Fortuna planning panel approves ambulance base at 703 Main Street amid neighborhood objections

The Fortuna Planning Commission voted unanimously on March 24 to adopt Resolution P-2026-3145, approving a conditional use permit that allows City Ambulance to operate a staffed ambulance base at 703 Main Street and finding the project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.

Senior Planner Katie told the commission the project, proposed by applicant City Ambulance and sited on property owned by Abe Faul, would not involve exterior changes and would use an accessory structure and existing off-street parking for on‑ and off‑duty ambulances. Katie said the base would be staffed 24 hours and that City Ambulance averages about seven calls per day, with roughly four daily responses that use lights and sirens. She said the operator’s emergency medical dispatch (EMD) certification, obtained in January, has reduced lights-and-sirens responses by about 20 percent.

The staff report noted that the parcel is zoned commercial thoroughfare, that the project improves north‑end response coverage and highway access, and that both the Fortuna Police Chief and the Fortuna Fire Protection District Fire Chief support the proposal. Katie said the city determined the project qualified for a CEQA exemption because there will be no physical expansion and siren use is intermittent and emergency‑related.

Property owner Abe Faul’s written comment, read into the record by staff, supported approval. “This is a good fit for the site,” the letter said, adding the use would provide a “clear public safety benefit” and a “consistent professional presence” in an area the letter described as seeing increased vagrancy and criminal activity.

Neighbor Matt Allen, who identified himself as living at 656 Main Street and catty‑corner to the site, opposed the relocation. Allen said the immediate area is residential and office space, not light industrial, and told commissioners the neighborhood was told previously there would be a no‑lights/no‑sirens zone that does not appear in the permit. “The proposal will be detrimental to the safety and general welfare of persons residing or working in this vicinity,” Allen said, urging the commission to table the matter and request traffic and safety studies.

Carson Vander, operations director for City Ambulance, replied that the operator had met with neighbors and emergency chiefs and that crews are trained and monitored: “We are here to be good neighbors,” Vander said. He described driver rules for code‑3 responses, saying crews are allowed to exceed the speed limit by up to 10 miles per hour when appropriate, and noted annual EVOC driver retraining and drive‑cam monitoring. Vander also said crews plan to avoid using lights and sirens while leaving the base within a small boxed area and will turn them on once on faster through‑routes.

Paramedic lead Nathan Mcnite, a 17‑year City Ambulance employee and volunteer fire chief, urged commissioners to consider regional response needs and said many of the routes Allen cited are already used by ambulance crews. Mcnite emphasized training and the operator’s efforts to minimize neighborhood impacts.

Commissioners asked about routing and service area — staff and the applicant said ambulances travel north to Tomkins Hill Road and south to Highway 36, and that L Street was a preferred route leaving the base to avoid downtown streets. Commissioners also discussed that conditional use permits can be reviewed or amended if operational issues arise.

After questions, a commissioner moved to adopt Resolution P‑2026‑3145 and another seconded. The roll call vote was recorded as Commissioner Doris: yes; Commissioner Hley: yes; Commissioner K: yes; Vice Chair Aean: yes; Chair Nichols: yes. The motion carried and the permit was approved.

At the meeting’s close staff promoted upcoming community Fortuna meetings and the commission adjourned.