Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On January 12, 2023, at about 6:15 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies on patrol in the Kneeland area observed a reported stolen vehicle traveling on Greenwood Heights Drive. The driver of the vehicle was identified by deputies as 23-year-old Tyler Tommy Lemmons, who is wanted on multiple outstanding felony warrants.

Deputies attempted a traffic stop on the vehicle, however, the vehicle failed to yield. While attempting to flee deputies, Lemmons lost control of the vehicle and collided with a tree. Lemmons then fled from the vehicle into the nearby woods. A passenger of the vehicle was detained without further incident while deputies completed their investigation.

No one was injured as a result of this incident. Lemmons remains outstanding at this time. He is described as a white male, approximately 5 feet tall, 140 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. There is no perceived elevated threat to the Greenwood Heights community, however, residents who see Lemmons should not approach him, but call law enforcement right away.

Anyone with information about this case or Lemmons’ whereabouts is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

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The year 2023 began with a historic bang — record precipitation and disastrous flooding throughout much of California. Parched watersheds soaked up the first rains, but soon became waterlogged. Runoff accelerated. Sodden hillsides collapsed. Rural levees burst and rivers spilled their banks. Towns went underwater. People died.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Ocean continued to whip up more atmospheric rivers and “bomb cyclones,” and one after another, these intense storms pummeled California. Abruptly, a state emerging from the dust of three painfully dry years was inundated with more water than it knew what to do with.

But the wet and wild weather over the past dozen days won’t end the drought, at least not yet, and it won’t undo the driest period in the West in the past 1,200 years.

About 71% of California is still experiencing “severe” drought, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. That designation is based on a long list of complex metrics, including soil moisture, water shortages, levels of streams and lakes, snow cover and runoff. The storms also come at a time when scientists are predicting a long-term shift toward a warmer, drier climate.

With at least two more storms approaching California over the next week, we look at what all this means for drought conditions and water supply.

Sorry, the drought isn’t over

In some places, it might feel like the drought is history. Take San Francisco. Its water supply — Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, in the Sierra Nevada — is 80% full, the ground is saturated and near-record rainfall has occurred in recent days.

“Drought is in the eye of the beholder,” said Jeffrey Mount, senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. “If you’re in San Francisco, and you rely on surface storage from Hetch Hetchy, this is great … But if you’re in a small town in the San Joaquin Valley, where massive pumping of groundwater has dried out your well, it will take successive years of rain like this to make a difference.”

The San Joaquin Valley’s groundwater basins, where thousands of wells have run dry, are just one example of drought impacts that can take years to reverse. California’s aquatic ecosystems are another. Drought has harmed a variety of fish species, and it will take years for them to rebound. Some, like Delta smelt and winter-run Chinook salmon, are endangered and, faced with an array of human-induced stressors, probably never will recover.

Determining when a drought begins and ends is tricky. While many experts refer to California’s 2013-2016 drought, as though it had a clear beginning and an end, others, like Mount, feel that particular drought hasn’t yet ended — the current drought is just an extension of it.

After all, most years in the past 15 have produced an underwhelming amount of rainfall. Since the big water year of 2006, only three — 2011, 2017 and 2019 — have been notably wet. Many climate experts believe California’s predominant weather pattern in the future will be one of steady drought conditions broken periodically by very wet interludes.

“This might well be just another case of a wet year followed by a string of dry ones,” Mount said.

Reservoir levels rising

Water is rapidly flowing into the state’s reservoirs.

Lake Oroville — the largest reservoir of the State Water Project, with a capacity of 3.5 million acre feet — was 28% full in early December and now is just shy of 50%. That’s an increase of 700,000 acre-feet, and experts predict it could rise by almost 500,000 more before February. (Each acre-foot is enough to support two or three families for a year.) Still, Oroville and most of the state’s other major reservoirs remain mostly empty.

While a single very rainy season could refill even the largest of California’s reservoirs, the same cannot be said of the Colorado River’s huge reservoirs. Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which hold 50 million acre-feet combined, have been declining for decades. Seven states and 40 million people — almost half of them in California — draw from these reservoirs, and even several wet winters in a row will not come close to refilling them.

