Save Noyo Headlands Document Repository — Catalogue
Future Visions and Possibilities for the Headlands/Former Mill Site
Archive includes documents, maps, and minutes of meetings concerning the future development of the former Georgia Pacific mill site on the Fort Bragg Headlands.
- Overall Development Planning 2004-2022. Includes 2004 City of Fort Bragg Georgia Pacific Mill Site Reuse Study, and other subsequent studies and proposals.
- OU-E — Central Mill Pond and Former Estuary. Includes Arcadis detailed planning from 2010-2011
- NEW 3/6 2025 Master Development Proposal New initiative between the City of Fort Bragg and Mendocino/Sierra Northern Railways to craft a planning process for Mill Site repurposing and development
State of California Agencies and Entities with Jurisdiction
- Department of Toxic Substances Control, the controlling authority concerning pollution cleanup and toxic residues remaining from Georgia Pacific and prior owners' mill operations.
- Skunk Train Facility
- Georgia Pacific Mill Site — Sitewide and Community Communications
- Fort Bragg Coastal Trail
- Mill Site North (OU-C) and South (OU-D) Sections
- Central Wetlands and Ponds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (OU-E)
- NEW 3/6 Alternatives Descriptions, OU-E Feasibility Study Addendum Former Georgia-Pacific Wood Products Facility, Letter from Mendocino Railway to DTSC asserting that at the Decmber 17, 2024 meeting concerning the OU-E Feasibility Study Addendum, alternatives were reduced to three, all of which involve dividing Pond 8 [and escaping jurisdiction of the Department of Safey of Dams], dated February 24, 2025
- Pond 8 Dam and Berm
- Off Site Contamination
- California Coastal Commission "plans and regulates the use of land and water in the coastal zone," in Fort Bragg, west of Highway 1. Archive includes communications asserting Coastal Commission jurisdiction over mill site development"
- California Public Utilities Commission regulates privately owned public utilities in the state of California, including common carriers. Archive includes decisions and communications concerning Mendocino Railway's status as a public utility under California law.
United States Federal Government Agencies with Jurisdiction
- Federal Railroad Authority and the Surface Transportation Board regulate railroads connected to the federal rail system, rail lines and railroad track right-of-ways
Lawsuits and Court Cases
- Superior Court of Mendocino County Cases
- City of Fort Bragg v. Mendocino Railway Superior Court of Mendocino County, filed October 28, 2021, "seeking judicial declaration regarding the validity of the Mendocino Railway's status as a public utility." Trial scheduled for September 2025
- Eminent Domain Cases
- Mendocino Railway v. John Meyer et al. , filed December 22, 2020, seeking to take by eminent domain, 20 acres on Highway 20, west of Willits. Denied June 1 2023. "Plaintiff MR has failed to meet its burden of establishing that it can acquire Meyer's real property by eminent domain pursuant to constitutional and statutory powers." Currently under appeal.
- Mendocino Railway v. Lorena Shea Superior Court of Mendocino County, filed November 16, 2020, seeking to take by eminent domain a single family residence and property at 476 Alger Street, Fort Bragg. Granted without opposition, July 7, 2021
- Mendocino Railway vs. Georgia-Pacific LLC, et al. , filed August 11, 2021, seeking to take by eminent domain the southern 270 acres of the Georgia Pacific Mill Site and 70 acres along Pudding Creek. Granted without opposition, November 17, 2021
- Federal District Court for Northern California and 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
- City of Fort Bragg v. Mendocino Railway, Removed from Mendocino County Superior Court to Federal District Court by Mendocino Railway, seeking a ruling that the State Court's jurisdiction was preempted by Mendocino Railway's claimed status as a federally regulated railroad. Remanded to Mendocino County Superior Court May 11, 2023
- Mendocino Railway vs. Ainsworth et al., filed August 9, 2022 in Federal District Court for Northern California, California, seeking "a declaration and injunction to the effect that, as a federally regulated railroad subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the STB under ICCTA and the Supremacy Clause, the Commission’s and City’s efforts to subject the railroad to state and local land-use permitting and oversight of its rail-related activities are federally preempted." Dismissed by Judge Jon Tiger, May 12, 2023
- Mendocino Railway vs. Ainsworth et al, filed June 8, 2023 in United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, San Francisco, California, appealing Judge Tiger's dismissal in Federal District Court. Dismissal affirmed August 29, 2024.
- Sierra Northern Railway and Mendocino Railway v. City of Fort Bragg, filed in Federal District Court of Northern California, August 7, 2024. Alleges City of Fort BRAGG responsibility for dioxin and furan contamination in Pond 8 from City runoff.