Help Humboldt Plan.Org

A website for assisting the public to understand and contribute to 
the Humboldt County General Plan Update.

Contents:

Courtesy of Patrick Higgins

Courtesy of Humboldt Fish Action Council

Courtesy of Redwood Community Action Agency

Where We Are in Humboldt Counties
General Plan Update Process

Importance of Public Participation

If you agree with the 86% of respondents who identified our natural environment as 'extremely important', in the initial Community Survey for this update of the General Plan, get involved now, so that the final document “will serve as an effective guide for orderly growth and development, preservation and conservation of open-space land and natural resources, and the efficient expenditure of public funds relating to the subjects in the general plan.” ¹

¹ California Government Code Sections 65400(a), Chapter 3. Local Planning, Division 7 of Title I

What is a “General Plan”?

A General Plan functions as a constitution for a city or an unincorporated area of a county.
In Humboldt County the incorporated cities of Arcata, Blue Lake, Eureka, Ferndale, Fortuna, Rio Dell, and Trinidad, have their own general plans.  Humboldt County is responsible for plans to serve all other areas, except those under the jurisdiction of tribes, which are sovereign nations.  Local community plans must be consistent with the General Plan.  Currently, Humboldt County has one plan for unincorporated inland areas and separate plans for six coastal zones, which will be amalgamated into one coastal plan. 

Legal Guidelines for General Plans

To create and update general plans, California counties and cities must follow legal guidelines contained in the California Government Code, Sections 65100-65763.

General plans should be updated every 10 years.  Humboldt County adopted our current General Plan in 1984

Where We Are in the General Plan Update Process

Following many meetings with more than 700 people, County staff identified issues and completed Critical Choices recommendations.  A consulting firm was hired to prepare technical background studies and three reports were prepared based on recommendations found in a Critical Choices Report:

1) Building Communities 
2) Moving Goods and People
3) Natural Resources and Hazards
For the latter, County staff prepared the supplementary Agricultural Resources Report and Forest Resources Report (“Forest Resources and Policies, October 2003 Draft”). 

Each of the reports includes appendices which show  (1) Existing Policies pertinent to the subjects in the report, and (2) New Policy Options. Public input on these existing General Plan policies and new policy options has been requested by the Planning Department.

Partial input from members of organizations participating in this site can be viewed in the Draft Adaptations of Worksheets for existing policies and new policy options linked below.

As part of the update process, the Planning Department staff currently is creating three or four plan update alternatives and probably will identify one as the “preferred alternative” that the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors will consider for adoption.

Importance of Public Participation

Public participation may affect policy decisions of where and how growth will occur over the next twenty years.  Workshops will be held in March, April and May, 2004, for the public to comment on the plan update alternatives.  Find information about these alternatives in advance of the workshops at www.planupdate.org. 

How to Use This Site

Look at Draft Adaptations of Worksheets [with Goals inserted]:
Appendix A;        Building Communities (existing policies)
Appendix B;        Building Communities (new policy options)
Appendix C;        Moving Goods and People (existing policies)
Appendix D/MGP; Moving Goods and People (new policy options)
Appendix D/NR;   Natural Resources and Hazards (existing policies)
Appendix E;        Natural Resources and Hazards (new policy options)
                             Forest Resources Report (supplement)
                       Agricultural Resources Report (supplement)

Submit your comments: email to helphumboldt@cox.net
or mail hard copy to: Help Humboldt Plan, PO Box 1301, Eureka, CA 95502-1301; or telephone 707-677-0673.

Attend public meetings: Watch for announcements about public meetings and attend them. (Calendar)

Pertinent Sections of the California Government Code

        Sec 16140-16154 Open Space Subventions
        Sec 25710-25719 Water Resources Management Plan
        Sec 50575-50583 Open Space Maintenance Act
        Sec 65300-65307 Authority for and Scope of General Plans
        Sec 65350-65362 Preparation, Adoption and amendment of the General Plan
        Sec 65400-65404 Administration of General Plan
        Sec 65450-65457 Specific Plans
        Sec 65560-65570 Open Space Lands
        
        Local Coastal Plans
        Sec 2064 Trinidad Area Plan of the Humboldt County Local Coastal Plan 
        Sec 2065 South Coast Area Plan of the Humboldt County Local Coastal Plan
        Sec 2066 McKinleyville Area Plan of the Humboldt County Local Coastal Plan
        Sec 2067 Humboldt Bay Area Plan of the Humboldt County Local Coastal Plan
        Sec 2068 Eel River Area Plan of the Humboldt County Local Coastal Plan
        Sec 2069 North Coast Area Plan of the Humboldt County Local Coastal Plan 

Organizations Participating in This Site

To date, partial input has been received from members of Humboldt Watershed Council, Freshwater-Kneeland Community Association, North Group of the Redwood Chapter Sierra Club, Northcoast Environmental Center, Californians for Alternatives to Toxics and others.

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