Humboldt County releases long-overdue bay area plan for public review

Humboldt County put its long-awaited Humboldt Bay Area Plan out for public review, opening a rewrite that could shape development across roughly 21,500 acres in the unincorporated area around Humboldt Bay and more than 20 miles of Pacific coastline.

The county released the draft on June 1 after announcing it May 29, calling the update overdue because the plan has not been comprehensively revised since it was certified in 1982. The Humboldt Bay Area Plan sits inside Humboldt County General Plan Volume II and, along with the Implementation Plan, forms part of the county’s Local Coastal Program.

County records show the plan was approved by the Board of Supervisors on March 9, 1982, partially adopted on March 8, 1983, and fully adopted on November 29, 1983. The current overhaul is meant to reflect changes that have piled up over four decades, especially sea level rise, tsunami awareness and updated land-use requirements.

That makes the draft more than a technical planning update. It is the document that will help decide how homes, businesses, infrastructure and coastal development are handled around Humboldt Bay, where county workshop materials say the bay is experiencing the highest rate of relative sea level rise on the west coast and is especially vulnerable to tsunami impacts.

The county is also updating the zoning code at the same time, a move that could affect property owners, tenants and employers if land-use rules change in the bayfront area. County sea-level-rise planning materials point to regional coordination around Humboldt Bay, including the cities of Arcata and Eureka, the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District and the California Coastal Commission. A county planning page also lists HCAOG, Caltrans, the North Coast Railroad Authority, the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, the Humboldt County Farm Bureau and Pacific Gas & Electric Company among stakeholders involved in planning for the Humboldt Bay and Eureka Slough area.

Public review will continue through a virtual community meeting on June 16 at 6 p.m. and a public workshop at the Humboldt County Planning Commission’s July 16 meeting, also at 6 p.m. The county said accommodations for qualified disabilities must be requested at least 72 hours in advance. With the bay’s shoreline, flood risk and development pressure all in play, the draft plan now gives residents a direct chance to weigh in before the update is finalized.