McKinleyville study finds strengths, structural problems in growth plan
McKinleyville’s growth study is open for comment, but its bluntest finding is housing and service gaps in an unincorporated town that still lacks its own planning department.
A draft McKinleyville growth plan is open for public comment through July 15. The nearly 13,000-word recommendations section lays out 30 strategies for government, business leaders and developers as McKinleyville faces the same problem that has shaped its development for years: it is large enough to need city-like systems, but it remains unincorporated.
School of Business professor Josh Zender is leading the project, with faculty and students from Business, Recreation Administration, Economics, Psychology, Environmental Resources Engineering and Geography working in partnership with the McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee, the McKinleyville Community Services District and the McKinleyville Chamber of Commerce. The work will become a five-year economic strategic plan, and the recommendations will go back to the McKinleyville Municipal Advisory Committee for formal approval after the project wraps up in the fall 2026 term.
Census Bureau data put the community at 15,177 residents in 2010 and 16,262 in 2020, with 38.3 percent of adults 25 and older holding a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2020-2024. McKinleyville also posted a median gross rent of $1,607, median monthly owner costs with a mortgage of $2,215 and a median home value of $457,600.
About 40 percent of residents spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, while developers told researchers that overlapping environmental, state and local rules make it harder to build. Residents said McKinleyville feels car-dependent, lacks a central gathering place, has too few retail and dining options, does not offer enough good jobs, and has no extended-hours urgent care or emergency room. The town often functions as a bedroom community, with people leaving to work, shop and get services elsewhere.
Humboldt County’s McKinleyville Town Center vision calls for mixed commercial, civic and residential uses, public gathering spaces, open space and wetland preservation. The rezone covers 134 acres bounded by Railroad Drive, Heartwood Drive, Central Avenue and McKinleyville Avenue, with a 14-acre wetland reserve. County supervisors held a public hearing on the zoning changes and draft environmental impact report on Oct. 20, 2025.
Near-term priorities include more housing supply, stronger transportation infrastructure, better healthcare access and a more durable workforce network, along with continued work on the town center concept.
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