No New Road for Noyo Harbor; Fort Bragg Oks Downtown Drinks
MCOG Backs Off Harbor Access Expansion and Fort Bragg Approves Entertainment Zone Pilot
This story was corrected on 8/30/2025 at 4:01 PM to reflect the council’s direction for the number of viewing stations for the coastal trail.
Entering Noyo Harbor can feel like stepping into another era. North Harbor Drive is steep and narrow before it drops into the crowded bustle of fishing charters, seafood restaurants and shops ranging from a regionally renowned fish market to a whiskey distillery. Drivers quickly realize there’s only one way out — back the way they came — a feature that fuels both a sense of adventure and concern for public safety.
That concern helped push Noyo Harbor to the top of the Mendocino Council of Governments’ project list. “We’re waiting for a disaster,” Councilmember Lindy Peters told colleagues at a recent meeting, warning that a tsunami or major storm could trap residents and visitors. Peters pointed to the devastation in Fort Bragg’s sister city, Otsuchi, Japan, from a 2011 tsunami.
In 2022, MCOG received $181,823 in federal transit funds to study circulation improvements, specifically extending North Harbor Drive to Highway 1.
Last week, consultant Kelly Bond of Fehr & Peers presented a draft plan to the Fort Bragg City Council recommending an emergency access road, rather than an extension, which she said was unpopular with some neighbors. The plan also recommended additional signage, rerouting an existing bus route to the harbor, walkways, parking management, a staircase under Highway 1 and water taxis.
In response, Peters urged upgrading a dirt road near North Cliff to create a true northern exit. “It would solve everything,” Peters said. “You would go to the harbor from the north side. You would go right before the bridge or right turn lane only and you would go down, and if you wanted to go back into town you could come out and you turn right and go back into town on the existing road. And if you wanted to leave the harbor to Mendocino, you would go out that way and you get up there. Right turn only.”
Resident Peter McNamee cautioned that the draft ignored sea level rise and erosion identified in the city’s coastal program update. “The harbor, which is essentially at sea level, is subject to significant flooding,” he said.
The plan will next go to the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors and the Noyo Harbor District for review before being finalized.
Other Council Action
The Fort Bragg City Council also agreed to try out an “entertainment zone” and provided direction to the staff on two viewing stations with scenic tower binoculars on the coastal trail.
The council awarded a contract of up to $973,999.60 to FRC Inc. for construction of a biosolids material storage building at the wastewater treatment plant and approved a contract of up to $85,000 with planner Marie Jones.
In a presentation to the council, City Manager Isaac Whippy said the purpose of an entertainment zone was to create a more open and festive atmosphere downtown by allowing businesses with existing ABC licenses to sell alcohol in non-glass, non-metal containers within the designated zone. When activated for an event, an entertainment zone would operate Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 9 p.m. Wristbands would be used for age verification.
Whippy said a survey of business owners found that 55% supported the proposal, while 15% opposed it due to concerns about public safety, maintaining a family-friendly atmosphere, litter, loitering and intoxicated customers.
Police said they supported trying out the idea as a pilot.
Resident Ray Alarcon, who sits on the board of the Mendocino Coast Humane Society, asked the council to delay action. “There’s way too many questions to start implementing this,” he said.
Alarcon said state alcohol regulations would prevent people from carrying drinks between licensed businesses, meaning a customer could walk the street with a beer but could not take it from one bar or restaurant into another.
He also cautioned that the entertainment zone could jeopardize existing community events. Conversations with the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control suggested that one-day alcohol permits would not be allowed inside an entertainment zone. If so, long-standing gatherings such as the Whale Festival could no longer be held downtown.
He stressed that the regulations are still unclear, noting that entertainment zones are new in California outside San Francisco. Until ABC provides definitive guidance, Alarcon said it would be risky to move forward. “I think it’s a wonderful idea,” he said, “but there needs to be a little pause to get all the information.”
After listening, the council voted 4-1 to approve the legal framework, with Peters dissenting.
Public Comment
Public comment included concerns about 911 dispatch and the use of toxic materials in the Bainbridge Park enhancement project.
Allegations around 911 dispatch, which is handled by Ukiah Police Department dispatchers for Fort Bragg, included instances where emergency calls were not properly relayed to local officers, including a business threat and a home invasion with a person at knifepoint. Peters committed to convening the public safety committee next month to address the issue.
A speaker who identified himself as “Dave” and “a local nobody” advised the council that the Bainbridge Park enhancement project was a mistake. “You are in the process of ruining and destroying our once simple and beautiful little park,” he said.
He cited concerns about pollution of the town’s shallow groundwater and threats to the health and safety of young soccer players from ingesting microplastics and skin contact with artificial turf. “All they might really want to do is play a game of soccer on the natural earth,” he said.
He also criticized the city’s piecemeal presentation of the project, which he said prevented residents from understanding the extent to which the plan included toxic materials.
“You violated both the words and the intent of Proposition 68 that helped fund this atrocity,” he said. “This is fraud, and since Bainbridge Park is a public space that does not belong to you but to the taxpayers, you should be ashamed.”
So far, 322 people have signed a change.org petition calling on the city to stop the planned use of an artificial rubber surface for the soccer field and playground.