On Thursday, the Humboldt County Planning Commission passed a pair of ordinances designed to address the county’s affordable housing needs – the Tiny House Village Ordinance and the Emergency Housing Village Ordinance – moving the policy documents on to the Board of Supervisors for final approval.

Both ordinances, which have been in the works for nearly two years, seek to alter current Humboldt County zoning regulations, which do not allow for multiple small residential units on a single property. Development of the proposed policies was funded by a California Department of Housing & Community Development planning grant aimed at increasing low-income housing in the state, and the close of the funding window is fast-approaching. 

The commissioners’ conversations on Thursday night underscored the age-old balancing act in affordable housing development: keeping barriers to development as low as possible while providing the highest quality of living to village community residents.

Presented by Associate Planner Megan Acevedo, changes made to the draft Tiny House Village Ordinance fell into five categories: density of tiny houses per acre, zones in which tiny houses would be principally permitted (meaning that the villages would be made an allowable use in that land use designation, allowing for minimal red tape in development), the number of household pets allowable in each unit, parking requirements and development standards for common kitchens.

Setting standards for nuanced aspects of tiny house villages that consider community needs down to minutiae like food storage has placed the county in largely unexplored local government territory, according to Acevedo.

“In my research I have not found any tiny house village ordinances; we are the first county to do this,” she said.

The first proposed change from prior drafts concerned density, which the commissioners had recommended increasing from 20 to 30 units per acre in non-residential areas at their June 27 meeting. The change was reaffirmed in Thursday’s meeting as a way to increase affordability for village residents as the entities operating communities shoulder tax, insurance, utilities and management costs. 

“It’s just impossible to survive with only 20 [units] and keep the rent down,” Fifth District Commissioner Peggy O’Neill said, adding that she wants the units to be accessible to elders surviving on social security, students and disabled community members, among others.

Density standards for tiny house villages in residential areas will be kept consistent with communities’ general plans.

On the second category of changes discussed, the zones in which tiny house villages would be principally permitted, O’Neill pointed out that the parcels identified – approximately 922 of them, according to Acevedo’s presentation – fell primarily in the county’s developed coastal areas rather than Humboldt’s rural reaches. 

“Having worked for the majority of my career for people who don’t live in areas that have all of this [development], they still need housing,” she said. “They’re still living in bushes and in cars, and this would be a step up from homelessness … . They don’t want to move to Eureka or McKinleyville to get that housing. They want to stay in their community.”

Planning Director John Ford responded that the ordinance prioritizes sites that have adequate access to utilities, public transportation and services. (Around 718 of the 922 eligible parcels are within a half-mile of a transit stop). 

“I totally understand wanting to take people out of the bushes and put them into housing. We absolutely want to do that, but we also want to do it in a way that’s true to the purpose of the different districts,” he said, noting that sites in Humboldt’s rural regions often fall into resource lands designations, such as timberland. 

“’While I generally support your sentiment, I could not be supportive of adding resource lands to the zoning,” At-Large Commissioner Lorna McFarlane chimed in.  

The debate was ultimately put to bed by Chair Thomas Mulder’s point that including resource lands in the zoning may trigger additional California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) analysis, which could lead to delays that affect the ordinance’s funding. (The County is currently seeking a CEQA exemption for the project).

Another concern voiced in the zoning portion of the discussion was the identification of Industrial Commercial (C-3) zones as areas principally permitted for villages.

“I’m concerned from a health and safety standpoint,” First District Commissioner Iver Skavdal said, noting the prevalence of noise and heavy trucking in industrial areas. At-Large Commissioner Sarah West countered that Humboldt is rife with “a tremendous amount” of underutilized industrial land. The commission settled on moving Industrial Commercial zones into conditionally (rather than principally) permitted use. 

The point on pets – a quick discussion, commissioners agreed that two household pets (defined as cats or dogs) in each unit is acceptable – led into the longest portion of the meeting: parking requirements. 

