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I have read the June 6, 2025 Mendocino County Civil Grand Jury’s report, “Planning and Building Department Structural Issues: Exposing the Cracks.” The report reveals significant issues with the Class K permit process, and county staff now agree the permit is being misused, leading to a host of problems.
The report highlights, but between the lines in our realities, that wealthy residents and business owners benefit from lax regulations also while the general public suffers.
This regulatory failure has far-reaching consequences. From a safety perspective, unregulated structures pose a significant risk, particularly with wildfire danger. The report notes that these structures can also serve as hidden locations for criminal activities, such as those connected to the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women.
The misuse of the Class K permit is also tied to broader socioeconomic issues. The popularity of Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs) for profit, such as Airbnbs, has exacerbated the affordable housing crisis, as exemplified in Sonoma County. The report suggests that the Class K permit, while intended to help rural homeowners, largely benefited the “boomer” generation and has not adapted to the transparency and needs of a more diverse population of taxpayers.
The influence of the cannabis industry and the “back-to-the-land” movement had a history of honorable protest and autonomy, but it must also acknowledge the displacement of Native peoples. The report’s findings, while addressing many of these dangers, are limited in focus on financial burdens, and I recommend more income generation and fully addressing the underlying issues of greed and systemic inequality.
There is a culture of favoritism, nepotism, and double standards within the code enforcement department, where a “badge holder” culture protects certain individuals and businesses from scrutiny. Some code enforcement staffers are ex-law enforcement, and there is a perception that equitable treatment is not applied to those outside this network. This culture of not holding people in power accountable is linked to a mindset of “this is how we have always done it,” a practice that hinders progress and modernization. I argue this is a regressive mindset and practice that must be eliminated.
Looking forward, the report calls for changes, including holding violators accountable for code violations and a re-evaluation of how business is conducted in the county. I suggest that the BOS investigate and address why improved living spaces and cost of living or housing are so expensive for residents.
Additionally, the report recommends increased training for staff and more accountability at all levels of leadership to ensure that codes are applied consistently and fairly. I believe that if the “old guard” is unwilling to change, they must be replaced. It is “backasswards” to not modernize effective procedures, operations, ordinances and enforcement. This view of “this is how we’ve always done things” models the lifestyle of 1970, the community values of 1950, and the geographical wishes of 1850. The way forward is not the old, the past, or the unchanged.
This “wild west” mentality, with its lack of transparency and enforcement, has led to substandard living conditions, environmental degradation, and a decline in public trust. By prioritizing accountability, modernization, and equitable application of the law, the county can improve public safety, increase tax revenue, and build a more just and prosperous community for all residents. This requires a shift from a system that protects the interests of a few to one that serves the welfare of the many.
Could not have said better myself.
I want to know how a rural county resident putting a ADU on their property for use as an Airbnb has any affect on housing availability for others? It’s not as if someone is going to use the same resources to build affordable housing out at the ranch so why would anyone even think this has an impact on long term rentals? The author wants to talk about a “more prosperous community for all residents” yet his proposal does nothing but remove a revenue stream for both the property owner and the county. Actually two sources of revenue for the county as the county would get both a property tax increase and the transient occupancy tax from the rental. It’s not like the county is flush with cash or anything.
By the way I built my house class k and it saved endless hassle which equates to cost.
Adding an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) to a rural county property can affect housing availability for others in several ways:
Zoning Regulations: ADU laws vary by state and county, with some areas having stricter regulations that may limit the number of ADUs allowed.
Impact on Rural Character: In rural areas, ADUs may be restricted to preserve agricultural land or maintain the rural character of the community.
Value and Rental Income: While ADUs can increase property value and generate rental income, they may also lead to increased demand for housing for FAMILIES to buy or rent in the surrounding area, potentially reducing availability for other residents.
Local Guidelines: It’s crucial for property owners to understand the specific guidelines and requirements in their area to ensure compliance and avoid negative impacts on housing availability for others.
