Grand jury says Humboldt planning department struggles with staffing, communication
Four vacant posts and shorter public hours at Planning and Building are slowing a key county office for rural homeowners, builders and cannabis applicants across unincorporated Humboldt.
The June 17 Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury report, *Friend or Foe? Struggling with Reputation at the Humboldt County Planning and Building Department*, found public counter hours at Humboldt County Planning and Building fell in mid-2024 from about 38 hours a week to 22 hours a week. Four positions remain unfilled in the department, and the report found the office had become difficult to reach and harder to trust, a problem that shows up in delayed service for people trying to build, repair or expand outside city limits.
The report linked the staffing problem partly to budget pressure. The county has less room to recruit and keep qualified employees when vacancies linger.
County permitting pages now list walk-in service Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with Friday walk-in service closed. Staff are still working on Fridays, and many services remain available by website, email and phone.
The department handles building permits, inspections, current planning, code enforcement, long-range planning, housing and cannabis services. Humboldt County Planning & Building covers unincorporated Humboldt County only, not Eureka, Arcata, Trinidad, Rio Dell, Fortuna, Ferndale or Blue Lake.
The report faulted the department's communication systems. County customer feedback forms are supposed to log complaints, compliments and process suggestions in the Director's Office, assign them to a staff member and analyze them for trends or patterns, with some feedback used in employee performance evaluations. The report found complaint records were not being retained the way the system requires, and the website did not clearly display office hours or prominently explain that appointments can be made during non-public hours.
The public directory lists John H. Ford as Planning & Building Director and Karen Meynell as Deputy Planning Director. The grand jury recommended that county leaders evaluate whether some positions can be consolidated or left vacant so savings can be redirected to harder-to-fill jobs, bring the customer feedback system back into full use and publicize it, and update the homepage so residents can quickly see when the department is open and how to schedule appointments.
A 2021-2022 grand jury review of cannabis cultivation permitting also focused on Planning and Building.
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