As proposed, the draft ordinance required one parking space per unit, with additional reduction options available for projects that have on-street parking or bike facilities (5% reduction for providing bike racks, 10% for fenced bike racks and 25% for providing bike lockers or racks within an enclosed secure space). Twenty-five percent reductions would also be available for projects within half a mile of a public transit stop. 

In her presentation, Acevedo said that the options could be “stacked” to allow up to a 50% reduction in required parking – lowering development costs.

The commissioners’ wide-ranging parking discussion hit on many transport-related considerations, from how breachable bike lockers actually are to parking impacts for the neighbors and businesses that will surround tiny house communities.

“One of the core struggles I’m having with this ordinance in general is that there are a lot of situations … where you could have five houses on a rural property, living in a communal fashion in a very rural area,” West said. “But at the same time, we’re also talking about addressing housing needs in a much larger way and enabling much denser developments … all in one swoop. And how do we meet all the needs all the way around?” she asked, summing up the struggle of creating a catch-all ordinance for a vast county with living styles ranging from semi-urban to very rural.

“I feel like we’re not quite getting there on either end, and maybe that’s the best we can do,” she concluded. 

In the end, all seven commissioners agreed to scratch the 5% reduction for unsecured bike racks, add a requirement for “some version of a secure bike locker” per every two units and lower the parking requirement to one space per unit for projects within a half-mile of a transit stop.

The final meaty discussion regarding changes to the Tiny House Village Ordinance was on common kitchens, an area of regulation in which no state or California Building Code requirements exist to guide or provide examples for the ordinances, as Acevedo noted. Kitchen situations as outlined in the ordinances vary by tiny house community type: the drafts envision both common kitchen situations, where residents are cooking for themselves, as well as service kitchens providing cafeteria-style dining for residents.

The Commission’s kitchens talk centered on requirements for common kitchens, and carried through the theme of the night: keeping costs as low as possible for developers while ensuring that residents have what they need to live comfortably. 

Considering that some people cook more or less than others, and not every resident will eat at the same time, the Commission settled on a requirement that each common kitchen should have the equivalent of a residential kitchen (loosely defined, but including a four burner stove) per every eight units.

Emergency Housing Village Ordinance

With those changes hammered out, the Commission unanimously moved to approve the Tiny House Village Ordinance as amended, and the discussion transitioned to the Emergency Housing Village Ordinance.

Unlike communities in the Tiny House Village Ordinance – which are geared toward more long-term residency, may include ownership opportunities and seek to add diverse affordable housing opportunities to the county’s stock (including some market-rate units) – the Emergency Housing Village Ordinance is intended to aid persons experiencing homelessness by relaxing building standards for Emergency Dependent Unit Villages and Alternative Lodge Parks under the County’s 2022 Shelter Crisis Declaration.

Director Ford made clear that the Emergency Housing Village Ordinance governs “hard structures” only, and that sheltering in vehicles or in tents on approved sites will continue to fall under the County’s Safe Parking-Safe Shelter Pilot Program. 

The Commission had one change to consider on the Emergency Housing Village Ordinance: whether or not to principally permit Emergency Dependent Unit Villages in Industrial Commercial (C-3) and Highway Service Commercial (CH) areas.

“These are uses that would probably generate a little bit of public comment,” Director Ford said, explaining the thinking that looking to “areas that have less concerned neighbors” would allow more projects to come to fruition.

Commissioners reiterated concerns with quality of living in industrial areas but agreed that wherever an emergency housing village is placed, it will likely be safer than where residents are currently living unhoused.

“I think we should use the available land,” Commissioner McFarlane said.

The Commission ultimately moved to add Industrial Commercial and Highway Service Commercial to the zones that Emergency Dependent Unit Villages are principally permitted in (which also include Residential Multiple Family [R-3], Apartment Professional [R-4], Mixed Use Urban [MU-1], Neighborhood Commercial [C-1] and Community Commercial [C-2]).

Commissioner O’Neill also brought up whether or not the ordinance should include parking for on-site service staff, but the majority of commissioners decided against mandated parking to maintain the “spirit of as few requirements as possible” (in Mulder’s words).

