Mendocino County approves coastal permit for Stanford property solar array with screening, native-plant condition

The Mendocino County Coastal Permit Administrator approved a coastal development permit on Sept. 11 for a ground-mounted, grid-tied solar array on a rural residential parcel at 44900 Kamshe Ukiah Road (Assessor’s Parcel Number 119-300-02), subject to findings and conditions in the staff report.

The project, listed as CDP2025-0003 for owners Jeff and Joan Stanford and applicant agent Cody Weber, would place a ballast-mounted solar array in an existing horse pasture about 0.7 miles southeast of Mendocino town center on the east side of State Route 1. Mark Klieser, the county planner, told the hearing the array would convert DC power for export to the existing utility to offset on-site power use and would require minimal ground disturbance with no vegetation removal.

Klieser said the parcel is designated conditionally highly scenic and that the array "will be momentarily visible from Highway 1 and from limited areas on adjacent highly scenic parcels," but "the project will not be visible from the town of Mendocino." The staff report includes a screening requirement recommended by the California Coastal Commission to ensure public views are blocked once screening species are fully grown. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife requested a condition requiring removal of nonnative species; that requirement is recorded as condition of approval 11.

Kayla Johnson, the project representative from NewGen Energy (now Mars Energy), said the applicant is on a tight schedule with the utility, noting, "in order to keep NEM 2 requirements with PG and E, we do need to start construction in October." She asked county staff to expedite any remaining plan-review steps to meet the interconnection timeline.

A representative identifying herself as Valerie, speaking for Sherwood Valley, asked that revegetation include "local traditional indigenous plants." Johnson replied the homeowners have already discussed plantings with the project team and are "more than happy to work with the team." The Coastal Permit Administrator closed the public hearing and said the project is approved subject to the conditions and findings in the staff report, and notified the applicant of two appeal periods: 10 calendar days to the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors and, after that, 10 business days to the California Coastal Commission.

Staff reported a site visit on April 15, 2025, conducted with the California Coastal Commission and CDFW. The county concluded the project is consistent with the local coastal program and that it qualifies for a categorical exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act under CEQA Guideline section 15303 (utility extensions). No public or agency comments opposing the proposal were reported in the staff report.