Ulansey on the dais. | Screenshot from video courtesy Humboldt County.

It’s been nearly four years since the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors appointed HumCPR co-founder and local government antagonist Lee Ulansey to the Planning Commission, which means his term is about to expire. First District Supervisor Rex Bohn, one of several supervisors who have received substantial financial and political support from Ulansey, is recommending he be reappointed at Tuesday’s Supervisors’ meeting. But political opponents say Ulansey is an ideological extremest whose tenure on the commission has been divisive, and they’re calling for a change.

His reappointment could ultimately be decided by the vote of Fourth District Supervisor Virginia Bass, who’s up for re-election next year.

Ulansey, a Kneeland resident and woodworker, rose to local prominence via the Humboldt Coalition for Property Rights, the private corporation he cofounded that brought together real estate developers and pot farmers with a shared disdain for government regulations on rural land. With a membership some 4,000 strong, HumCPR became a powerful activist group, publishing propaganda-filled newsletters as it worked to loosen environmental restrictions in the county’s general plan update. 

The group also filed two lawsuits against the county, one of which concerned Ulansey’s personal battles over zoning regulations on his vast property holdings. HumCPR reached a $100,000 settlement with the county over that suit and the county was ordered to pay nearly $238,000 in legal fees from the other.

Before being appointed to the Planning Commission, Ulansey personally donated thousands of dollars to the campaigns of Supervisors Rex Bohn, Ryan Sundberg, Virginia Bass and Estelle Fennell (who served nearly three years as HumCPR’s executive director). And together with Rob McBeth of Arcata-based industrial fabrication company O & M Industries, Ulansey worked behind the scenes as a political operative of sorts, urging local candidates to support the HumCPR agenda or face the consequences.

For more background, see this 2013 story in the North Coast Journal.

In February 2013, shortly after Fennell joined the Board of Supervisors, Ulansey was appointed to an at-large position on the Planning Commission via a 3-1-1 vote, with Third District Supervisor Mark Lovelace dissenting and Fifth District Supervisor Ryan Sundberg abstaining. (Sundberg explained at the time that he would have preferred a representative from McKinleyville.)

Ulansey’s time on the Planning Commission has been characterized by confusion, disputes and power struggles. Following the elections of Fennell, Sundberg and Bohn that commission was filled with new, more developer-friendly members including Ulansey, former HumCPR treasurer Bob Morris and local contractors Kevin McKenny and Alan Bongio.

In 2014, long after the Planning Commission had finished its initial review of the general plan update, this new commission lineup asked the Board of Supervisors to return the Conservation and Open Spaces element to its purview, arguing that it had been changed so much it needed to be re-reviewed for consistency and errors.

In response, supervisors provided the commission with a “short list” of policies to reconsider, but the commissioners had more ambitious plans. They held a long series of meetings — sometimes as many as three per week — going over the element policy-by-policy. 

In the process the commission voted to eliminate setbacks for wetlands, reduce stream-side management setbacks and, with a 4-2 vote, eliminate language supporting a countywide trail system. An outraged Lovelace took to Facebook to accuse the “stacked Planning Commission” of “completely corrupt[ing] the General Plan Update process.”

Irate trail advocates flooded subsequent meetings, where things got testy between Ulansey and his fellow commissioners as well as Ulansey and members of the public. Ulansey also had a heated email exchange with Lovelace appointee Noah Levy.

Things seemed to settle down for a while. But early last year the Planning Commission lashed out at county staff over a report regarding cannabis regulations. In that report, senior planning staff argued that a number of policies that had been proposed by the commission were so permissive that they wouldn’t pass legal muster with state regulatory agencies. At a subsequent meeting Chair Morris said he was “completely outraged” by the report and Ulansey accused staff of having “a deliberate bias.”

The commission tried to hold a vote of “no-confidence” in Planning Department staff, but they were reminded that such a vote is not allowed under the state’s public meetings laws. In subsequent meetings the Planning Commission continued to pick fights and act independently, calling for ad hoc committee reports, ordering staff to make a presentation on traffic impact fees and considering a moratorium on cannabis manufacturing facilities.

The power struggle eventually bubbled up to the Board of Supervisors. Concerned that the commission was overreaching its authority, the board voted 4-1 last May, with Bohn dissenting, to rein them in. Supervisor Sundberg crafted a letter reminding commissioners that they’re not to place items on their own agenda unless those items are specifically required by statute. Beyond that, the commission should only consider what the Board asks it to consider.

Since then, the Board has debated changing the entire makeup of the Planning Commission (along with the Human Rights Commission). Sundberg seemed to be leading the charge to shake up the commission structure, suggesting an expansion of its membership to get better representation for rural districts. Bohn vehemently opposed such a shakeup, saying the commission works well as is.

Ulansey’s name may not have been invoked in that debate but his actions on the commission were almost certainly behind it.

It’s hard to predict how tomorrow’s vote might turn out. Fennell and Bohn have the tightest political allegiances with Ulansey. For one thing, Ulansey and his wife helped launch Bohn’s 2016 re-election campaign with an invitation-only fundraising dinner where couples donated $1,000 apiece. 

Sundberg seems to be leading the effort to rein in Ulansey & Co., while newly elected Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson — like his predecessor, Lovelace — has a political agenda that’s roughly opposite that of Ulansey. All of which means the decision might come down to Fourth District Supervisor Virginia Bass. 

The Fourth District is comprised primarily of the City of Eureka, which in recent years has seen an insurgent progressive movement. Young political newcomer Austin Allison recently defeated formidable conservative candidate John Fullerton for a seat on the Eureka City Council thanks in no small part to the efforts of campaign manager Tamara McFarland and her Bernie-supporting political group the North Coast People’s Alliance.

On Monday McFarland said she has her eye on Tuesday’s vote. 

“This decision could certainly be seen as a litmus test of sorts,” she said. She’s hoping the board will choose someone with a stronger commitment to inclusiveness and environmental protections.

“Ulansey’s legacy thus far on the commission has been one of divisiveness and ideological extremism, and it has cost our community greatly,” she said. “I am confident that we can find an alternate candidate who will fairly represent all of Humboldt County’s residents, and make environmental stewardship the priority it needs to be.”

A voicemail left for Bass Monday morning had not been returned by the time this post went up. We’ll update if we hear back before tomorrow’s meeting, which starts at 9 a.m. in Supervisors’ chambers at the Humboldt County courthouse.

Note: This post was corrected from an earlier version to clarify the legal settlements with the county.