Inyo County supervisors authorize emergency Whitney Portal culvert repairs, adopt state density-bonus rules and approve grant services

The Inyo County Board of Supervisors on March 11 authorized emergency road repairs at Whitney Portal, adopted an ordinance to replace the county density-bonus overlay with the state density-bonus law, and renewed a contract for outside grants strategy services.

Public Works Director Mike Arante told the board maintenance crews found a cavity and eroded pipe beneath Whitney Portal Road that has compromised soil and made roadway failure "imminent." Arante asked the board to amend the FY2024–25 road budget and award a contract to Speese Construction for $590,000 to replace the failed conduit and restore the roadway. He said necessary concrete pipe is en route from Tucson, Arizona, permitting with BLM, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California Department of Fish & Wildlife and Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board is underway, and the contractor projected a start as early as March 17 with temporary reopening by early April after 2–3 weeks of work.

"We found it before it was a collapse," Arante said, urging the board to approve expedited repairs to avoid seasonal runoff damage. The board voted to amend the budget and award the contract.

In a separate agenda item, planning staff presented a public hearing and recommended ordinance to replace Inyo County Code chapter 18.65 with the state density-bonus law. The change would align local code with current state requirements, including provisions for housing options serving transitional foster youth, veterans with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, and lower‑income students. Planning staff said the update is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act because it is a policy/code alignment and not a development project. During discussion supervisors expressed concern about automatically adopting future state updates without local review; staff noted the county can later amend the ordinance if needed. After opening and closing the public hearing with no in-room speakers, the board adopted the ordinance.

The board also voted to renew a contract with the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Foundation (with subcontracted support from the Ferguson Group) to continue a strategic grants initiative aimed at identifying fundable county priorities. Deputy CAO Megan McCammon said the program has helped staff prioritize grant opportunities across federal, state and private sources.

Votes at a glance: - Consent agenda (items 9–16): approved (motion carried). - Business Resource Center sublease (item 10): approved; staff to provide follow-up presentation by the center’s executive director. - Whitney Portal culvert emergency repair and contract to Speese Construction: approved; contract amount stated as $590,000; road closure planned to start March 17 with an estimated 2–3 week primary work window. - Density-bonus ordinance (item 21): adopted to replace chapter 18.65 with the state density-bonus law; CEQA exemption claimed by staff. - CSAC Foundation contract renewal (item 19): approved. - General Plan 2024 Annual Progress Report: directed staff to submit to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. - MOU with Eastern Sierra Council of Governments for wildfire coordinator services: approved.

What’s next: Public Works said it will notify the public of road closure dates and provide updates as permitting and pipe delivery progress. Planning staff will publish the adopted ordinance and update county code to reflect the state density-bonus provisions.

Speakers quoted or referenced in this article are those who spoke on the record at the meeting: Mike Arante, Public Works Director; Megan McCammon, Deputy CAO; Danielle Viswania, Planning staff. If a statement could not be tied to a named speaker in the transcript, it is presented without attribution.