Project Info
The Superior Court of California, County of Lake - New Lakeport Courthouse project provides a new 4-courtroom courthouse of approximately 46,000 square feet in the city of Lakeport. It includes secured parking for judicial officers and approximately 100 surface parking spaces for jurors and the public, with solar power generation capability. The project will be located on a previously acquired site located in the city of Lakeport. It will replace two existing facilities: the Lakeport Division Courthouse and a leased records storage facility. The project will use the Design-build delivery method.
Background
Court services in Lake County are provided in two locations: Lakeport on the northwestern side of Clear Lake and in the city of Clearlake on the south side of the lake. Lakeport is the county seat and location of main offices of county justice agencies. The jail is located several miles north of the city. The existing Lakeport Division Courthouse functions as the main courthouse and houses the court administration and four courtrooms that handle most case types.
The project will increase security and expand the capacity for in-custody proceedings by replacing the existing inadequate and obsolete, county-owned Lakeport Division Courthouse. It will also terminate a lease for records storage at the Gateway Business Park.
For this project, a site of approximately 5.74 acres was acquired at 675 Lakeport Boulevard in the city of Lakeport.
The New Lakeport Courthouse will accomplish the following immediately needed improvements to the superior court and enhance its ability to serve the public:
- Enhance the public’s access to justice by relieving the current space shortfall, increase security, and replace inadequate and obsolete buildings.
- Provide a safe and efficient full-service courthouse that is compliant with regulatory safety, seismic, accessibility codes, and Judicial Council space standards.
- Replace the existing Lakeport Division Courthouse, which is rated as a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) P-154 High-Risk, seismically deficient building.
- Avoid over $5 million in future deferred maintenance expenditures.
- Improve operations and thus improve efficiency and customer service.
- Provide adequate space for a self-help center, jury assembly, child waiting, attorney-client meeting, court administration, and clerk’s office (with ready access to records) not currently available due to space shortfall in the existing courthouse.
- Provide security entrance screening.
- Provide circulation to all courtrooms for public, judges, and staff separate from in-custody defendants.
Due to insufficient resources in the Immediate and Critical Needs Account, and at its meeting on August 26, 2016, the Judicial Council had made a policy decision to suspend this project’s working drawings phase until funding could be restored. In FY 2021–22, this project was reactivated utilizing a new delivery method.
This project is in the Immediate Need priority group and consequently is one of the highest priority trial court capital-outlay projects for the judicial branch.
Schedule
This project is currently in the construction phase.
Construction began in July 2024 and is estimated to complete in September 2026.
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