Background
Planning for the Lake County Interregional Transit Center has been on-going since 2015, when it was originally identified as a high-priority capital need for the system in the 2015 Transit Development Plan and Marketing Plan (TDP). While the TDP was under development, the Lake Area Planning Council successfully submitted a Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant to develop the Transit Hub Location Plan (2017) in Clearlake for LTA. The location plan identified the preferred location and potential funding sources, which was instrumental in developing LTA’s successful 2020 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) grant application for nearly $13M.
These funds will fund the construction of the new transit center in Clearlake, the purchase of four hydrogen buses and the necessary fueling/maintenance infrastructure, and provide funding for workforce development in coordination with local community colleges. The new center, located at the intersection of South Center Drive and Dam Road Extension in Clearlake, will create more efficient bus routes, improve safety and security for riders, and increase ridership. The fueling and maintenance infrastructure will be located at our existing facility in Lower Lake.
Environmental Work
In September 2021, LTA hired GHD, Inc. to complete all of the required environmental work to ensure compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Based on all of the research and studies conduced by GHD, LTA has determined that the appropriate CEQA document for the Lake County Interregional Transit Center Project is an Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND). A draft document has been developed and is available to the public for review and comment beginning August 8, 2022. The public comment review period will last 30 days and will end on September 8, 2022. The LTA Board will consider adoption of the IS/MND during a public hearing tentatively scheduled for September 14, 2022 at 10:30AM. Relevant environmental documents can be found below.
- CEQA Notice of Intent (EN) / (SP)
- CEQA Notice of Completion
- IS/MND Full document / No Appendices
- Final MND (adopted on 9/14/22) Full Document / No Attachments