Ukiah Planning Commission denies staff pre‑zoning recommendation after heavy public opposition

The Ukiah City Planning Commission voted 4–1 on Aug. 26 to deny staff’s recommendation to forward a resolution recommending City Council adopt pre‑zoning, general plan amendments and zoning‑code amendments tied to the Ukiah 2026 reorganization project. Vice Chair Johnson moved to deny the recommended pre‑zoning and asked City Council to direct staff to return with a revised proposal that responds to the commission’s discussion and the large volume of public comment.

Commissioners and residents disputed elements of the map and the outreach behind it. Jesse Davis, the city’s chief planning manager, told the commission that pre‑zoning would retain county inland zoning in most annexation areas to preserve the build‑out assumptions in the supplemental EIR and avoid creating nonconforming uses upon annexation. Eileen Russell, speaking for Mendocino Forest Products and Mendocino Redwood Company, asked the commission to "remove our properties, including the Ukiah Saw Mill Complex from the proposed annexation area," saying splitting an integrated industrial operation across jurisdictions would complicate permitting and operations.

The vote followed extensive public comment raising recurring concerns: potential higher utility and sanitation bills, new business licensing charges for industrial employers, the difficulty of mounting a protest under LAFCO’s timelines and thresholds, and a perception that outreach and notice to affected property owners and tenants were inadequate. The commission’s roll call on the motion recorded Ayes from Commissioners Hillacre, Montano, Vice Chair Johnson and Chair DeGrassi; Commissioner Brown voted No.

The commission’s action is advisory: City Council will receive the commission’s recommendation and may adopt, modify, or reject it before any application is submitted to Mendocino LAFCO. If the council advances the annexation application, LAFCO will conduct its public noticing, a protest hearing (within 35 days of deeming an application complete), and a decision on annexation. The appeal deadline for items tonight was stated as 09/08/2026 at 5 p.m.