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Newscast: City of Fort Bragg Seeks Common Ground with Mill Site Foe

A view of Noyo Headlands from the cliffs overlooking Noyo Harbor beach near Fort Bragg, CA
Tom Hilton
/
Flickr
A view of Noyo Headlands from cliffs overlooking the Noyo Harbor beach

FORT BRAGG, Calif. — Coastal grasses now cover a 3.5-mile stretch of coastline once home to the Georgia Pacific lumber mill, a 415-acre property that remains one of Northern California’s largest undeveloped coastal tracts. The site has become a focal point for community debate, with differing views on its future use, environmental cleanup concerns, and historical ties to Indigenous groups, including the Cato, Yuki, and Pomo tribes.

The purchase of 210 acres of the former mill site by Mendocino Railway for $1.25 million several years ago stirred controversy, as many residents felt the price was significantly below market value. The Mendocino Railway, a subsidiary of the Sierra Railroad has operates the Skunk Train as a tourist attraction since 2003, when the Sierra Railroad bought the railway weeks after it had filed for bankruptcy.

The city of Fort Bragg had long expressed interest in acquiring portions of the property for public use, and the lack of transparency around the purchase, coupled with the Mendocino Railway’s claim to be a “class III Common Carrier offering freight service” created significant opposition to the purchase. The excursion train also attempted to acquire property under "eminent domain." After three years of litigation — which included a court ruling that the train was not a public utility — the city and Mendocino Railway are now exploring a collaborative path forward.

On Monday, the Fort Bragg City Council approved a contract with Environmental & Planning Systems, Inc. to develop a strategic approach for the site. The goal is to establish a master developer agreement that addresses key challenges without relying solely on legal action. The city will also hold a community workshop on February 25 at 5 p.m. at Town Hall to gather public input on the mill site’s future.

The workshop takes advantage of an agreed-upon pause in litigation that took effect on November 28th, 2025 and is set to expire on March 4th, 2025.

“The consultant has a history of working on projects in Fort Bragg,” City Manager Isaac Whitby said. “Walter Kieser a principal with ENP Systems, has played an instrumental role in past city projects, including the development of the coastal trail.”

Residents expressed mixed reactions to the new approach. Shelley Green, a Fort Bragg resident, welcomed the shift from litigation to collaboration.

“I was greatly relieved, almost brought to tears, to hear the word ‘collaborative,’” Green said, noting the large sums of money that have been spent on the lawsuits. “We are a small town. We can sit down together and do the best for our community,” Green said.

However, she cautioned against outdated assumptions now included in the development plan, noting that Fort Bragg’s economy has shifted toward ecological tourism. She also emphasized the need to preserve the coastal headlands.

“Housing is needed here,” Green said. “The headlands are not the place to put housing. We’re still a small enough community with open lands within sight. Housing can go in those locations. It’s not appropriate to put housing on the headlands.”

Concerns over environmental cleanup remain, as funding opportunities from federal and state agencies may have diminished. Green urged city officials to take a forward-thinking approach.

“We’ve missed our window of opportunity with the feds, and California’s money is going to Los Angeles,” she said. “We need to start where we are now and plan for the future in perpetuity and implement incrementally.”

The city’s efforts to incorporate public input and engage in collaborative planning signal a potential turning point in the long-standing dispute over the former mill site. The upcoming community workshop is expected to provide further direction on the project’s next steps.

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Local News City of Fort Bragg
Elise Cox worked as an editor and reporter for the San Jose Mercury News, Knight Ridder, U.S. News & World Report and other publications prior to moving to the Mendocino coast in 2022. She began reporting stories for KZYX in August 2024 and became news director in December 2024.