I was very disappointed to read the letter submitted by Herb Gura published in the March 26 Lake County News and also the the letter published in the the March 25 issue of the Record-Bee. Herb is an opponent of the Provinsalia project in Clearlake, as am I. However, his letters are so misleading and inaccurate that I fear it will weaken the credibility of all who oppose the project.

 

Let me be specific and set the record straight.

 

In his LakeCoNews letter Herb states, “It is poor policy to treat the public as the enemy rather than the source of wisdom that they usually are.” He is trying to demonize the city council, and paint a picture that simply isn't true. The Clearlake City Council are good-hearted well-intentioned people that I have known and worked with for years. They are not treating the "public" as the "enemy.” That is so weird that I am wondering what Herb is up to, with this bizarre crusade of misinformation and personal attack.

 

Let me take his Record-Bee letter apart in detail, as follows.

 

Herb says, "How are the City of Clearlake's current residents to view the city taking on a commitment to maintain streets for 650 'upscale' homes and a golf course out on the edge of town? " Not true. The city is requiring the residents of Provinsalia to maintain the streets in Provinsalia and the new off-site street Provinsalia Avenue through a maintenance district. Regarding the golf course, Herb, where did you come up with the idea it would be maintained by the city? It's a private golf course. The city couldn't maintain a private golf course, it would be a gift of public funds. The truth is that the city has taken measures to protect the golf course land from ever being developed into residential lots should the golf course go out of business, by having it revert to open space.

 

Herb says, "When a city government sits the developer's lawyer at their table and shuts down public input based upon that lawyer's advice when a city council rushes to a vote on a controversial project with two of its own council members not present, something is wrong." Again not true, and very misleading.

 

The truth is that the city contracts for legal services with the firm of BB&K, and had asked BB&K to have their California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) attorney Fernando Avila to be present at the meeting to provide expert advice. BB&K works for the city, not the developer. However, the city did require the developer to cover the extra cost of the attorney, as well as all the other city staff time and costs to process this project, thus saving taxpayers money. This is a good thing. Because Mr. Avila is a CEQA expert and not a Brown Act expert, the city is now seeking legal advice on the Brown Act complaint from their regular attorney.

 

Herb says the council "shuts down public input", but does not mention that they took his input, and mine and many others, at the public hearing on Feb. 12. They allowed him to speak as long as he wished, and did not shut him down in any way.

 

Once again, about two council members not being present: There were four council members at the hearing, not three. Roy Simons was there until he decided to leave, leaving only three.

 

Herb says the city "should not be looking to expand.” The proposed project is inside the city limits. The city is not looking to expand, but processing a proposal to develop undeveloped land within the city. And the process isn't over yet.

 

Finally, Herb's R-B letter indicates Herb lives in Lower Lake. He lives at the Double Eagle Ranch east of Clearlake Oaks off Highway 20. His Lake County News letter indicates, correctly, his Clearlake Oaks area residence. What's this discrepancy about?

 

I wrote recently about the need for respect from all sides of this issue. How about we start by having some respect for the truth? If we are going to have an honest debate about this project, we must be honest.

 

Ed Robey, the recently retired supervisor for District 1, lives in Lower Lake.

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