Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Demolition Archaeology topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County approves demolition of dilapidated structures in Elk; archaeology discovery clause added
Summary
The Coastal Permit Administrator approved modification CDPM2024-0008 to remove a collapsed chicken coop and a dilapidated garage on a property in Elk, finding no recorded cultural resources and adding a discovery clause per the Archaeological Commission.
The Mendocino County Coastal Permit Administrator approved a modification permit on May 22, 2025, to demolish two dilapidated structures — a collapsed chicken coop and a garage — at a property on South Highway 1 in Elk (APN 127-181-01). Staff recommended approval with conditions, including a discovery clause recommended by the Archaeological Commission.
Project planner Shelby Miller said the site is in the coastal zone about 0.4 miles northwest of State Route 1 and Philo-Greenwood Road. As part of the application to modify CDP 2023-0028, staff completed a bat survey because of the structures’ age and condition; the planner said Coastal Planning found the chicken coop had collapsed and was not habitable by bat species, and observed woodrat droppings in the garage with no evidence of a special-status occurrence.
Miller said the Northwest Information Center had no record of previously recorded cultural resources at the site. The project was reviewed by the county Archaeological Commission on March 12, 2025, which recommended no further survey but did recommend a condition adding the standard discovery clause to the permit. Miller told the administrator the project is consistent with the county general plan coastal element and the rural village zoning district and that the work qualified for a categorical exemption from CEQA under California Code of Regulations section 15301 for existing facilities.
Agent Megan Durbin, of Wind Coastal Planning and Biology, said she had no substantive comments on the conditions and added, “I can't help but say I'm looking forward to the potential of the LCP update, providing a mechanism to not have to go through the CDP process for something like this, you know, taking down old sheds that are already falling down.”
With no public comments, Coastal Permit Administrator Krog said he had no questions and approved the modification subject to the findings and conditions in the staff report. The approval includes the Archaeological Commission’s recommendation to add a discovery clause as a condition of approval and requires implementation of the conditions and any required mitigation in the staff report.
No appeals, vote tallies, or additional directions were recorded during the hearing segment for this item.
