The Mendocino County Archaeological Review Commission on a lengthy agenda this meeting accepted several archaeological reports while imposing conditions on multiple coastal development permits, voting to require targeted assessments and formal tribal consultation in several cases.

The commission accepted earlier surveys for some projects but required extra steps where the Northwest Information Center (NWIC) or staff flagged missing studies or possible sensitivity. For example, planning staff and commissioners required a survey of the ground-disturbance area for CDP20250019 after staff confirmed foundation work had already started and Northwest Information Center recommended a professional field study. Commissioner Bill Cole moved to require a focused assessment of the active excavation area so an archaeologist and tribal monitors could confirm whether buried deposits were being disturbed.

Other decisions followed similar, case-by-case logic: the commission declined to require a survey for CDP20240024 and CDP20250014 after weighing site context and limited disturbance; it required a targeted ground-disturbance survey for CDP20250015 (a guest cottage in Mendocino) and accepted a historic 1980 Sonoma State survey as adequate documentation for the renewal of an older CDP (CDP56-2007) while adding the standing discovery clause that requires work to stop if cultural material is encountered. A minor subdivision in Philo (MS202550002) will require a full-parcel survey because of its size and proximity to mapped village-area landforms.

The commission also set a clear policy for future development when applicants present partial surveys: where survey coverage was limited to proposed cultivation or building envelopes, the commission accepted those reports for the studied areas but conditioned project approvals so that any future development outside the surveyed area will trigger a new archaeological survey and approval process.

Why it matters: Commissioners said this approach balances the legal duty to protect cultural resources, recommendations from NWIC and tribal concerns, with the financial and practical burdens applicants face when surveys are required. Commission members repeatedly emphasized use of the discovery clause — stopping work if resources are found — and recommended tribal monitoring where work occurs near sensitive features.

Quotes and next steps: "I always ask, has a survey been done?" Sherwood Valley representative Valerie Stanley said, explaining tribal concerns about midden deposits. "Let's have an archaeologist take a look at what's been done up to this moment," Commissioner Cole said in urging focused assessment where work was ongoing.

The commission asked applicants to return with updated overlays or modified site plans in cases where proposed work approaches identified resources and to record deed restrictions or conditions where necessary so that future owners understand survey obligations. Several items that required redesign or additional information were set to return to the commission at a date certain (for example, January 2026 for one coastal residence project).