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Zoning Administrator approves emergency roadside repairs on Coastlands Road in Big Sur
Summary
Monterey County approved a combined permit allowing two retaining walls and erosion-control work on Coastlands Road in Big Sur after staff found biological and archaeological reports showed low potential for impacts and recommended CEQA categorical exemptions.
Zoning Administrator Mike Novo on Thursday approved a combined permit allowing the Postlands Mutual Water Company to install two retaining walls and temporary erosion-control measures on Coastlands Road in Big Sur.
Staff planner Jordan Evans Polanco told the hearing the work — on the Coastlands Water Company easement at 48216 and 48228 Highway 1 — includes construction on slopes exceeding 30 percent and development within 100 feet of environmentally sensitive habitat area and archaeological resources. Polanco said biological and spring reports found a low potential for impacts given the project’s design and that the silt-fencing stakes would result in less than 120 square feet of slope disturbance, qualifying the proposal for an exception to require a coastal administrative permit and for categorical CEQA exemptions under Guidelines sections 15301 and 15303.
“The resulting development would be less than 120 square feet and meets the exception to grant a Coastal Administrative Permit in this case,” Jordan Evans Polanco said.
Chris Gourlay, speaking for the applicant, emphasized the repairs’ urgency, saying Coastlands Road is the sole access for many residents and seeking approval before the rainy season. “Our strong preference is to complete the repairs prior to the onset of the rainy season this fall and approval today would allow us to do that,” Gourlay said, adding the design confines work to the paved roadbed and uses a wall system intended to avoid additional slope excavation.
Staff recommended conditions to protect tree roots and follow the biological report; Polanco said staff would add a notice-of-report condition to ensure compliance with the biologist’s recommendations. After brief clarifications, Zoning Administrator Novo found the project categorically exempt under CEQA and approved the combined permit as conditioned.
The permit approval allows the applicant to proceed with the described stabilization work subject to the staff-recommended conditions and the added notice-of-report requirement. There was no formal vote tally; the decision was issued directly by the zoning administrator at the hearing.
Next steps: the project proceeds under the approved conditions, including adherence to the biological and archaeological protections described in staff reports.
