Board approves Topos Ventures’ Coulterville ‘special‑occupancy’ park after environmental review

The board approved a multi‑stage land use package for a proposed special‑occupancy park in Coulterville on May 6, 2025, allowing Topos Ventures to redevelop the long‑vacant Yosemite Gold Country site on Highway 49 into an HCD‑regulated special‑occupancy park.

Will Fassett of the planning department summarized the project and the permitting path. The 3.55‑acre site currently consists of a mix of small motel structures and former campground elements; a portion of the parcel sat in the Coulterville Town Plan as single‑family residential. The project required three clearances: a general plan/town‑plan map amendment (to reclassify the entire parcel as highway service commercial), a change to the town‑plan text to list “special‑occupancy parks” as a conditional use in the highway service commercial designation, and approval of a conditional use permit and design review for the development itself.

Topos Ventures representative Nico Turek told the board the site historically served as a motel and an RV/camping area since the 1960s. The firm proposes to consolidate the parcel as highway service commercial and redevelop it with 25 RVIA‑compliant seasonal pads (no transient transient stay model for opening/closing renters), full hookups, a small camp store, a sauna with cold plunge, two viewing decks, a pavilion, a bathhouse, underground utilities and a manager’s residence. The project will connect to the Mariposa County‑operated Coulterville municipal water and sewer systems; Public Works reviewed capacity and encroachment requirements and confirmed conditions for service and an encroachment permit through Caltrans for the Highway 49 entry.

Planners completed an initial study under CEQA and circulated a draft mitigated negative declaration for 30 days. The environmental review identified potential biological and cultural impacts; the board approved the project with mitigation measures and a monitoring program. The mitigation measures include pre‑construction biological surveys, nesting bird and bat protection measures and a cultural resources stop‑work protocol if archaeological material is uncovered during grading.

The project passed through the Coulterville Town Planning Advisory Committee and the planning commission before reaching the board. The board adopted the mitigated negative declaration, approved the zoning and text changes, and granted the conditional use permit and major design review. The motion passed unanimously among the members present.

Supporters said the project will bring modest local employment, boost business for the Coulterville general store and restaurants, and reuse a site that county staff and community members said had become derelict in recent years. Opponents at earlier meetings had raised concerns about longer‑term residency, road safety and local infrastructure; the approved conditions include limits on stay duration, the requirement to meet Caltrans encroachment and Public Works standards, and detailed mitigation and monitoring requirements.

The applicant and planning staff said they will proceed to building permits and HCD staff review for park licensing, and to finalize a schedule after final permits and Caltrans encroachment approvals are in place.