Ghost town resort closer to approval

The Mono County Planning Commission last week recommended approval of the Bodie Hills RV Park on a 3-1 vote. County supervisors now will take final action on the plan.

Plans call for the 13-acre resort to be located just east of the intersection of U.S. Highway 395 and California Highway 270, which leads 13 miles to Bodie State Historical Park.

Highway 270 is paved for the first 10 miles and a dirt road the last three miles to Bodie.

Project developer Bill Lapham said no major changes were required of his proposal for a general store, 10-room motel, museum and 32 RV spaces.

Bodie peaked in the 1870s, gaining a reputation as a rugged mining town. It now is kept in a state of arrested decay as a state park.

Lapham said local support for his project is strong, but many people from across the West wrote Mono County planners to voice their concerns about the project.

"They think it's going to be a Disneyland. It's a place for people to stop," he said.

Lapham said he expects to hire nearly a dozen people, and the resort should help the economy of a county with primarily public land.

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