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Humboldt County must plan for nearly 5,962 new homes over the next decade to meet state housing mandates. About a third of those — up to 1,855 dwelling units — must be located in Eureka.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Eureka City Council got its first look at the state-issued Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) for 2027-2035, which would nearly double the housing targets set in the city’s current planning cycle, which began in 2019.

Every eight years, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) calculates how many new homes cities and counties must plan for to accommodate population growth and meet housing needs across all income levels. The HCD looks at the current number of units in a given jurisdiction and compares it to population estimates and various other factors to determine the total RHNA, as shown in the table below.

Eureka’s RHNA could be anywhere between 1,530 and 1,855 new units, depending on the allocation methodology selected by the Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG), said Development Services Director Cristin Kenyon.

“If Eureka receives the RHNA of 1,740 units, that’s an assignment of 218 net new units per year, which is almost double what we had last time,” Kenyon said, noting that the 2019-2027 cycle required the city to plan for 952 new units. “For the past six years, we’ve been averaging 44 dwelling units per year. … We still have sites that are vacant that we’ve outlined in [the current housing element], but if those haven’t been built on, we can’t carry them over. You can, but there’s a limit on it, and [the state] asks for more evidence if it’s a site that’s been used in a previous cycle.”

Before taking questions from the council, Kenyon emphasized that the RHNA doesn’t require the city to build a specific number of units. Rather, it requires the city to plan for new housing.

“[The state’s] focus is on whether we have an adequate plan — an adopted and certified housing element — and whether we are completing our plan’s implementation measures,” she continued. “In enforcing housing element law, the state’s focus really isn’t on the number of units that actually get built, since that’s out of our control. …  We are really relying on others to finance and construct the housing.”

If the city fails to comply, it could lose its pro-housing designation and grant funding opportunities, Kenyon said. Persistent noncompliance could result in fines of up to $100,000 per month.

“Holy cow,” said Councilmember Kati Moulton. “Thank you for that informative and terrifying report. Terrifying is not the right word, but boy howdy.”

Councilmembers Scott Bauer and G. Mario Fernandez agreed, each noting that Kenyon’s presentation was “overwhelming” and “intimidating.” Councilmember Bauer asked if the city even has the physical space to build 1,740 new housing units. 

“We don’t have very many vacant, unconstrained parcels … so we need to rely on non-vacant sites, and there’s a higher bar for those,” Kenyon said. “You have to prove there’s a realistic and demonstrated capacity for redevelopment, and we don’t have the type of market demand that other built-out cities like Berkeley might have to really demonstrate that acceptable evidence.”

Kenyon added that Eureka’s downtown is zoned to accommodate 10-story buildings, but said no one has ever sought to construct a building that tall. Still, it’s an option. 

“We do what we can to control what happens, but the market dictates what happens, especially when it comes to median income property,” City Manager Miles Slattery added.

The council agreed to accept the report but did not take any formal action on the item. 

Once the HCAOG selects a methodology for local jurisdictions’ housing allocations, the HCD will review the proposal and approve it early next year. The City of Eureka will have until July 2027 to approve a new housing element for the 2027-2035 cycle.

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A little earlier in Tuesday’s meeting, the city council approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Blue Lake Rancheria to assess the feasibility of revamping Dock B as a “regional economic and community asset” for the Port of Humboldt Bay. 

While it might not look like much, Dock B — a 7.1-acre site behind Englund Marine & Industrial Supply, near the Wharfinger Building on Marina Way — is the only Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) in Eureka. That zoning allows corporations to import and export goods at a reduced tax or tariff rate when they enter U.S. markets. There are three other FTZs in Humboldt County, including sites on the Samoa Peninsula, Fields Landing and the Humboldt County Airport.

Eureka Economic Development Manager Swan Asbury noted that there’s been an uptick in interest over FTZs in recent months in response to the Trump administration’s sweeping tariff policies, which renewed interest in Dock B.

“[Dock B] is in pretty bad shape,” Asbury said at Tuesday’s meeting. “It’s been condemned, it’s been through a fire, it’s been through an earthquake, but there’s a couple hundred pilings below it that are still there.”

Speaking on behalf of the Blue Lake Rancheria, Director of Strategic Initiatives Ciara Emery said the Tribe has been interested in “maritime commerce opportunities” for some time now, and is looking to apply for a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) grant to do something with the site. [DISCLOSURE: The Blue Laker Rancheria is a partial owner of the Outpost’s parent company, Lost Coast Communications, Inc.]

“The tribe is viewing these DOT funds as a potential opportunity, in collaboration with [the city], for getting some feasibility study money to determine what a project might look like, what kind of activities might be fruitful and appropriate [at that location], and working together to find ways to advance tribal sovereignty,” Emery said.

Councilmember Fernandez asked what a “success” would look like and if the Rancheria had any specific plans for the site. Emery said, in the short-term,  the MOU would help the Rancheria’s grant application look more viable and demonstrate that the city is willing to collaborate in the future.

“In the longer term, there’s a lot of interesting things that we all might think about in terms of how is the city supporting tribal commerce, tribe-to-tribe trade, revitalization of the port, especially in light of recent developments,” she said, likely referring to the Trump administration’s recent decision to pull more than $426 million in grant funding from the Humboldt Bay Harbor District for offshore wind port developments. “I think the MOU is as much as both parties can make of it.”

After a bit of additional discussion, the council approved the MOU — linked here — in a unanimous 4-0 vote, with Councilmember Renee Contreras-DeLoach absent.

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After 14 months of construction, Eureka’s Da’ Ya Park is just about ready for playtime! The city’s planning staff gave an update on the park’s construction at Tuesday’s meeting and shared some progress shots.

The city will host a grand opening for the park on Saturday, Sept. 13. More information can be found below.

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