Mendocino Railway Rejects Fort Bragg’s Bid for Yearlong Pause in Litigation
Railway president says continued delay is "a lot of time and money for nothing"
The railway, recently affirmed as a federal carrier, called continued legal delays “unreasonable,” saying the parties must now either finalize a development agreement or proceed to trial.
Mendocino Railway says it will not support a request for a 12-month stay in ongoing litigation over the future of Fort Bragg’s former Georgia-Pacific mill site, calling further delays in the years-long regulatory dispute “unreasonable.”
The City of Fort Bragg had asked the railway to co-sign a letter to the California Coastal Commission (CCC) supporting the proposed stay. The pause was intended to give all three parties—the city, the railway, and the CCC—more time to negotiate a settlement.
“Either we need to get on with the MDA/CatEx document that my colleague Chris Hart has been working on so diligently with the city, or we’re going to get on with the litigation,”
— Robert Jason Pinoli, president, Mendocino Railway
Pinoli said that “kicking the can down the road continues to cost us all a lot of time and money for nothing.”
Core of the Conflict
The dispute dates back to 2021, when the City of Fort Bragg sued Mendocino Railway, challenging its claim to be a public utility and arguing that the city—not federal regulators—holds permitting authority over the mill site. The city later invited the Coastal Commission to join the case.
At stake is a fundamental question: who controls development on the 400-plus-acre property—local and state agencies, or the federally regulated railroad?
Over the past year, the three parties have sought to resolve the case through negotiation. The court has already granted multiple stays to allow settlement talks aimed at facilitating cleanup, redevelopment, and renewed commercial use.
A key focus of those talks is the proposed Master Developer Agreement (MDA), which would delineate which activities on the site are railroad-related (and thus federally preempted) and which fall under local or state oversight.
As of late 2025, however, Pinoli said the city had not yet produced a draft of the agreement.
The city’s latest request for a 12-month stay was intended to allow continued coordination with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and other agencies on environmental planning.
Meanwhile, Mendocino Railway is pursuing a Categorical Exclusion Zone (CatEx) application with the Coastal Commission for rail-related areas of the site—a process expected to take about a year and requiring a two-thirds CCC vote.
Federal Ruling Bolsters Railway’s Position
The railway’s firm stance follows a recent legal victory that significantly strengthens its hand.
In a Declaratory Order issued by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB), Mendocino Railway was confirmed as a Class III common carrier railroad under exclusive federal jurisdiction.
The ruling means the company is exempt from state and local regulations that conflict with federal laws governing rail operations or track construction.
“This order reaffirms our long-held position,” Pinoli said.
The STB found that Mendocino Railway became a carrier when it acquired the California Western Railroad in 2004 and that a railroad does not lose its federal status simply because it is not currently hauling freight.
With that ruling in place, Pinoli said the company is ready to move forward.
“We’re committed to working with the City and the CCC on the MDA and CatEx,” he said.
“We’re also committed to having this litigation carry on—it’s really that simple.”
If no settlement is reached, the case is expected to go to trial in June 2026.
Read Mendo Local’s coverage of the mill site issue:
Fort Bragg Plans Public Study Session, Website to Boost Transparency on Mill Site Development
Skunk Train, Fort Bragg Jointly Agree to Set Aside Default in Mill Site Suit
U.S. Supreme Court denies Skunk Train appeal
Federal Railway Agency Affirms Mendocino Railway’s Carrier Status
Default Notice Issued as Stormwater Contamination Battle with Fort Bragg Escalates
The City Council and the city manager’s decision to spend a lot of taxpayer money to prepare a development agreement for Mill Site without first getting the courts to compel compliance by the railway to abide by state and local laws was ill conceived from the start. Now after tens of thousands have been wasted on planning consultants, the Railway and City are back where they were a year ago.