Planning commission recommends rezoning of eight coastal parcels to Forest Lands; move advances to Board and Coastal Commission

The Mendocino County Planning Commission on May 21 recommended approval of an amendment to the county’s Local Coastal Program that would change the coastal zoning for eight assessor parcels from Timberland Production (TP) to Forest Lands (FL), forwarding the item to the Board of Supervisors.

Staff planner Liam explained that the proposal would change the zoning map but would not alter LCP policy language, minimum lot sizes or residential density (both TP and FL districts maintain a 1 unit per 160-acre density and 160-acre minimum lot size, as described in the staff presentation). He said the change would make seven previously non-permitted uses conditionally permitted and would make light agriculture principally permitted in some circumstances, but that many new uses would remain subject to a coastal development permit and the county’s Local Coastal Program policies.

Liam emphasized that forest-practice rules and Coastal Act policies continue to constrain conversion of commercially sized timberland and that a 10-year roll-out period applies under state law for any reclassification out of Timberland Production. He explained that if the Board of Supervisors approves the rezoning, the county must submit the LCP amendment to the California Coastal Commission for certification; only after those steps would the 10‑year roll-out begin if the state certifies the change.

John Curry, asset manager for Menescino Redwood Company (the applicant), told the commission the company currently has no active development plan for the parcels and that the request is a strategic step to understand long-term options for the property. “We have no current plans to do anything with this property,” Curry said; he said the company seeks flexibility to evaluate future higher-best uses and to plan for possible tax changes associated with a roll-out.

Commissioners asked whether rezoning to FL would make other future rezones easier, how access to the parcels would be provided (logging roads and Little River Airport Road were discussed), and why a 10-year roll-out exists. Staff said the 10-year mechanism is imposed by state law that governs rezones out of TP and is similar to Williamson Act rollbacks, and that subsequent rezones to non-forest uses would face a separate and typically intensive review.

The commission voted unanimously to recommend approval; the Board of Supervisors will now hold its own public hearing and, if it approves, the county will submit the LCP amendment to the California Coastal Commission for final action.