As we reported yesterday, the Planning Commission’s follow-up meeting to last week’s barn burner was canceled at the last minute because of low attendance. Not enough commission members were going to show up to make the votes viable.

We just spoke with Humboldt County Planning Director Kevin Hamblin, who explained as follows: As of yesterday morning, four commissioners were definite “yeses” to attend, one was a “maybe” and the other two planned to be absent. During the day’s county supervisors’ meeting, one of the “yeses” called in sick. So staffers called the “maybe” and found out that he would be a “no” after all. That left only three, not enough to reach a quorum.

Who were the four who couldn’t make it? It was the reliable voting bloc of Lee Ulansey, Bob Morris, Alan Bongio and Kevin McKenny. Thursday night’s meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m.

And here’s an update about the timeline for the continuing general plan update: Turns out the Tuesday/Thursday special meetings for next week have been canceled because they fall outside the 45-day window originally allotted for re-reviewing the Conservation and Open Space Element. There was an item on last night’s agenda to consider asking for more time. But the commission will have to wait until it’s done with its next task — reviewing the county Housing Element — before returning to the Conservation and Open Space Element.

Quoth Supervisor Mark Lovelace: “I don’t think anyone is really able to track exactly what the hell is going on anymore. It keeps changing literally from meeting to meeting.”