Among the many problems with this onslaught is that so much rain has fallen in such a short time. This doesn’t just damage structures and harm people; it also makes it challenging to store the water. In any rain event, much of the water will fall downstream of any dam, making it difficult or impossible to capture.

But even the torrents of water entering the reservoir system cannot necessarily all be retained in storage. That’s because allowing reservoirs to fill so early in the year would create flood risks later in the winter.

To avoid this, the outflow gates in some dams are being opened wider to let water out faster and prevent overflow.

This strategy is especially necessary at smaller reservoirs, like Folsom Lake. Outflow through the dam was running somewhere in the ballpark of 1,000 cubic feet per second in early December, said Michael Anderson, a climatologist with the Department of Water Resources. Recently, he said, state reservoir operators were releasing roughly 30,000 cubic feet per second from the dam. Most of this water eventually flows to the ocean. It may seem like water wasted, but it also could mean a city saved.

Not quite record rainfall

By the numbers, this blast of wet weather has been stunning, if not necessarily record-breaking. The San Francisco Bay Area has taken a heavy pounding. About the day this wet spell started, on Dec. 31, a near-record 5.46 inches of rain fell in downtown San Francisco, missing the 1994 one-day record by a tenth of an inch. Between Dec. 26 and Jan. 9, more than a foot of rain fell in San Francisco. That’s more than half of the city’s long-term water year average of 22 inches. In the East Bay’s Tilden Regional Park, 17 inches of rain fell in about the same span.

In Beverly Hills, the recent storms have delivered 11 inches of rain, bringing the Los Angeles County city to about 16 inches for the season. The Sacramento International Airport has received 7 inches of rain since Dec. 27 and as of Jan. 10 was at about 208% of normal for this date. Locations near Santa Barbara recently recorded up to 15 inches in a day, according to Anderson. In San Diego County, 4.5 inches have fallen since the end of December. And in the Russian River watershed — at a particularly rainy mountaintop weather station called Venado — 23 inches of rain fell between Dec. 27 and Jan. 11.

Regrettably, this rainfall has done little to help water supplies, for most of it has flowed into storm drains and either right into the ocean or into rivers that lead to it.

The recent storms have highlighted the need to design and build stormwater systems capable of capturing runoff for landscape irrigation or even treated and used as drinking water. Such systems are expensive and take years to build. Santa Monica is one city that already captures urban runoff and treats it.

Even sinking urban runoff into the ground via rain gardens and bioswales is a better option than letting it escape to sea. Unfortunately, much existing infrastructure, like concrete flood control channels, is designed to usher stormwater quickly off the landscape.

Double the snowpack

The storms of late December and January have dramatically buffed up California’s snowpack in the Sierra Nevada. It’s now at more than 200% of average for this date.

In the last few days, freezing elevations have been quite low – about 5,000 feet. “Which means we’re accumulating a lot more snow,” Anderson said, adding that “automated sensors are registering what they would consider a full season’s snowpack, about what we would expect on April 1.”

That’s great news for much of California. This snowpack is an important natural storage system because when it melts, it feeds the State Water Project, which provides water to 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland. It fills reservoirs and keeps rivers icy cold – conditions required by spawning salmon. But climate change is disrupting this cycle. Snowpack averages have been declining at an alarming rate in recent years, either melting early in the season or not falling at all, and research suggests a future of frequent “low-to-no-snow” years.

Skiers are overjoyed. According to the Mammoth Mountain ski resort, “the latest storm delivered 6 to 7.5 feet of snow in the last few days. Mammoth season total snowfall is 328” at Main Lodge and 441” at the summit — the most snow in the country!” Tahoe’s Northstar Resort has received 69 inches in the last week, with a base depth of 128 inches and a season total of 280 inches.

But snow is a fickle resource, and Anderson cautioned that, with a shift toward warmer weather — or, worse, high-altitude rainfall — this powdery blessing could soon melt away. That, he said, would create “flood management concerns as that snow melts, especially if it melts too quickly.”

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

Map of Caltrans closure. If the big STOP sign isn’t appearing in the center at the time you read this, then the road has been reopened.

Caltrans has closed Highway 36 just west of Grizzly Creek this morning, after a slide covered the roadway.

