Fort Bragg Apartments developer responds to social media questions about proposed 87-unit project next to Outlet Store
Please click on the Mendocino Voice story above to read the full story, including the interviews I had with Mendocino County Supervisor Bernie Norvell and developer Kosh Grewal. Kosh read the initial story I put out here on Mendocinocoast.news and all the comments on Facebook. He was glad the community is interested in a dialogue and in the Mendocino Voice story, which goes through what all of you raised as objections and support and provides background and detail. Clicking on the story helps the Voice know that we are interested in local news.
For myself, I searched the background of the developer and his projects. I found communities mostly thrilled by the look of what the oddly named Kosh Petroleum has built. I have researched and confronted developers all my life and SO MANY of them are con artists. At least in the old Yuba-Sacramento days that was the case. That kind of developer leaves behind a trail of phony bankruptcies, shell games with LLCs and other financial scams that ended up with nothing built or the community being forced to accept something different than what they approved.
Now for the good news!
NOT THE CASE WITH DEVELOPER KOSH GREWAL!! Both my editor and I had to search very hard to find even the home city of the operation. This is a VERY good sign. I looked through court records in various counties down in the Central Valley and DID NOT find the pile of lawsuits that follow many developers around. This guy seemed legit and very open with discussing all points of view, even strongly critical stuff. Please read the city report attached here. I know it’s long but look at all the conditions attached that Fort Bragg’s Community Development Department put in. I believe the city has done a very thorough job. But don’t take my word, read their report.
As a reporter, I don’t want to come out for or against. But I can find little to criticize in the city’s report. They summarize that it’s entirely doable, blocks nobody’s view, has no ocean views until you would get to the second story. There are no endangered species or other big environmental issues. And housing is critically needed.
I have to take back a suggestion I made on social media, after talking to Norvell and Grewal and studying the issue. I don’t think that the developer should be made to include more affordable units. I also think the city and county should consider more developments like this around the college and continue to nix any crappy gas stations or low end parts houses. WE HAVE ENOUGH DAMN GAS STATIONS!! NO MORE!! Two Auto Parts houses is more than enough also. Let’s agree to developments our community needs, not the whim of somebody who doesn’t live here.
Supervisor Norvell had some additional comments that didn’t fit in the story that I thought were worth sharing. To provide context, we had been discussing the history of Todd Point. The city didn’t want to annex the land where all the big lots and big houses are for some reason. We weren’t sure why that happened in the 1970s. Fort Bragg has swung from being anti housing and pro retail to anti retail and pro housing. He ends this statement with a great quote about that:
“Fort Bragg is an amazing place and I think developers see that as well and the community is fortunate to have people with money wanting to invest in our community. The city over the last several years has increased both its wastewater and water capacity in order to be able to support this kind of development I do not think either one of those will be an issue. A lot of times, the council will get these proposals and will be told. ‘Yes we want housing but not this type of housing.’ The city is not in the business, of building housing so it makes it hard to pick and choose which developer and which type of housing. If you remember going back the owners of the property south of Todd’s point at one time, wanted to do a large housing development and was told by the city that they did not need housing. they needed retail. The developer then at their own cost changed the zoning to commercial and then applied for a commercial development and was told at that time the city doesn’t need retail. They need housing. My point is sometimes you have to take pie when pie is passing,” Norvell said.
California Gov Gavin Newsom has made creating housing and creating new workforce housing the centerpiece of his administration. He intitally promised to build 3.5 million homes. His administration has pushed through changes to laws and put pressure on cities to end the “Not in My Backyard” NIMBY sentiment that was popular among elements of both right and left in the 20th century.
But Newsom had fallen far short of his goals, with only 13 percent of that original goal being permitted, let alone built, according to a 2022 investigation by Calmatters. On March 4, Calmatters reported updated that story with the news not much progress has been made. The new story says Democrats are creating many new laws designed to kick start more housing by cutting through red tape and expensive local permitting. Many environmental checks, once favored by Democrats, are now viewed as among the tools of NIMBYism by wealthy communities designed to keep working and low income people out.
Ryan Bushnell, a member of the Fort Bragg Planning Commission said the state has put pressure on all local jurisdictions to make housing easier to build. but that doesn’t mean build everything suggested.
“Housing is a major crisis in Fort Bragg. I know it first hand and I hear stories daily. We all need to go into new projects objectively and let each project speak for itself,” Bushnell said.
I am saying we don’t need to push for more affordable housing units here. We all want more affordable housing but the market rate housing this project promises is also badly needed. I was swayed to think that we don’t need more affordable here.
“Any housing that’s added is going to drop the overall cost of rent. It’s like pure supply and demand. Obviously, right now there’s no supply. The demand is high. If we go in or other people go in and dump like 100 units on the market, the cost, the rental cost, of everyone, is going to go down no matter what,” Grewal said.
Fort Bragg has been eager to make housing easier to build and just this month kicked off a process of easing regulations to build mostly affordable housing. The city is currently in the process of getting permission from the California Coastal Commission to build tiny homes, mobile homes, and tiny home communities. This big deal came forward at the first council meeting of this month.
After getting feedback from the Coastal Commission, the city made changes to mobile home construction standards, tiny home community rules, outdoor dining, and food truck regulations. They also opened the way for easier building and living in tiny homes and the likes of park model recreational vehicles. (Rvs so big you would be nuts to do anything but park them and live in them, don’t try taking a 39-footer camping, trust me).
Sometimes you have to take pie when pie is passing–Supervisor Bernie Norvell.
“If more people that work in Fort Bragg can find a place to live in Fort Bragg, they’re going to spend their dollars at the restaurants on Main Street. There’s the money will stay in the city, as opposed to traveling outside,” Grewal said.
One thing I can’t see is the critics who say build it anywhere else. Where might I ask? I would encourage anyone with this viewpoint to go to the site and take a look. There is no ocean view from the ground floor and it blocks nobody and is next to an industrial-commercial trailer court stretch. If the McDonald’s was allowed across the street why not this?
“Some people were making comments like, ‘why don’t they build this elsewhere in the city?’. We are doing this here because we own the land here and think it would be a good place for people to have homes”
I also cannot fathom why some are strident about not wanting a three-story apartment complex. It probably won’t pencil without that extra floor and it blocks nobody’s view.
One criticism of my own on social media that I’m not taking back is that this is a dangerous intersection and the developer needs to be involved with the city in some way in making sure it is safer by the time it’s built. There will be families who want to walk to shop at Harvest, eat a Big Mac or have a coffee at the coffee kiosk. I am always apprehensive when I am forced to cross with Brutus. There are so many left and right turners and high speed highway drivers to worry about. Equally importantly, the residents need to be able to walk downtown. It’s not that far. I do it all the time, but I don’t ever cross Noyo River Bridge on the north side and view the ocean, as there is literally no way to keep walking north or cross after you arrive. You have to turn around and go back. Caltrans and the city have big plans to build sidewalks from Pudding Creek Bridge to Hare Creek Bridge! Will that be cut by Trump, who wants to end Biden’s investment in infrastructure. Time will tell, but maybe the city and the developer need to have a plan B.
Ok, here is the city planning packet for this meeting. I had trouble embedding it”
