Mendocino County’s Coastal Permit Administrator approved a coastal development permit Dec. 17 for a private pond and site improvements at 17401 Ocean Drive in Fort Bragg, subject to the findings and conditions in the staff report.

Planner Jessie Waldman of Mendocino County Planning and Building Services said the application (CDP2019-0011) covers an approximately 2-acre parcel (Assessor’s Parcel No. 17310577) and includes inlet and outlet culverts, a partial concrete perimeter, grading, a sandy beach area, decorative rock installation, landscaping and stabilization of an existing berm. “And staff is recommending approval of this project with conditions that are within the staff report,” Waldman said.

Staff found the project categorically exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as accessory to an existing permitted developed parcel and recommended conditions that will be attached to building or grading permits. Condition 10 requires best-management practices (BMPs) for after-the-fact ground disturbance; condition 11 lists avoidance and mitigation measures including removal of nonnative plants, transplanting or protection measures for displaced turtles if encountered, and revegetation with native plants; condition 12 recommends recording a notice of exemption.

The project was referred to multiple agencies; the California Department of Fish and Wildlife raised concerns about diversion into the pond and recommended referral to the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Waldman told the permit administrator that the North Coast board deferred to the Army Corps and that, despite repeated outreach, staff had not received substantive recommendations from the Corps.

No members of the public spoke on the item and staff reported no written comments from the property owners. The Coastal Permit Administrator approved the permit on the record “subject to the findings and conditions within the staff report.” The administrator’s name is not stated in the transcript.

Next steps: the permit is appealable at the local and state levels, and the applicant must obtain any required building or grading permits and comply with the conditions of approval before or during construction.