According to the CHP incident logs, a caller reported that a vehicle was covered by the slide just, which ran across both lanes of the highway, just before 7 a.m. The vehicle’s occupants were able to extract themselves. 

Caltrans made the road closure official about half an hour later. The current estimated time of reopening is midnight tonight, but that estimate is usually very variable.

We’ll update when we know more.

David went home to be with his Lord in heaven on December 2, 2022 at his home in Fortuna. He passed peacefully at home, surrounded by his loved ones and furry friends, after a valiant fight with esophageal cancer.

David was born on February 26, 1965 in Newton, Kansas to his parents Herbert and Patricia Dahl, who were Salvation Army ministers. David’s childhood was full of camping with his family, finding treasures and playing at the Salvation Army’s thrift store.

One time while playing in the back of the thrift store, he made a tunnel in the clothing. The tunnel caved in on him, and he had to struggle to find his way out. He never really liked closed-in spaces after that. He also gained his love of animals during childhood. The number of animals that lived in his house while he was young are far too many for me to recount. His favorite childhood pets were the ferrets that he got to raise and play with. He liked to tell the story of when he took one of his ferrets to a renaissance fair on a leash. While he was there, David bought a can of Pepsi. When he popped that can open, the ferret ran up his pant leg and stuck his nose into the can of Pepsi. The little ferret laughed at the bubbles hitting his nose and kept sticking his head down into the bubbles.

David joined the Air Force after graduating from high school and served 7 1/2 years. David loved playing D&D and he had a group of airmen that he gamed with often while in the service. He spoke fondly of a friend’s wife who would let them come over to game for hours and served endless amounts of food.

During his time in the service, he was stationed in the US and England. Near the end of his time, he was part of Operation Desert Storm. David was part of the support staff that received and shipped everything that was needed for Operation Desert Storm. It was there that David’s exposure to the burn pits gave him esophageal cancer.

After he left the Air Force, he lived with his sister Deborah, and brother-in-law John, in Santa Cruz. They were like second parents to him. Always such an encouragement and support for him. He loved them dearly. He attended Cabrillo College while he was there and then transferred up to Humboldt State University for a degree in wildlife management.

David met the love of his life, Rebecca Griesbach, while working at Kmart in Eureka. They started dating June 21, 1998 and on June 19, 1999 he bestowed his hearts deepest devotion in marriage to her. One of their hobbies together was raising hamsters for the surrounding pet stores. They would drive out of the county on “hamster hunts” looking for pet stores with hamsters. Some of these adventures would last overnight, and they would sleep in the back of their wagon in random towns. These were fun trips.

David and Rebecca were blessed with three children. Hannah was born in the fall of 2003. Christopher came 18 months later. His last son Benjamin (BG) was born 14 years after that. David loved and adored his children.

One of his favorite things was to go down to Sacramento for the VW show. He would work on Saturday, and then wake up at 3 a.m. Sunday morning and drive down to Sacramento to go to the VW show. Then he would turn around and drive home that day, so that he could get some sleep before going back to work Monday morning. Christopher always went down with him to the VW show and sometimes Hannah would go also. It was such a treasured time for him. His family was the main reason he worked so hard. Another thing that David really enjoyed was going with his family on mission trips to Mexico with his church. He was so blessed to spend time at an orphanage for special needs children, Gabriel House of Mexico. Spending time loving these kids was always a huge highlight for him. David loved spending time outdoors with his family at the beach, rivers and forests.

He worked at Bed Bath & Beyond for over 19 years. He always tried to do his job to the best of his ability. Supporting his staff through whatever trials they had to walk through was important to him. We all have hard things and sometimes we just need to share how hard life is and have someone care enough to listen.

David will be greatly missed by his family and friends. He is survived by his wife Rebecca; his children, Hannah, Christopher and Benjamin; his parents Herbert and Patricia Dahl; sister Deborah & brother in law John Williamson; Sister Kathleen & brother in law Steven Bell; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews and extended family.

A celebration of life will be held at Hydesville Community Church January 28 at 1 p.m. All are welcome to come and join in the celebration. We would love for those who are coming to wear casual wear - Hawaiian shirts or tie-dye, because those were some of David’s favorites.

