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Mendocino County approves after-the-fact covered deck, adds deed restriction near sensitive habitat
Summary
The Mendocino County Coastal Permit Administrator approved an after-the-fact permit for a property in Fort Bragg to replace a small deck with a larger covered deck, and added a clarified deed restriction to protect a 100-foot environmentally sensitive habitat buffer.
The Mendocino County Coastal Permit Administrator approved a coastal development permit on May 22, 2025, allowing an after-the-fact replacement of a 123-square-foot deck with a 245-square-foot covered deck at 27100 North Highway 1 in the Fort Bragg area, and added clarifying language to a deed restriction protecting a nearby environmentally sensitive habitat area (ESHA).
Project planner Shelby Miller told the administrator the property (APN 069-060-02) is in the coastal zone about 6 miles north of Fort Bragg and about 0.6 miles southwest of the intersection of Ten Mile Road and State Route 1. Miller said the application included two biological scoping reports; one report by WRA Inc. identified riparian habitat within 100 feet of the deck but determined the existing deck had not impacted the ESHA and proposed measures to enhance the area between the structure and the habitat.
Miller said the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Coastal Commission reviewed the project and recommended the measures from WRA and that a deed restriction be recorded to restrict future encroachment within the 100-foot ESHA buffer. Miller recommended approval with conditions and said the project is consistent with Mendocino County Code chapter 20.496 (environmentally sensitive habitat areas) and the coastal element of the general plan. Miller also said the project qualified for a categorical exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act under California Code of Regulations section 15301 for existing facilities.
Owner April Mason, present in the hearing, told the administrator she had no further comments and said she was “just glad to finally get to where we wanted to be.” Agent Kelly Grimes thanked Miller for her work on the project.
Coastal Permit Administrator Krog proposed a minor, clarifying amendment to Condition 15(b) to make clear the deed restriction’s preamble states that, “as a restriction on future development, no future development is permitted within the 100-foot buffer of all identified ESHA, except for activities that are ESHA-dependent.” Krog then approved the project as modified, subject to the findings and conditions in the staff report with the amended Condition 15(b).
The applicant said there is no plan to alter the buffer area and that plantings intended to support wildlife would be used to leave the area “wild for the quail.” The record includes the applicant’s agreement to the condition language and staff’s recommended mitigation measures.
The decision grants the standard coastal development permit for the after-the-fact deck replacement with the conditions in the staff report and the clarified deed restriction. No appeals, vote tallies, or additional directions were recorded during the hearing segment for this item.
