HOPE IT WORKS OUT
This article was published in the October 11, 2025 Issue.
Despite opposition from neighbors, local hotelier Bipin Morari received approval from the Mammoth Lakes Planning and Economic Development Commission (PEDC) on Wednesday to move forward with plans to build an affordable housing complex at 54 Mono Street.
Morari first approached the PEDC in August, seeking a density bonus to allow six units—double the standard density limit. Under Town ordinance, at least half of those units must be deed-restricted for workforce housing. Morari, however, offered to restrict all six units in exchange for looser development standards: greater lot coverage, smaller setbacks, fewer guest parking spaces, and no requirement for private outdoor space.
But his proposal drew strong opposition from neighbors Keith and Kimberly Erickson, primarily due to confusion surrounding a 30-foot-wide access easement that currently serves as the Ericksons’ driveway. Under Morari’s plans, that driveway would become shared access to both properties.
Although the project design includes an underground garage with seven parking spaces and three exterior spots, the Ericksons objected to the idea of sharing their driveway. They said they purchased their property “specifically for the protection of an exclusive easement” and submitted three letters opposing the project.
The Ericksons’ opposition delayed the Commissioner’s decision in August, and by Wednesday’s meeting, the Ericksons’ stance hadn’t changed.
“It concerns me for our whole community that you can just interpret something that’s recorded and legal to fit one person’s project,” Mrs. Erickson pleaded during public comment.
Morari’s property, currently an open lot, is situated directly between the Ericksons’ home and Mono Street. Both sides insist that their interpretation of the easement is legally sound, with the disagreement stemming from an error in the Town’s records dating back more than three decades.
The original subdivision, approved by the Mammoth Town Council in 1990, split one parcel into two: 56 Mono (the Ericksons’ property) and 54 Mono (Morari’s lot). Conditions of approval at the time required the two parcels to share a single driveway within the 30-foot easement.
However, when the final parcel map was recorded in February 1992, it incorrectly described that same easement as providing “exclusive access” to 56 Mono (the Ericksons’ property).
Gina Montecallo, Mammoth Lakes Assistant Planner, acknowledged the confusion but said the easement dispute was a civil matter and beyond the Town’s jurisdiction.
“The Town does not need to be involved with the resolution of such tension,” she said.
After all, the item on the PEDC’s agenda was not of the legality of the easement but whether the project met density and zoning standards. The Ericksons challenged that aspect, too, arguing the Town had miscalculated the gross lot area, which determines how many housing units a property can contain. They claimed the area calculation was incorrect because it included the driveway easement and should be reassessed.
“We’re really trying to understand how you can squeeze this big project into that very small space,” Mrs. Erickson said.
Nolan Bobroff, Mammoth Lakes Community & Economic Development Director, said the Town’s code bases density on the gross lot area before any dedications, meaning easements are not ever subtracted when determining buildable density.
Town Attorney Andy Morris confirmed that interpretation.
“The Town has never deducted the area of easements from the area of a lot when calculating what can be built,” he said. “The Town just doesn’t do that, and I’m not aware of any jurisdiction that does, or of anything in the law that requires it.”
If the Ericksons still felt wronged over the driveway, Morris suggested their recourse could be a Quiet Title Action, a type of lawsuit where a court determines the legal rights of each party.
However, he digressed; he couldn’t give legal advice to anyone but the Town.
By the time public comment closed, there was little deliberation from the commission, aside from Vice Chair Dawn Vereuck, who expressed empathy for both sides while reminding the room that much of the discussion was outside the Commission’s purview.
She took a long pause before making a motion to support the approval of Morari’s project, and Commissioner Cynthia Fleming hesitated before seconding it. When the clerk called the vote, the Commission unanimously endorsed the approval of the project.
As the Ericksons left the meeting, Vanderhust offered a polite farewell: “I think you guys will be neighbors for a while, so hopefully this will work out.”
