The Mendocino County Planning Commission on Dec. 18 recommended that the Board of Supervisors adopt amendments to Chapter 6 of the county general plan that incorporate selected recommendations from the Redwood Valley Municipal Advisory Council’s Community Action Plan (CAP), and approved an addendum to the general‑plan EIR.

Senior planner Russ Ford told the commission staff pulled CAP recommendations that were within the county’s authority and refined the language to fit a countywide general‑plan policy. Among the changes presented were refocusing Policy 5 on redevelopment of the old Redwood Valley Middle School site; adding a DOT‑recommended pedestrian action for School Way and East Road (Policy 6) tied to funding availability and not to add county expense; adding encouragement of agro‑ and ecotourism (Policy 10); encouraging use of locally native species and targeted removal of invasive species per the California Invasive Plant Council (Policy 11); adding protections against light and odor impacts to existing residential uses (Policy 13); and expressing county support for locally owned businesses (Policy 15) and for job creation through sustainable, nonpolluting businesses (Policy 16).

"Consistent with state law, the county may update or amend its general plan as needed," Ford said, and recommended that the commission adopt an addendum to the adopted general‑plan EIR under Public Resources Code section 15162 because staff determined the proposed modifications would not cause new significant environmental impacts.

Dolly Riley, chair of the Redwood Valley MAC, described extensive public involvement in drafting the CAP. "A lot of Redwood Valley citizens, four meetings...50 to a 100 people at each meeting," Riley said, thanking staff for trimming items the county could not lawfully adopt and preserving community priorities.

Longtime MAC member Ginny Reynolds told the commission the CAP process helped the community recover after the 2017 fires and was instrumental in organizing services such as Meals on Wheels for Redwood Valley. First District Supervisor Madeline Klein also praised the MAC and staff for their work and said the CAP will provide a useful record of community intent.

Commissioner Jones pressed staff for clearer, implementable language — noting planning words such as "shall" versus "encouraged" carry different effects — and offered on‑the‑spot editorial changes to improve clarity. Staff accepted several of those revisions and read proposed red‑line language back to the commission, including the DOT‑recommended pedestrian wording and the landscaping sentence that references the California Invasive Plant Council.

After the edits were read into the record and a short recess to produce a red‑lined resolution, the commission voted unanimously to forward the amended Chapter 6 policies and the EIR addendum to the Board of Supervisors for final action.

The Planning Commission’s recommendation is advisory; the Board of Supervisors will consider the final resolution in a future meeting.