“I would leave it at the discretion of the person who is operating the village to know … what they need to operate and not unintentionally limit them on what they can do on the site with parking requirements,” Commissioner West said.

“This is an emergency housing village and less is more here,” Commissioner Skavdal agreed. “I would not add the parking requirement.”

District Four Commissioner Jerome Qiriazi then opened a discussion around potential air quality issues that generators could create in emergency housing villages.

“We may have an emergency shelter in place for many years,” he said. 

Commissioners discussed limiting the number of generators running on each site, but ultimately decided to stick with the language as written, which already requires a special permit for generator use. 

The Commission also decided to narrow the sites available for emergency village development to those within fire districts, in response to a concern raised by Commissioner Skavdal regarding emergency service access. As the majority of the 699 parcels identified for emergency villages are already in fire districts, Director Ford called the proposal an “easy add.”

Closing discussion on the Emergency Housing Village Ordinance, Commissioners directed staff to extend the period of disassembly for emergency villages from 90 to 180 days in the case that the Shelter Crisis Declaration is no longer effective to provide residents adequate time to figure out next steps.

The Commission unanimously recommended approval of the Emergency Housing Village Ordinance as amended, and directed staff to explore modifying the Building Code to allow for use of more alternative structures (including tents and yurts) in Alternative Lodge Parks. 

“This is the policy, this is the framework by which we’re doing things, but I hope this is not where the County stops in building resources and providing information and really supporting organizations doing this in our community,” Commissioner West said before the vote. “I think this is one of the biggest challenges that we face as a county and I hope that we throw as many resources as possible at it.”

Director Ford said that September remains the goal date to have the Tiny House Village Ordinance and the Emergency Housing Village Ordinance passed by the Board of Supervisors. 

As the meeting was over the three hour mark, the Commission continued discussion of the Draft Commercial Residential Ordinance – which allows for residential development in zones where office, parking, or retail uses are permitted – on to its August 1 meeting. 

###

Press release from Humboldt Bay Fire:

On 7/21/2024 At approximately 2:25 in the afternoon Engine 8113 responded to reports of a vegetation fire located west of Broadway on the Hikshari Trail.

Engine 8113 arrived on scene and reported a vegetation fire approximately 1 acre in size fueled by mixed brush and grass with a moderate rate of fire growth. Engine 8113 quickly extinguished the fire.

Later that evening at approximately 7:00 PM units responded to a reported structure fire in the 600 block of California Street for a commercial building on fire. The first arriving company was Truck 8181 who located a small fire burning in the structure.

Truck 8181 accessed the building using forcible entry techniques, and secured the gas and electrical service to the building. E8114 extinguished the fire while Truck 8181’s crew searched for trapped occupants and ventilated the smoke from the structure.

Pacific Gas and Electric were requested and responded to place the utilities back in service. These quick actions led to very little damage to the business who will continue to be able to operate normally.

No civilians or firefighters were injured during either of the incidents.

Contents loss at the commercial structure fire incident is estimated at $4,000 dollars, with building value and contents saved estimated at $750,000.

Humboldt Bay fire would like to remind the community to be cautious when approaching an emergency scene and use an alternate route when fire supply hose is blocking the street.

As of Monday morning, the Hill Fire burning south of Willow Creek has grown to 5,582 with 7% containment. Six Rivers National Forest breaks down the latest updates in the release below:

Yesterday, on the east side of the fire crews made significant progress with tactical firing operations along 6NO6 Forest Road to increase the depth of the fireline and eliminate pockets of fuel that could threaten its integrity. The operation continued southward from the 5NO1A Road, moving towards the south end of the fire in the Mosquito Creek drainage. Progress was made in the southwest area of the fire with handline and hose lines in place. Continuing north crews continued to secure the lines and mop up any hot spots. The spot fires in the northwest area did not show significant fire behavior or growth, and crews continue secure the perimeter. 

