Memorandum
Date: February 14, 2023
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Lars Ewing, Public Services Director
Subject: Consideration of Conceptual Approval for the Purchase of Real Property for a Cobb Area Community Park and Appointment of a Negotiating Team
Executive Summary:
The Open Space, Conservation & Recreation Element of the Lake County General Plan includes a singular goal for recreation and open space resources:
"To provide a parks, recreation, and open space system that serves the recreational needs of County residents and visitors, including a regional non-motorized recreational trail system."
Of the eight planning areas in Lake County that are identified in the General Plan, Cobb Mountain is the only area that does not have a public community park. Interest in a park in the area of Cobb is longstanding, as evidenced by statements in the Cobb Mountain Area Plan of the "need for small neighborhood parks..more recreation opportunities...and a site for youth-oriented facilities." More recently, citizen input has emphasized the community's desire to develop a community park. This recent input sprang from numerous sources such as public meetings to solicit community needs for future park improvements, preliminary feedback for the parks and recreation master plan efforts, as well as discussions at the Cobb Area Council.
The FY 22/23 Parks and Recreation budget includes an appropriation of $1,000,000 to begin planning and development of a community park and trails system in the Cobb area. Toward that end, Public Services initiated preliminary discussions with owners of multiple properties in the Cobb area. Staff feels that one particular 13-acre parcel is well-suited and, upon preliminary research, appears to be free of encumbrances. The property is 16540 State Hwy 175 in Cobb, APN 013-056-04.
To progress from this point, the County's real property purchasing policy requires conceptual approval by your Board, as well as ap...
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