Build it and they will come?
The economy is so important it gets presidents reelected in the nation. But what about the economy of a small rural county, what's its value? An often discussed, never defined, very elusive value of a good county economy is in the eye of the beholder. Everyone you ask has an opinion but the main thread is that the vacation economy used to be historically better and business was booming. What about now and what holds it back?
For at least a few, a good economic state is personal. It's being able to earn enough to live in a nice home, have amenities close at hand, not worry about crime and have beautiful natural surroundings. Lake County is awash in a natural beautiful environment with parks, trails, fishing and boating. It draws visitors here looking for an outback escape bringing dollars to fuel the close-at-hand amenities, fund road repair, crime prevention and local jobs. Hmmm, that works.
What's preventing that from happening again at any Lake County location is worth an evaluation. Years ago, the North Shore of the lake along highway 20 took advantage of a state redevelopment program. It allowed the formation of a district which could borrow against future property taxes, and forgo sending current taxes to the state. The money saved could be used to buy the stressed commercial properties that prevented economic growth, rebuild their economic value, sell to a new owner and repay the borrowed funds with future higher tax revenues
Lake County is awash in a natural beautiful environment with parks, trails, fishing and boating. It draws visitors here looking for an outback escape bringing dollars to fuel the close-at-hand amenities, fund road repair, crime prevention and local jobs. Hmmm, that works.
from that increased value. Restoring some areas seemed worth a try.
As example, this concept was used to increase the visual value of the Lucerne shoreline with a new picnic park, an adjacent artist colony section, an upgraded parking facility for the existing boat harbor, all while removing eyesore properties. A shoreline plan was developed to direct new development toward 13th avenue and the existing shoreline businesses would benefit from the new lakefront look.
Unfortunately, two anchors slowed the plan down to a walk, high community water prices lowered business profits and local spending money, and the 50-year-old boat harbor needed dredging and docks to tie a boat. It seems no one thought about boaters coming from other parts of the lake to frequent the shoreline businesses or for launching, boating and returning for lunch. While the water rates were addressed to a significant extent, tying boats down seemed a lost concept. Even though money was docked in the County budget since 2016, building the docks has not been launched. It seems the project was dry docked and the CEQA permit process was also incorrectly charted.
More than one restaurant began in unincorporated Lucerne and moved to an incorporated city while waiting for the promised recreational lake business. What's the big economic deal? Even though Lucerne is strategically situated on a rare perfect shoreline spot for boating and picnicking activities, a 70,000/week vehicle traffic flow past its businesses finds scant reason to stop without vibrant restaurants and boat docks. Valuable revenue from this site is lost that could fuel local jobs, business growth, not to mention sales and property tax increases to fund a larger discretionary county budget and redevelopment payback.
For better or worse, economic growth in incorporated cities are fueled by their concentrated population, and in the unincorporated county by destination draw. What's a better destination draw than a one-of-a-kind place that accesses an amazing lake, with beautiful views, easy launch and stay docks with close local amenities? Who knows, maybe even a hotel will return and the historical visitor draw will begin again on the Northshore all because of this one missing piece, a functioning harbor?