Today, firefighters will utilize appropriate tactical firing operations to strengthen control lines and patrol perimeter to identify and mitigate the potential for escape outside of established control lines on the east side of the fire. Heavy equipment and hand crews completed the fire line along the south end of the fire in the Mosquito Creek drainage out to 6NO6 Road. The west and north flanks of the fire continue to stay within their current footprint, and crews will be patrolling and extinguishing hotspots near the fires edge. There are still pockets of unburned fuel within the fire perimeter. As these pockets continue to burn and smolder, residents will continue to see smoke coming from the fire area. The structure defense group continues to collaborate with local fire departments to assess residences in the area and develop a structure defense plan. Crews are also looking beyond the current fire lines and developing contingency strategies in case the fire breaches containment lines. 

WEATHER: 

A strong short-lived heat wave will begin to quickly build today with highs cresting into the 90s and RH dropping back below 30 percent. The high pressure will bring a return to very poor RH recoveries at height elevations tonight alongside enhanced drainage winds. Heat will peak on Tuesday with very dry conditions and areas approaching 100. 

Click to enlarge

EVACUATIONS:

Evacuation order and warnings remain in effect. For current updates on evacuations, visit https://www.facebook.com/HumboldtSheriff and https://humboldtgov.org/2383/Current-Emergencies. 
Conditions are subject to change at any time, visit https://protect.genasys.com/search for a full zone description. Sign up for Humboldt Alert emergency notifications at https://humboldtgov.org/2014/Emergency-Notifications 

CLOSURES:

Forest Closure Order currently in effect for the area impacted by the Hill Fire. It is temporarily prohibited to be on any national forest system land, trail, or road within the closure area. To view the closure order and map of closure area visit the following link www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1191963.pdf.

Road closures are currently in place on Friday Ridge Rd. at Forest Service Route 6N06, Friday Ridge Rd. at Forest Route 5N01 and Friday Fridge Rd. at Forest Route 5N04. For updated road closure information, visit protect.genasys.com or humboldtsheriff.org/emergency.                                                                                                                                               
FIRE RESTRICTIONS: 

Forest fire restrictions also went into effect on July 12th. Campfires and stove fires are restricted to those developed areas listed in the forest order located at https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1188610.pdf.

Smoking, welding, and operating an internal combustion engine also have restrictions in place.

###

Press release from Providence Northern California:

The 2024 St. Joseph Hospital Foundation Gala marked a full year of fundraising for physician recruitment and retention in a pilot program launched by Providence Humboldt. The event, held at Blue Lake Casino’s Saphire Palace in June, featured an elegant masquerade ball theme and gathered over 200 guests in stylish attire.

Chief Philanthropy Officer Heather Setton expressed gratitude for donors’ support in expanding health care access in Humboldt, saying “The Destination Humboldt gala was an evening of celebration and recognition, not only of the newly recruited physicians and all care providers in the room, but also of the incredible level of technology made possible by the support of our generous community.”

Designed to support a local solution to the nationwide physician and nursing shortage, Providence’s Destination Humboldt program – funded by philanthropy contributions – aims to recruit and retain physicians in the community. Since its inception in April 2023, the program has attracted 13 new providers across primary, emergency and specialty care.

Through ongoing fundraising efforts with individual donors and event sponsorships by many local businesses and families, close to $2M has been raised to date. The program is working towards a total goal of $10M over the next four years. Its success has attracted the attention of other communities, and the “Destination” effort is being replicated at Providence hospital foundations in Napa and Sonoma Counties.

“Patients needing same day total knee replacement, state of the art radiation oncology, or minimally invasive robotic surgery—never before offered locally—no longer have to travel for this level of care,” continued Setton. “The gala celebrated these advances along with achievements of health care providers and recognized the impact of community generosity on patient care.”

Notable speakers at the event included event chair Stephanie Pierson, Chief Executive Michael Keleman, and Director of Surgical Services Jessi Burton. The audience was touched by the story of patient Luz Moreno, who received life-changing treatment at Providence St. Joseph, showcasing the positive outcomes facilitated by the program.

