Airport Land Use Commission finds City of Ukiah downtown rezoning consistent with airport plan

The Mendocino County Airport Land Use Commission unanimously adopted a resolution finding that the City of Ukiahs proposed downtown rezoning and land-use ordinance amendments are consistent with the Ukiah Municipal Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan.

Shelby Miller, Planner III in Mendocino County Planning and Building Services, presented the commission with case ALUC2026-0001 and recommended approval. "Staff recommends approval of the proposed project and prepared a resolution for your consideration, which would find the project consistent with the Ukiah Municipal Airport Land Use compatibility plan," Miller said.

Miller described the proposal as a set of rezones and map refinements focused on the Perkins Street corridor and the downtown core to better align form-based code boundaries with existing development patterns. Proposed changes include reclassifying parcels from Urban Center to Community Commercial (C1) or Heavy Commercial in some locations, amending several Urban Center parcels to Public Facilities to reflect planned civic projects (including a proposed county superior courthouse and parking), and reclassifying former NCRA lands for recreation in coordination with the Great Redwood Trail Agency.

According to Miller, the proposed C1 and heavy-commercial districts would raise maximum building heights to 50 feet; staff said that, as developed, the amendments would not change noise standards in a way that would trigger additional noise studies or mitigation under the ALUCP. Miller also told the commission that the majority of affected parcels would not see increased maximum allowable densities, though three parcels would be amended to a General Urban designation that allows higher residential density. All future development remains subject to local review and ALUC compatibility checks.

Jesse Davis, the City of Ukiahs Chief Planning Manager, said the city did not present further because the staff memo "clarified the city's intent" and that the rezoning is primarily intended to address misalignments between the 2012 downtown code and current built conditions along Perkins Street. Davis described the current ALUC review as an early step in a process that will later include design review, planning commission hearings and a city council ordinance vote.

A commissioner raised concerns that some materials in the record referenced older analyses (Mead & Hunt, 2008) without clearly flagging them as historical; the concern prompted staff to note where the 2021 ALUCP update had changed the analytical framework. That exchange did not change staffs recommendation.

Following discussion, a commissioner moved to adopt the resolution (ALUC2026-0001) finding the City of Ukiahs proposed ordinance amendments consistent with the Ukiah Municipal Airport Land Use compatibility map; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously on a roll call vote. The record shows all commissioners voting aye.

The commissions action is a consistency determination under the Ukiah Municipal Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan; it is not an approval of the underlying rezones or ordinances. The ordinance amendments and any development proposals will return to the city for design-review, planning-commission and city-council consideration.