Coulterville committee hears proposal to convert former Yosemite Gold Country lodge into 25‑unit park; residents press water and sewer concerns

Topos Ventures told Mariposa County’s planning advisory committee that it wants to rehabilitate the shuttered Yosemite Gold Country Lodge and Campground at 10407 Highway 49 North into a 25‑pad special‑occupancy RV and park‑model facility, while county staff recommended the committee advance the project to the planning commission with a mitigated negative declaration.

The planning director, Steve Eacker, told the committee the applicant’s package includes a general‑plan area plan amendment, a conditional‑use permit and a major design‑review submittal. The site is roughly 3.49 acres (assessor parcel 002220001) and currently is split between highway‑service commercial and single‑family residential land uses; the proposal would reclassify a rear triangular portion to highway service commercial to accommodate the park models. Eacker said the project calls for 25 full‑hookup pads, one reserved mobile home for workforce housing, communal structures, a pavilion, viewing decks and related site improvements, and that many conditions and mitigation measures would be required before any operation.

The environmental review for the project, Eacker said, consists of an initial study and a proposed mitigated negative declaration (MND) published March 24; the planning commission is scheduled to consider a recommendation April 4 and, ultimately, the Board of Supervisors is the decision authority. "That initial study is included in the packet," Eacker said. "The mitigation measures were required and applied to minimize impacts to less‑than‑significant levels." He added the project applicant would pay for all required reconnections, laterals and permits to the water and sewer district.

Several residents at the meeting pressed staff and the applicant on water and sewer capacity. One resident who identified herself as a physician questioned how the project could avoid a full environmental impact report when prior public discussion had warned the community’s water and sewer systems were strained. "We were told in the summer our water system is collapsing," she said. "Now this environmental report says ... we have plenty of support to have a full 25‑unit park. Are we being told different stories?" Eacker and Supervisor Shannon Powell responded that agency reviews and engineering studies included with the initial study indicate sufficient capacity to serve the proposed use and that mitigation and conditions would be required if the project is approved.

Topos Ventures’ representative said the team paid for a Phase I environmental site assessment and a supply‑and‑demand water engineering analysis. The applicant noted the property previously operated with special‑occupancy uses and said it would limit stays to a maximum of 30 days. The representative said the company intends to hire locally and to meet state and county facility standards. "We paid many thousands of dollars for studies," the Topos partner said, adding that licensed outside agencies performed the technical reviews.

Committee members and residents also questioned whether text and map changes could make other parcels along Highway 49 more easily eligible for similar conditional uses. Eacker said any other property owner would still need to file a separate conditional‑use permit and undergo the same CEQA, agency review and design‑review processes; he emphasized that conditional uses are discretionary and require their own analysis.

Eacker told the committee the staff recommendation that day was to forward the package and the MND to the planning commission for its April 4 recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The transcript records that a motion to recommend advancing the project was proposed and "motion is noted," but the recorded meeting text stops before any roll‑call vote or tally appears in the transcript.

What’s next: The initial study and supporting technical documents remain available for public review; the planning commission will consider the staff recommendation April 4, and the Board of Supervisors will make the final land‑use decision later in the process. Public comments on the CEQA document and project materials are part of the administrative record and will be folded into the staff report provided to decision‑makers.