California’s nearly 500 delegates to the Democratic National Convention next month will play a key role in choosing a replacement nominee now that President Joe Biden has ended his reelection campaign.

As they processed the thunderbolt announcement today, many of them quickly fell in line with his wishes: End the drama and close ranks behind Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I feel this huge sense of relief, because it means the fighting is going to stop,” said Mike Thaller, chairperson of the California Democratic Party senior caucus, who was watching PBS’ “This Old House” when a friend called him with the news.

Following weeks of concerns about his cognitive health and public pressure to drop out, fueled by a disastrous televised debate performance in late June, Biden published a letter in which he acknowledged, “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”

Like millions of Americans, the Californians who are set to travel to Chicago in mid-August to select the Democratic Party’s nominee for president were in shock in the immediate aftermath of the revelation. But they told CalMatters that they are also excited about participating in a historic moment and hopeful that, after weeks of turmoil, Biden’s momentous decision — which included endorsing Harris as his replacement — could turn around Democratic prospects of stopping another term for former President Donald Trump.

“I don’t think it’s time to mess around,” said Brian Calderón Tabatabai, the mayor of West Covina who is also running for a state Assembly seat. “Right now is the time to show we as the Democratic Party have our things together, and this isn’t the chaos a lot of folks are making it seem.”

Sasha Renée Pérez, the mayor of Alhambra who is running for state Senate, said she hoped that Harris would help motivate voters who hadn’t been paying attention to the election before now, boosting fundraising and turnout in swing districts as Democrats also fight to regain control of the House in November.

“She comes from our home state. She’s a Black woman, an Indian woman. We’ve just never had anyone like her be our candidate,” Pérez said. “We have to get this show on the road and get her elected.”

Taking Biden’s signal, Democrats across the country — leaders of key caucuses in Congress, party activists, even former President Bill Clinton and 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton — quickly closed ranks behind Harris, dampening the prospects of an open convention in which delegates might choose from among a field of candidates after a flash primary.

Notably absent from those voices was California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has been widely mentioned as a potential future presidential prospect. Newsom released a statement praising Biden as an “extraordinary, history-making president,” but did not endorse Harris. His spokespeople did not respond to questions about how he would like to see the party select a replacement nominee, though he has in recent weeks said he would not run against her.

None of the delegates who spoke with CalMatters said they had alternative candidates in mind, pointing toward a more likely competition to be Harris’ vice presidential pick.

“I’ll be surprised if anyone else gets into it,” said Sal Rosselli, president emeritus of the National Union of Healthcare Workers, calling Harris the “obvious choice to replace him.”

Harris drew criticism from left-wing critics during the 2020 primaries over her record as a prosecutor and California’s attorney general. Progressive activists and criminal justice reformers have criticized her handling of police shootings and called her record on the death penalty mixed.

But it wasn’t enough to dissuade progressive delegate Calderón Tabatabai. He called Harris “highly, highly ready to take over” for Biden and praised both for pushing a progressive domestic policy agenda, including efforts to expand workers’ rights.

“Those are issues,” he said of Harris’ record on criminal justice. “Are those issues something that would get me to say, ‘No, I’d like to see someone different at this point?’ Not now. Not when I understand what Project 2025 is,” he said, referring to the conservative policy wish list for a second Trump term.

Igor Tregub, a city councilmember in Berkeley who supported the progressive U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in the 2020 presidential primaries, said he was won over by how much the Biden-Harris administration accomplished during the past four years.

“I have seen how hard she works every single day on so many issues that I as a Democrat care about,” Tregub said. “I am ready to work at 200% to support her and whoever she picks as her vice presidential candidate.”

Most delegates who spoke with CalMatters emphasized how the party should avoid the drama and contention of an open convention, especially in light of Biden’s endorsement.

“Democrats need to focus on what we’re bringing to the table for working families and Americans, and [the convention] not being a circular firing squad,” said political strategist Bill Wong. “I don’t care who the nominee is at this point, as long as we have a plan to hold the White House in November.”

