The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 4 approved a Caltrans coastal development permit for the Gualala downtown streetscape project, resolving a contested appeal filed by a property owner and merchant who argued the redesign would eliminate informal on‑street parking and harm local businesses.

The project (Caltrans CDP 2024‑0040) follows several years of planning tied to the Gualala town plan and Mendocino Council of Governments design work. The scheme narrows travel speeds and adds pedestrian and bicycle facilities: two 11‑foot travel lanes, a 12‑foot two‑way left‑turn lane, class‑2 bike lanes, continuous sidewalks, additional crosswalks with pedestrian‑activated flashing beacons, median islands and a north/south speed‑feedback radar sign. Caltrans and staff said those measures reduce conflict points and improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists.

Landscaping was removed from the original permit application because Caltrans does not accept long‑term maintenance responsibility for nonstandard plantings in the state highway right‑of‑way. Caltrans, county staff and the applicant said landscaping could be added only under a landscape‑maintenance agreement (LMA) that commits a public agency to long‑term upkeep and that the county has been reluctant to execute without firm funding and liability terms. In the hearing the appellant (Bauer Limited Partnership), which leases space to Surf Market, argued loss of shoulder parking would be economically harmful and increase parking pressure elsewhere.

After extensive public comment on both sides — business owners and some residents pressing for parking mitigation, and others, including fishing and conservation groups and many local residents, pressing for pedestrian safety and eventual habitat improvements — staff presented two draft resolutions: one approving the project without landscaping and one approving the project but directing staff to pursue an LMA that would allow for landscaped embankments and median planting with parameters designed to minimize county costs. The board voted to approve the project and adopted the version that authorizes Caltrans to install a drought‑tolerant native seed mix immediately and directs staff to pursue a landscape‑maintenance agreement that would allow more robust planting in two embankment areas if a maintenance plan is executed. The board also directed staff to include conditions and limits intended to reduce county maintenance exposure.

Board members and county staff emphasized that removal of informal parking is consistent with the Gualala town plan policy that prohibits on‑street parking on State Route 1 in the village; Caltrans and staff said earlier alternatives that kept on‑street parking were not certifiable under the local coastal program. The board recorded public safety, accessibility for pedestrians and grant‑driven funding constraints as principal factors.

Action taken: the board affirmed the coastal permit administrator’s approval as modified and approved the project with the alternate resolution that includes the landscape‑maintenance agreement pathway. Vote: unanimous.