Sundstrom

Robert T. Sundstrom (hereafter appellant), appeals from a judgment of the Mendocino County Superior Court denying a petition for writ of mandate to set aside a use permit of Mendocino County (hereafter County) for noncompliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Appellant owns a shopping mall in the small unincorporated coastal town of Gualala. Real party in interest, Harold K. Miller (hereafter applicant or Miller), currently operates a small 17-unit motel with a 42-seat restaurant and filling station on the outskirts of town. He plans to build nearby a 40-unit motel with a 120-seat restaurant and cocktail lounge, manager’s apartment, and 7-unit apartment. Located off Highway 1 on a bluff overlooking the ocean, the proposed development has been approved by the California Coastal Commission (Coastal Commission). The use permit at issue in this appeal concerns a private sewage treatment plant intended to serve the new development as well as Miller’s existing motel complex.

For purposes of domestic waste disposal, Miller’s businesses will have a population equivalent of 477 residents. The town of Gualala itself lacks a community sewage system and…