Fort Bragg group to again seek ballot measure in fight over historic hotel

Opponents of plans to convert a 123-year-old hotel in downtown Fort Bragg into office space for a homeless service provider and short-term housing for the needy have dropped their lawsuit against the project.

Instead, they will focus on a second attempt to gather sufficient signatures for a ballot measure that would prohibit such projects in the town’s main business district. The group, Concerned Citizens of Fort Bragg, announced the shift Wednesday.

The last signature drive for a ballot initiative to ban such facilities in downtown failed last month by just one signature.

The group expects to begin circulating the new petition by the end of the week.

The decision to drop the lawsuit hinged partly on a judge’s denial of the group’s request for a preliminary injunction until the lawsuit could be heard, the group said in a written statement. In doing so, Judge Richard Henderson indicated the lawsuit against the city of Fort Bragg and the project’s nonprofit operator, Mendocino Coast Hospitality Center, was unlikely to prevail.

The hospitality center, which provides homeless, mental health and drug rehabilitation services, plans to convert the vacant Old Coast Hotel on Franklin Street into offices for its programs and turn at least five of the hotel’s rooms into transitional housing units.