That being said, I will explain why Ed's comments, through which he becomes a self-appointed apologist for the city of Clearlake’s questionable behavior, are factually incorrect.
1. I am not "demonizing" anybody. I respect the members of the council and understand that they are well intended and that the job of an elected official is not an easy one. Still, I reserve the right to take issue with the way they conduct the public’s business.
My statement that the city treats the public "as the enemy" was based upon the numerous complaints I heard from attendees of the council's Feb. 26 meeting. Many felt that they were wrongfully and illegally deprived of their opportunity to speak. Many felt disrespected. There was a sense that the majority of the council had already made up their minds and viewed the public with contempt. I gleaned these comments from my interviews with members of the public, from comments in the local news and on my own radio show.
Even if Mayor Leonard, Vice Mayor Thein and Councilmember Giambruno believed they had a legal right to silence the public at that meeting, the council could easily have allowed the public to speak anyway. It may have extended the meeting by an hour or two and sent a message that the council valued the people’s input.
2. Although the city, mostly through its manager, keeps stating that the developer and the residents of Provinsalia will be responsible for all the infrastructure costs involved, the official documents state otherwise.
At that Feb. 26 meeting, Victoria Brandon pointed out that the language in the city’s staff report states that the city will be responsible for maintaining the streets inside the development. Robert Riggs, an attorney and member of the city’s own vision task force pointed out to the council that there are loopholes in the official documents “large enough to drive a bulldozer through.”
Riggs expressed shock that the council would not allow him to address changes in the documents made subsequent to the previous public hearing.
The official documents also state that the golf course may revert back to the city if certain conditions are not met. Yes … it will become open space as you say, Ed. And who will be responsible for staffing and maintaining that open space?
The idea that the city is “taking on” these things is accurate and certainly not dishonest.
3. If turning pristine pasture and oak woodlands into a 650-home development and a golf course, expanding the sewer system and adding a three-mile road where previously none existed is not expanding the city, I don’t know what is. The council is approving a zoning change and a change in the city’s general plan.
What is “misleading” is Robey’s mincing words by saying that because the site is within the geographical boundaries of the city, it is therefore technically not expansion. In its current state, the property requires absolutely nothing from the city. If it becomes Provinsalia, it will require police and fire protection, road maintenance, water, sewer, and all the other services that the city has not been able to provide adequately in the city as it currently exists.
4. The city did in fact shut down a public hearing and limit it to two narrow topics, based upon the advice of a lawyer who was paid by the developer. This lawyer was not hired to direct the council about the conduct of the meeting but rather on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
The city, so quick to believe that the public had no right to address them regarding substantive changes in the documents before them, may have acted illegally and therefore may be forced to hold new public hearing. I don’t agree that it is a “good thing” or that it will save the city money. Why ask a CEQA lawyer about the Brown Act? Hasn’t all your years in government taught you to always err on the side of caution when it comes to the Brown Act? After all, violating the act is a misdemeanor.
5. Mayor Leonard stated to the public after Councilman Roy Simons left the meeting that he left because was "having trouble with his hearing aid." So yes, Simons chose to leave, and Joyce Overton "chose" not to attend the meeting because she was flat on her back due to a health problem. The council could have, and should have waited for the entire council to be there before voting on a project that is this controversial.
6. Ed gets downright silly with his final accusation when he says: “ … 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?”
Here’s what that discrepancy is about: When I emailed my letter to the Bee and to Lake County News, I did not state my residence at all. The Bee’s editor stated incorrectly that I live in Lower Lake. An honest mistake on the R-B’s part and not particularly important. I have lived at the same place for my entire 32 years in Lake County.
The honesty and truth and respect that Ed Robey is preaching to us about is not limited to the way Ed Robey sees things. His haste to characterize those with differing views from his own as “dishonest” says more about him than it does about anyone else. Robey is a former mayor and member of the Clearlake City Council who was himself recalled by the public, and perhaps he is therefore overly sensitive about this sort of criticism.
None of this takes anything away from Ed’s long and honorable record as a public servant for which I continue to salute him.
I will be talking about Mr. Robey’s letter on my KPFZ radio show this Saturday, April 4, at 5 p.m. I invite Ed to phone in and have a meaningful dialoge about his concerns and mine. I invite the public to tune in to 88.1 FM at 5 p.m. and to also phone in at 707-263-3435 or 800-763-5739 (KPFZ).
Let's clear the air so we can all work together to hold the city accountable for their actions as regards Provinsalia.
Herb Gura lives in Clearlake Oaks.
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