In remembrance or in lieu of flowers please donate to something David loved, animal shelters, Gabriel’s house in Mexico, Salvation Army or a charity of your choice.

A poem for David by Meagan Schober:

One of our own is missing today. Instead he stands at Heaven’s gate. His face is set, his view is in focus. For the first time he sees in full what we only see in part. He has been made whole. His laughter speaks loudly of how wonderful it is to be in the presence of our King.

Yes, David will be missed. His kindness and patience far exceed most of us if we are honest. He is a forever kind of friend that loves well and will give the shirt off his back if you said you were in need.

Yes, David will be missed. However, we will see him again. And in the meantime we only need to look at his sons Christopher and Benjamin and we can hear his voice, see his smile and know his character. These boys are most definitely the image of their dad. If you want to know his kindness you need not go far because his daughter Hannah carries his legacy of friendship to all she meets. She is steadfast and true just like her dad. If you want to know his heart you will find it in Rebecca, his wife. She brought out the best in David, she has been his champion.

Yes, David will be missed and we shall see him again soon. Those of us in Christ will have Eternity to spend with David when we see Jesus face to face and walk through the gate of Heaven. David will be there with our Lord, smile broad and full of joy and he will be missed no more.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of David Dahl’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Karen Norma Thornton was born on December 23, 1951 and passed away on November 26, 2022 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Eureka. She lived in either Eureka or Redding all of her life. She worked at Big Loaf Bakery, giving out samples at local stores including Costco. She then became a worker for Humboldt County’s In-Home Supportive Services, specializing in clients who were at the end of their lives.

Karen was a gifted artist, writer and photographer with an eye for beauty, taking many photos of wildlife, a shed in a field or a single flower on a bush. Karen loved the outdoors and enjoyed spending time at the river and camping. She also had a special calling for downtrodden, hurting and abandoned souls, and would often stop a stranger to ask how they felt or what they needed, giving them her last dollar if she thought they needed it. She would take cups of coffee to people sitting at Ross Park and made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a homeless man who walked by her house on a regular basis. Karen’s love for animals was like no other – she never met an animal or child she didn’t love. And children returned that love because she got down on their level.

Karen was predeceased by her parents, Kenny and Marian Sells, her brother, Kenny Sells Jr., her sister, Kathleen McRae, her ex-husband, Mike Thornton, and her beloved son, James “Jim” Thornton. She never truly recovered from Jim’s death. She is survived by her daughter, Trudy Thornton of Eureka, and her grandchildren, Corey Thornton of Eureka, James Thornton, Michael Thornton and Samantha Pope of Redding. Surviving great-grandchildren include Kadin Thornton, Zoey Thornton, and Bo Thornton. She is also survived by her cousins, Marian Parker, of Oregon, and Michelle Marlatt of Idaho, Skip McRae of Eureka, and Caroline Dominquez of Florida.

Karen’s devotion to God was her life and her special and unwavering faith got her through life. She read her Bible and had morning devotions every day. She was a “prayer warrior” and would often call her church for prayer requests, not necessarily for her own needs but for the needs of others. She was a 37-year member of Eureka Faith Center Foursquare Church. Her friends were her life-line, and her family would like to acknowledge friends Hellen Kelley, Pam Robblee, Roberta Womack, Adele Maggi, Barbara Schreiber, Cathy Moore, Kathy Costa and Paula Ann Coburn for always being there for her.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 28, 2023 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Faith Center Foursquare Church located at 1032 Bay Street, Eureka, CA - (707)-442-1784. The Administration Building entrance doors will be open to the public at 10:45 a.m. for the service in the Dome, and there will be a coffee and cookie reception following.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Karen Thornton’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Bernie passed away peacefully in Eureka on January 6, 2023.

Bernie was a lifelong resident of Humboldt County. She graduated from Arcata High School in 1957 and went on to Humboldt State College before she went to work in the insurance industry.

She worked for the Walter Warren Agency, the Harlan Hanson Agency and then finished her career with the Robert Graham Agency.

After her retirement Bernie and her husband of 40 years, Jerry Jorgensen, volunteered for “Sheriffs Citizens On Patrol” — SCOP.

