PlanCo Approves Permits to Tear Down Schneider ‘Dream Home’

Developer agrees to donate $164K property in lieu of $3.6 million in penalties

By Thadeus Greenson thad@northcoastjournal.com

After an emotional apology from the developer, the Humboldt County Planning Commission voted unanimously July 6 to approve the permits and permit modifications necessary for Travis Schneider to tear down his partially constructed family mansion overlooking the Fay Slough Wildlife Area.

After amassing a host of permit violations during construction of the more than 20,000-square-foot home on Walker Point Road — including one that jeopardized Wiyot cultural resources and another that crucially put the project in the California Coastal Commission’s jurisdiction — the property has been under a county stop work order since December of 2021 and a notice of violation issued in April, carrying fines of $40,000 a day for up to 90 days.

Seeing no other path forward, Schneider has agreed to tear down the foundation and framing already constructed on the house, remove the up to 15,000 cubic yards of fill dirt brought into the property and restore it to its natural grade. On July 6, after a fairly brief discussion, the planning commission approved the permit modifications and special permits necessary to do that, along with conditions that require the work be done by the end of next July.

Schneider has also agreed to seek a lot-line adjustment, which will require coastal commission approval, that will leave the archeological site — a well-preserved, pre-contact Wiyot village first documented in 1918 — entirely on one of the property’s two parcels, which will then be conveyed to a third party to be held for the three local area Wiyot tribes. The remaining parcel would carry no entitlements, meaning if someone wanted to build a home on it, they would need to start the permitting process over from the beginning.

Planning Director John Ford told the Journal that conveyance of the property with the archeological site was agreed to as part of a compliance agreement to settle the code enforcement case the county had brought against Schneider stemming from pervasive violations. While Schneider had faced fines and penalties of up to $3.6 million, Ford said those will be forgiven.

“The dedication of the property is in lieu of the payment of penalties,” Ford said. “No additional penalties will need to be paid. There is a charge for staff time.”

According to county records, the parcel in question has an assessed value of about $164,000.

The lone person to speak before the commission during public comment, Schneider first addressed two specific issues with the agenda item before the commission. First, he requested a bit more time to do the required work, expressing concern it would be difficult to complete by the initially proposed deadline of October. Then, he said he believes the county’s figure of 15,000 cubic yards of fill dirt is inaccurate, wanting to correct the record and saying he’d only brought in 3,000 to 5,000, which he said he’ll remove. Schneider then did something he hadn’t yet done publicly: apologize.

“I’m sorry and I want to apologize to all those who have been affected by this project,” he said before a lengthy pause and continuing, his voice cracking with emotion, to recount how he’s always wanted to improve Humboldt County and thought his family’s “dream home” would “contribute positively to the surrounding landscape.”

“I believe the conditions agreed upon herein allow this community to heal and