In addition, there would be particularly challenging optics of passing on Harris, a mixed-race Black and Indian American woman, who was selected as Biden’s vice president partly as an acknowledgement of the crucial role Black women voters play in the Democratic coalition.

“Obviously we want to respect and support the people who helped get us here in 2020, and that’s Black women. We shouldn’t forget them,” said Dan Kalmick, a city councilmember in Huntington Beach.

Some delegates were more optimistic about the state of the race with Harris’ apparently easy path toward the nomination, citing her forceful statements supporting reproductive rights as a way to win women voters in swing states and the fact that she’s significantly younger than former President Donald Trump.

“Republicans have spent months telling voters the Democrats had an old guy running, and that boomerang just hit them,” longtime Democratic strategist Bob Mulholland said. “Harris should challenge the old man Trump to a 100-meter race to settle this.”

No delegates that CalMatters spoke to disagreed with Biden’s decision and several praised him for eventually deciding to do what he believes is best for the country and not just himself.

“I know this decision cements his legacy,” Tregub said. “History will judge him kindly for his long and meaningful history of in so many ways advancing not just the best of what the Democratic agenda has to offer, but the best of America.”

###

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

###

Shortly after today’s historic announcement from President Joe Biden that he will not accept the Democratic nomination and will instead endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor, North Coast Senator and California Senate Leader Mike McGuire issued the following statement:

McGuire | Source

President Biden has led our nation with incredible skill, heart, and determination. His presidency has implemented generational change.

Through his leadership, America’s economy is back from the abyss, he’s created a record number of jobs for working families, he’s reinvested in rural America, doubled the stock market, stood strong for reproductive rights and, because of his steady hand, America is back as a beacon of hope for the rest of the world.

His leadership has been nothing short of tremendous, especially coming out of a global pandemic. California is deeply grateful for his tireless dedication to this nation we all love to call home.

I’ve been told to lighten up with these weekly rants. I hear and obey:

###

Fortune favors the lucky.

— Chinese fortune cookie

###

She taught us the joy of shame, and the shame of joy.

— Epitaph for Maude Flanders on The Simpsons

###

On life’s highway, don’t forget to stop and eat the roses.

— Gary Larsen, Far Side cartoon, robed guru cow talking to student cow

###

To a dog, every day is Saturday.

— Herb Caen 

###

Paint the mandala and control your stress.

Mandala: N.Manytchkine, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

###

My pappy told me never to bet my bladder against a brewery or get into an argument with people who buy ink by the barrel.

— Lane Kirkland

###

Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for the love of it, then you do it for a few friends, and finally you do it for the money.

— Molière

###

For you to be a successful writer, sacrifices must be made. It’s better that they are made by others. Failing that, you’ll have to make them yourself.

— Rita Mae Brown

###

Almost any misfortune is better than a worse one.

###

Codependent: Someone who, when hit by a bus, sees someone else’s life flash by.

###

There are more things in heaven and earth than almost anyplace else.

###

Time heals all non-fatal wounds.

###

“Hey Siri, why don’t my relationships work out?” “This is Alexa.”

###

Fun fact: Women spend more time wondering what men are thinking than men spend actually thinking.

###

UK, Canada, South America, Europe, Russia, China, Japan, Australia, Africa: Metric system

###

USA: “Asteroid the size of 18 walruses to pass Earth on Sunday”

— NASA, May 20, 2023

###

Amazing how close that asteroid came to hitting the visitor center.

###

I’m going to work on being less condescending. (Condescending means to talk down to people.)

###

The physicists Werner Heisenberg and Paul Dirac were opposites, Heisenberg being very social and Dirac introverted. The two were on a trip to Japan for a conference, and Heisenberg used to dance with the young girls on the ship before dinners while Dirac watched.

One time, Dirac asked, “Heisenberg, why do you dance?” “When there were nice girls I like dancing with them,” he replied.

Dirac fell into deep thought and after about fifteen minutes, asked, “Heisenberg, how do you know beforehand that the girls are nice?”

###

“His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.”

— Mae West of her screen villain Ace Lamont in Belle of the Nineties, 1934