For the next 16 years she and Jerry were dedicated volunteers and Bernie became a Captain with SCOP, and this was her finest moment.

Lt. Dennis Young from HCSO was her hero.

In 2016 she was honored with “Woman Of The Year” from the Sheriffs Department.

She was very proud of her service and her stories and memories were very important to her.

She is survived by and will be missed by her husband Jerry Jorgensen of Eureka, her niece Kathleen Nelson of Central Point, Oregon and her niece Elaine Browne of Seattle, Washington.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Bernie Jorgensen’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

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As earthquake recovery efforts continue throughout Humboldt County, local officials are having a difficult time finding federal funding opportunities to help displaced residents. In an effort to provide immediate relief to impacted communities, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $1 million funding request to help folks get back on their feet.

The funding allocation will come from the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (LATCF), which was established by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 to serve as a general revenue enhancement program in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As explained in the staff report, the fund provides “broad discretion on uses of the funds,” which can be used for programs, services and capital expenditures that would traditionally fulfill “a government purpose.” 

Earlier this week, state Senator Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Jim Wood, in partnership with the California Office of Emergency Services and California Department of Housing & Community Development, announced $3 million in available funding to help rehabilitate damaged homes and assist with basic needs. 

However, earthquake-related damages are expected to “near or surpass $10 million,” according to County Administrative Officer Elishia Hayes. “These funds, if approved for allocation by your board, have a great deal of flexibility, which is prudent right now,” she said.

First District Supervisor Rex Bohn quickly made a motion to approve the funding request but asked how the funding would be dispersed. Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell offered a second.

The county has identified a recovery officer who will coordinate and distribute the funding resources. Staff is still working to “fully assess the data of who has been impacted,” Hayes said, to ensure the funds are used “in the most efficient and effective manner.”

“Some of the dollars coming down from the state are going to have some pretty specific parameters around them, in terms of household income and whether they are owner-occupies properties,” she said. “[Staff] will return to your board at a future date to lay out more specifics on what that looks like.”

Bohn expressed support for the funding allocation but said, “‘In the future’ or ‘down the road’ are things I hate to hear. I want to get things done tomorrow.”

“Timewise I would say 30 days maximum, is our hope,” Hayes said. “I completely recognize the board’s concern – specifically Supervisor Bohn and Supervisor Bushnell, whose districts were most impacted – on the urgency of these funds. [We] are fully committed to getting those funds out the door as soon as possible, while also setting realistic expectations of what we are able to do.”

The board passed the funding allocation in a unanimous 5-0 vote. 

Earlier in the meeting, the board took a few minutes to recognize the “hardworking bunch” of building inspectors who responded to Rio Dell immediately following the earthquake.

“When I got to Rio Dell on the morning of December 20 … we had a lot of damage to structures and the only thing I could think of was, ‘I need building inspectors,’ and I called Director Ford and he didn’t hesitate, nor did his inspectors,” Bushnell said. “They [were] the first people to respond to people and inspect their homes and tell them, at times, that they needed to leave. … I could tell that it was emotional for them and it was hard, you know, to tell someone [they have] to leave [their] home. It meant so much to the City of Rio Dell and I just really want to thank you.”

Tuning in via Zoom, Rio Dell City Manager Kyle Knopp joined Bushnell in thanking the group of building inspectors, noting that they “don’t necessarily get enough credit for the work they do.”

“They save lives every day and often their work goes unnoticed,” Knopp said. “I think it’s really important to note that the … aftershocks tend to cause more damage than the initial event and that’s what we were afraid of, another aftershock coming in with people in structures that should be red-tagged. It was really through John Ford’s crew that we were able to get to those structures and make sure people were aware that their homes were unsafe and they were put into a safe position.”

While going door to door inspecting homes immediately following the Dec. 20 earthquake, one of the building inspectors, Rob Edwards, rescued a woman who was stuck in her home.

“I heard ‘help’ so I pushed the door in,” Edwards told the board. “I’m like, ‘I’m here, I’m a building inspector,’ and, you know, it’s pitch black. This was a lady who had MS [multiple sclerosis] and her electric wheelchair has died and it was jammed in her doorway. … She was okay. She’s like, ‘I’m just scared,’ so I held her hand, I called [the] fire [department] and they came right away. We moved the wheelchair and I don’t know if she [had been] there since the earthquake or the power outage but it was pretty sad, she was pretty scared. But thank god we were going door to door.”