Alexander, you nailed a lot of the issues that the grand jury report couldn’t delve into. You and I had a lot of the same takeaways. I also look at it from a risk and insurance standpoint. Class K structures are a great means of addressing a backwoods house, but is not appropriate for the various uses the County authorized. If a Class K structure is lacking in code enhancements that keep it on par with other structures, how will that be impacted by insurance and safety? The problem I see is comes down to insurance companies and potential litigation. Class K was not meant to be used for rentals and leased space. How many owners will be targeted because they are providing a space that falls below the intended minimal standards? That will likely leave the owner responsible for problem arising from these shortfalls. Will your insurance cover your loss if a fire consumes a sub-standard structure? What if the structure wasn’t built to fire safety standards? Once a Class K home is sold, are there mandatory disclosures? This creates a potential nightmare for appraisals, too. These structures may be stuck in the world of cash sales if financing companies figure it out and don’t want part of the risk. Best advice…stick with building a standard structure. Spend the extra money now, build a better home, and avoid the costly headaches down the road.
Agreed. And I believe cash sales also exclude a large population of buyers and sellers, and even Brooktrails is an example of shortfalls, substandard structures, and appraisal nightmares.
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is very easy for people to not do their job, or do a disservice to others, if their jobs are masked in the obscuring of certain codes. Our country is suffering from those who entitle themselves to be above the law by leaning on their position nameplates.
The legacy of exploiting and commodifying natural resources and the original caretakers of them needs to end, and this report exposes those unintentionally and intentionally abusing a loophole in written code just as United States treaties were not honored. When the “exceptions become the norm” (p. 7), substandard living becomes normalized, as was connected to the residual colonization of displacement of Natives, all in the name of capitalizing on property, this also creates the perfect “economic moonshining” stations for more underdevelopment in the hills, mountains and terrain and roads where people can lay waste and live unsafely, and unsoundly, “off the grid” .
The original wording of our U.S. Constitution, was “life, liberty, and the pursuit of property” (not happiness), and it was changed by Thomas Jefferson, to expand the concept of rights beyond mere property to encompass a broader pursuit of personal fulfillment and well-being, and although this is existential, it is also very real in terms of how we apply Lockian theory for a more just society.
There is something to be said for this county that relies so heavily on private contracts, and profiteers who rely on privatized economies. And I will say, we need to reevaluate how we all do business, and how we build business. Agreed, In the current age of regulation of the cannabis industry, facilities and structures need to be fully coded and transparent to facilitate this industry becoming integrated into improving tax revenue and economic expenditures to develop this county.
I do appreciate the Civil Grand Jury’s County Committee report that provides examples of the different properties, because these are what we see everyday as citizens, and should serve as a reflective mirror to our realities. I have a neighbor who rents out his house to a so-called mechanic, who has taken years to eventually get the 12 or so vehicles from their front yard, so I worry about tires and chemical waste. They have an above ground pool that is cessing and building a haven for mosquitos, and I have had to report to my township of pistol shots coming from a quarreling couple a mere 25 feet from my kitchen while I was feeding my child of 2 years old. So, this “wild wild west” I know is connected to many issues of attainable wealth, mental health, and many other types of health.
Improving our transparency and support of more equitable living and business spaces, will improve our lives, and ideally, bring in money to improve our services and those buildings they require to improve our community. We need not become a county or city that continues to be tied up in litigation and controversy. The wilderness is not ours to tame, save for those who take it and balance its needs with our own.
I have been trying to tell this to people for years and everyone either didn’t listen or talked down to me in my opinions. I grew up in the sixties and early seventies in Ukiah and I can tell you that things really weren’t a lot different than as far as the corruption that runs so deep in our County. Yes I knew a lot of them even though I was a kid because having a father as a business owner that belonged to certain organizations you learn to hear very well. I heard things going on while sitting in restaurants or was sitting in the barbershop with my brothers. I heard of things that we’re going on from the businessman that we’re getting together to have drinks or breakfast with each other. I heard everything without commenting when I was a kid because children were to be seen and not heard. I’m 69 now and I get on here and I talk about the corruption of Mendocino County and how it has never changed. What was even more laughable to me was when our last Sheriff was in office and I confronted him about the corruption that was going on in Mendocino County and he got on to me and said that there was no corruption from his Sheriff’s Office. I think we all knew better than that. I remember when Reno Bartlome was in office and the corruption was so deep here. Evidently there are some of his relatives that didn’t know about the corruption but how is beyond me. Our Board of Supervisors is one of the most corrupt offices that we have right now yet every time come voting time there’s so many idiots out there voting them right back in. Now they’re all involved in Willits city council too but maybe they always were. What’s that old saying? The more things change the more they stay the same.
I want to make it known, that despite numerous attempts to email numerous staff of the Ukiah Daily Journal, there has been no response or correspondence on posting this article through the Ukiah Daily Journal, this speaks volumes to who controls the information and so-called free press in this area.