2,200 per month for the first five years, and afterward increases of no more than 2% a year are possible based on 90% of the Consumer Price Index.
Explaining that the First Street location is the size and twice the money for the elections office, Brown said it's not a good deal.
He also faulted the county for not having the correct version of the lease available to the public ahead of the meeting. Stephen Carter said they had updated the document and set out paper copies for the public.
“That’s all the public had to look at until now,” Brown said of the incorrect version online.
He said the county is paying double for rent for a program that he said has not proven that it will be successful for 10 years, with “lots of hiccups” with it.
The Public Defender’s Office location and the conditions that apply to sex registrants need to be taken very seriously, Brown said. “It’s nice that you guys go to their homes, but you won’t have them come to your home, so that should be a test right there.”
Board deliberates, won’t reopen public commentAfter the closing of public comment and during board deliberation, Supervisor Michael Green said the need for space for the Public Defender’s Office had been “amply demonstrated.”
“We need this service and the city has been a good partner,” he said.
Green said there had formerly been a wine bar near there and claimed he was the only person concerned about its nearness to the park.
He said the Lakeport Police Department conducts foot patrols in the park, and that while there are issues there with the homeless, “There’s a lot of eyes on that park.”
Brown wanted to speak again to the matter but Sabatier told him no, that public comment was closed. Brown said he should have the chance to respond.
“Tthank you for sitting down,” said Sabatier.
Brown in turn accused the board of not posting the agenda properly and not listening.
Supervisor EJ Crandell was interested if a shorter lease term was available, asking staff when the new courthouse was to be completed.
Stephen Carter said the most recent information is that it will be completed sometime around 2026. Even then, if they looked at placing the Public Defender’s Office in the fourth floor of the courthouse, where the court currently is located, it would need to be renovated in order to allow for county departments to move around, and that a shorter term would lead to higher expenses.
The plan is that the Lake County Sheriff’s Office headquarters will move to its new location at the former Lakeport Armory next to the Lake County Jail, the Probation Department will go into the current sheriff’s headquarters on Martin Street. The Public Defender’s Office is interested in taking over the current Probation Department space on Smith Street. But Stephen Carter said that’s years down the road.
Sabatier wanted to know if they could add language to the lease that no registered sex offenders will be seen on the premises.
Buenaventura said they should include language that the Public Defender’s Office will comply with all court orders and state law regarding registered sex registrants, as he did not think a blanket prohibition would stand.
Sabatier acknowledged concerns about the location. “The known is less scary to me than the unknown.”
He also recognized the cost for the rent is a lot, but that public defenders can’t continue in their current location. “We have to move somewhere.”
County Counsel Lloyd Guintivano noted a short time later that the language Buenaventura suggested about court orders would make the building’s owner responsible for enforcing it. Instead, he said Buenaventura may consider implementing internal policies within his office to impose certain standards and provisions in dealing with registered sex offenders.
“I can commit to that. I can absolutely commit to that,” said Buenaventure, adding he would draft that internal policy.
Green moved to approve the lease with the termination clause added, with Supervisor Moke Simon seconding and the board approving the motion 5-0.
Sabatier asked that a revised version of the lease be posted on the county’s website. As of the time of this article’s publication, the corrected lease did not appear to be on the county’s website, as the lease that was published had no specific termination clause.
County staff also did not respond to Lake County News’ question about whether or not the lease needed to be reposted for 72 hours due to the degree of changes in it.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.
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