The board gave the building inspectors a standing ovation and unanimously approved the request for recognition.

Legislative Platform for 2023

Almost every year, as a part of the usual beginning-of-the-year housekeeping duties, the board discusses the county’s positions and priorities for our state and federal representatives. The document, known as the legislative platform, details the county’s official stance on various legislative requests, ranging from public safety to more specific issues like offshore wind.

“Each platform in this document is a plea advocating for changes to issues that are affecting the county,” said Deputy County Administrative Officer Sean Quincey. “As you’re aware, the provisional winners of the two offshore wind lease areas off the Humboldt coast were announced in December. In November, your board adopted a resolution stating some of the principles that the county will adhere to as the project progresses. Therefore, this platform supports collaborative development of offshore wind with local stakeholders, mitigation of impacts related to development and compensation for unavoidable impacts.”

After consulting with state and federal advocacy firms – Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange, Inc. and Paragon Government Relations – county staff included several other “new and noteworthy” items in the 2023 legislative platform.

“This includes platforms around cannabis cultivation and efforts to support small farms, climate resilience and infrastructure to support clean energy and zero emission goals, funding for abandoned vehicles and funding for indigenous legal defense,” Quincey continued. “It’s important for your board to provide input and direction into the legislative platform as it is an influential policy-directing statement.”

The board took issue with several items listed on the legislative platform, ranging from ongoing issues with PG&E’s electricity transmission limits to one of the community’s most contentious issues: the Richardson Grove Improvement Project. 

Fifth District Supervisor and Board Chair Steve Madrone indicated he would vote against the entire legislative platform if the document included supportive language for the project. On the contrary, Bushnell said she would not vote for the document “unless we have a discussion of possibly keeping [it].”

After a bit of back and forth, Madrone eventually suggested the board return to the subject at a future board meeting to provide ample time for board members to share feedback with staff. Bushnell made a motion to return to the legislative platform in two weeks, during the board’s Jan. 24 meeting. Arroyo offered a second and the motion passed 5-0.

The board also embarked on its annual ritual of appointing members to various boards, committees and commissions for the calendar year. The board discussed around 40 appointments over the course of an hour or so and eventually came to a consensus.

Myrtle Avenue Mini-Storage Center 

Toward the end of the meeting, the board considered a few zoning reclassification requests. The first two, for Hansen Family Agricultural Preserve and Hunter Ranch Agricultural Preserve, respectively, were unanimously approved after a brief discussion from the board. The final item – a zone reclassification, lot line adjustment and conditional use permit request for a proposed mini storage center at the intersection of Lucas Street and Myrtle Avenue – garnered much more attention.

The General Plan amendment and zone reclassification, brought forth by J&J Family, LLC, would allow a 9,000 square-foot portion of the 2.1-acre property currently designated Residential Medium Density to be designated Commercial General.

“The home and garage in the northeast corner would become its own separate parcel,” according to the staff report. “The remaining structures on the south end of the project site would be removed and replaced with an office/caretaker building. The office/caretaker building would be 1,800 square feet on the first floor and 1,800 square feet on the second floor. The remaining commercial area would be developed and used as a mini-storage center.”

The Humboldt County Planning Commission voted 5-0 to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve the project. However, Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson immediately took issue with the project, emphasizing the critical need for housing in Humboldt County.

Bushnell asked the property owner, Jim Paye, whether he had encountered any pushback from his neighbors over the project proposal. He said the only substantial feedback he had received was for a request for no low-income housing to be built on the property.

Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo reiterated the need for housing, specifically high-income housing. She suggested the board compromise and allow for a multi-zone designation with an overlay to accommodate housing in the future.

The board went back and forth for about an hour before Arroyo eventually made a motion to direct staff to bring the item back at a future date and consider whether or not a zoning overlay would be feasible. The motion was seconded by Bushnell. After a few final comments, the board voted 3-2 with Bohn and Bushnell casting the dissenting votes.

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You can find a recording of Tuesday’s meeting at this link.