FORT BRAGG, CA — At the City Council meeting on Monday, March 10, 2025, the only item on the agenda was a review of the proposed Mill Site Master Development Plan. The question for council members was whether the rough draft plan looked promising enough to be a good faith resolution to the lawsuit against Mendocino Railway or if the city should return to court now that the legal stay had ended.
The meeting opened with Mayor Godeke, who provided time for the public to comment on the litigation before the upcoming closed session about the status of the city’s lawsuit. Mendocino Railway President and CEO Robert Pinoli and Sierra Railroad Vice President Chris Hart were also present to answer questions.
City Manager Isaac Whippy opened the meeting’s agenda item by explaining how the two litigating sides had come together to resolve their differences during the court-ordered stay. A planning team was put together with Isaac Whippy, planning consultant Walter Keiser, consultant Marie Jones, two assistants, Chris Hart, and architect Burton Miller.
Whippy stressed that no binding decisions had been made and that the City Council Ad Hoc Committee had been kept informed. He then turned to Walter Keiser and Marie Jones to lay out the details of the team’s Mill Site Phase 1 Development Strategy Report to the council and an audience of about 50 people.
Keiser spent substantial time explaining how the Phase 1 Plan was just a starting point for finding common ground between the two sides regarding potential plans for land use. He stressed, “You have to start somewhere,” in response to public concerns that the team’s planning decisions had been set without any further public input.
He explained the flow chart the team had developed for the decision-making process and who and what was included in each step or decision. Phase 1 is completed with agreement on the structure of a continued planning process and clarified understanding of some basic constraints on both parties. Stakeholders from other agencies were also contacted to provide input on the latest map.
Concerning the development maps presented at the February 25 town hall meeting, Keiser stated that about 80% of the new map’s development plans were derived from the map given to the public in 2018 and 2019.
Although there are still site-specific constraints to work out, Keiser reported that there is now agreement that 93% of the entire property will be under city and state jurisdiction. The remaining 7% will be under the control of Mendocino Railway and all its relevant binding federal regulations.
Phase 2 is intended to lead to an agreement describing a holistic view, laying out potential development, and identifying the benefits for all groups. Also included would be a description of all actions, needed investments, and third-party regulation requirements and how they will be met.
An agreement for a Memo of Understanding (MOU) would then be developed to determine how the interests of the city, the railway, and the California Coastal Commission can be met. At this point, all parties would need to commit to settling the suit, identify funding, and agree on real estate transactions.
Keiser stated that this complicated phase would need a second lawsuit court stay of six months “to gather all the information needed.” He stressed that an MOU would happen only if “all the different issues seen feasible to be solved.” As an example, he noted that the remediation of Mill Pond #8 “would cost about $30 million, perhaps double that.” He added, “The burden of financing generally falls to the property owner.”
Phase 3 would involve land use approvals, regulatory clearances, a financing plan, and real estate transactions, such as city acquisition of land for a nature area. All during this process, which Keiser estimated would take two years, there would be public hearings and the creation of a project management team.
Nothing would be final until the entire project is approved first by the City Planning Commission and then sent to City Council for approval. A final public hearing for city adoption would then take place. Keiser noted that if the City Council does adopt the final development plan, Phase 4 “will take years to evolve,” meaning that developers would need to come in and purchase parcels.
Chris Hart then spoke about the Mendocino Railway’s desire to find a resolution, although he commented that he believed the railway would win the Superior Court lawsuit. He noted all the concessions the railway has already made to the city and that more were possible. He described Phase 1 as “only talking about planning with no decisions made.” He also stressed that “both sides need confidence in each other.”
At the request of the City Council, Mendocino Railway President and CEO Robert Pinoli explained the layers of federal oversight that bind the railway’s infrastructure, proper maintenance, and adherence to inspection recommendations from a variety of federal and state agencies. He noted that since 9/11, even TSA now has a regulatory role in the railway’s operations.
City Council members were then given time to ask Pinoli and Hart questions as long as the questions did not entail closed session litigation issues. One question ended up being asked multiple times through the night. Would Mendocino Railway be bound by the final Master Development Agreement if approved by the city?
Both Chris Hart and Walter Keiser pointed out that a signed contract legally binds the parties. Hart suggested that city inspectors should participate and advise. Pinoli stressed that Mendocino Railway complies with all the multiple laws that regulate it and that, as a public utility, it is not bound by city permit regulations.
A few council members’ questions related to the planned track extension to Glass Beach and the trolley station. Lindy Peters noted that the train tracks and trolley station would “interfere with the coastal trail.” He then asked if the railway would alter the map “if the community really wants it.”
Hart responded, “There will be trade-offs.” Marie Jones, who has been working on the city’s behalf for many years, wisely commented that “negotiations mean nobody is going to be completely happy.”
The meeting was then opened up to a second session of public comment. Many who spoke advised the city “to slow down.” Some also recommended a discovery process first “to get all the facts” to protect the city from any possible rogue action from the other party. Many wanted assurance that the public would be involved at every step, including the Sherwood Pomo Band.
During the time allotted to phone-in comments, Alex Helperin, an assistant counsel for the California Coastal Commission, expressed his dissatisfaction with comments made by Mendocino Railway’s lawyer at the February 25 town hall. He stated that Nilsson had misled the public as to the Commission’s interests and involvement in the lawsuit.
As an example, he pointed to Nilsson’s statement that the goal of the California Coastal Commission was to shut down the Skunk Train. Helperin stated, “We never sought to do that or said anything that ever suggested we had any interest in doing that. We simply want to make sure the railway abides by the city’s coastal program and Coastal Act.”
At the conclusion of the meeting, Council member Lindy Peters expressed his willingness to work with Mendocino Railway and clarified his long time position which has been interpreted by some as anti-train. He described a few land use projects he had repeatedly favored and promoted, such as a small dairy and a small mill. He then said, “We’re not enemies. I have to think of the long term for future citizens in Fort Bragg to sustain themselves.”
The City Council then went into closed session for discussions with its attorney about the next step to take in the litigation lawsuit.
