WOULD YOU PLEASE SEND A SHORT EMAIL RIGHT NOW to help prevent the Gualala Streetscape project from turning into an ugly, urban slab of concrete and asphalt? The address is below.
Save Gualala is asking the full California Coastal Commission on Feb. 4 to declare there is “Substantial Issue” because Caltrans has stripped out almost all the landscaping promised to the community in May 23. That was when the town overwhelmingly approved Alternative 5 in a well-attended Town Hall. Mendocino County refused to restore it. So the Commissioners need to hear YOUR VOICE, RIGHT NOW!
The deadline for comments is this Thursday, Jan 29.
Save Gualala has worked diligently to ensure the project meets requirements of our Town Plan. We heartily endorsed Alternative 5 -- the Caltrans plan embraced by the community in May 2023. That plan was budgeted and supposedly “finalized” in December 2023.
However, Caltrans later quietly removed almost all landscaping, which included knee-high, low-maintenance, native plants along sidewalks and on islands. Caltrans now plans to fill those voids with concrete, erasing Gualala’s charm and rural character. Downtown would resemble a giant, urban strip mall. (The Caltrans image here provides some idea of that it would look like without landscaping. Ugly, eh?)
By contrast, the landscaping would reflect the natural beauty around us -- as specifically required in our Town Plan. Caltrans’ own engineers and landscapers chose the plants to ensure they won’t block sightlines. Landscaping would not only enhance our daily life, but support our struggling restaurants, hotels, and retail shops by persuading more visitors to stop in Gualala. Visitors don’t come here to see concrete and asphalt. They come to see nature.
Save Gualala objected months on behalf of our 1,737 supporters. Bower LP also complained. And 140 local residents wrote emails. But the county refused over unfounded fears about maintaining the plants, which grow wild with no maintenance at all. Save Gualala and Bower LP both appealed to the Coastal Commission. We’ll have 3 minutes to convince the Commissioners, so YOUR EMAILS REALLY MATTER!!
PLEASE support our appeal by sending a quick email NOW to NorthCoast@coastal.ca.gov with a cc: to SaveGualala@gmail.com.
IMPORTANT: PLEASE ask commissioners to find there is a “SUBSTANTIAL ISSUE” because the project as it stands lacks the landscaping required in our plan and promised to our community in Alternative 5. And please note your relationship to Gualala -- Local resident? Visitor? Grew up there?
This will likely be your last chance to help decide if Gualala should have a natural-looking Main Street or nothing but asphalt and concrete running through downtown.