Lake House project clears major hurdle
May 17—There is just one more step left for the Lake House project on Turner Road to make before crews can break ground.
The Lodi City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved certifying the project's final environmental impact report, as well as rezoning the nine-acre site at 2201 W. Turner Road, from industrial to a mixed-use center. With the approval, the project only has to be presented to the Lodi Site Plan and Architectural Review Committee, which will discuss its facade, elevations and other technical aspects.
"I don't like the project, I love it," councilman Mikey Hothi said. "I think we need infill development, as sparse as infill is in this city. I'm very excited for it. I haven't been this excited probably since the (Lodi Bowling Alley)."
Hothi's infill comments were in response to resident Steve Nelson's concern about the project, which includes a 96-suite boutique hotel, a 70-seat restaurant with parking on the site, along with about 18,500 square feet of retail space and an apartment complex with 150 market-rate units and a two-story community building. There will be 215 parking spaces for the retail component of the project, and 288 for housing.
Nelson said he was not opposed to the Lake House project or any apartments, but he objected to the 150 units proposed.
He urged the council to reject the project and ask applicant Celia Hung and her team to bring forth the "original" design that consisted of fewer units.
"My issue is merely the proposed density and the inclusion of three- and four-story units," he said. "We have several projects, or newly developed parcels in the city that conform architecturally and aesthetically to the surrounding areas. Lake House is an infill project, and three- or four-story houses at this location make no sense. This will have significant and irreversible impacts on my neighborhood, and Lodi in general."
While Nelson asked for the "original" design to be reconsidered, architect John Vierra said the only aspect of the project that has changed since the approval process began in 2018 was the site's footprint, not the number of apartment units.
Thomas Gau raised concern with the amount of traffic on Lower Sacramento Road, and asked the council to recommend mitigation measures such as a raised median to slow speeding vehicles.
"The wide pavement on Lower Sacramento Road, along with the eroded or faded striping, results in a wide-open corridor that problem-drivers take advantage of to speed and drive recklessly, including using the middle two-way left turn lane as an opportunity to pass slower cars," he said. "I have personally observed that. The speeding and reckless driving is a significant neighborhood safety concern, and I would venture, a concern to those who regularly drive or commute along this corridor."
City staff said raised medians along Lower Sacramento Road were not feasible, but Hung and her team, as well as Lodi Public Works, have agreed to install a crosswalk at the Eilers Lane intersection along with a rapid flashing beacon.
They have also agreed to re-stripe Lower Sacramento Road from Eilers Lane to Turner Road, staff said.
Former councilman and mayor Mark Chandler said the project could not come at a better time, as the wine industry is facing a large headwind and could use the tourism boost that the boutique hotel will provide.
"We need to continue to bring people here," he said. "We need the amenities that this project provides, and also the apartments help (the city) meet your housing element (requirements). So to me, it looks like moving Tahoe to Lodi. We need more critical mass here. We are bringing people in here from all over the world every single day, and a high quality project like this will only help our reputation."
Vice Mayor Cameron Bregman told Gau and Nelson that it was "late in the game" to bring their concerns forward, adding they should have been presented when the project was first presented eight years ago.
"Do I think this is a fantastic project? Absolutely. It's gorgeous," he said. "Do I think it's a perfect project? I don't think any project is going to be perfect. I also believe we shouldn't reject a project because it has something we don't like in it."
