The Humboldt County Planning Commission voted unanimously last night to send the issue of local developer Travis Schneider’s permits back to staff in an effort to find a path forward that will be agreeable to local tribes and the California Coastal Commission. While Schneider and Commission Chair Alan Bongio expressed deep frustration at a meeting […]
Planning Commission
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UPDATE: Planning Director Disputes Developer’s Account as More Permit Problems Arise for Schneider
UPDATE: Planning Director John Ford followed up with the Journal this afternoon after publication of this article to say he’d checked his records and wanted to clarify the timeline surrounding his Jan. 19 conversation with developer Travis Schneider. Ford was adamant that he did not undermine what county planner Cliff Johnson had relayed to Schneider […]
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PlanCo Staff Recommends Approval of Schneider Permit; Documents Shed New Light on Contentious Meeting
A couple weeks after the matter spilled cantankerously into public view, Humboldt County and Building Department staff is recommending the Planning Commission approve the permits necessary to allow a local developer to continue construction of his family home, with some revised conditions, at its meeting tonight. The issue arose after Travis Schneider violated the terms […]
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‘Outside the Box’
The Humboldt County Planning Commission voted 5-1 on July 11, with Commissioner Alan Bongio dissenting and Commissioner Noah Levy absent, to move an ambitious draft Housing Element update on to the Board of Supervisors. The board is slated to review the draft update — which dubs the local housing situation a “crisis” and identifies drastic […]
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Supes Set to Consider Large-Scale Zoning Changes
The Mad River Grange meeting hall in Blue Lake was packed with about 100 worried residents on the evening of Dec. 6 who intently watched three county planners explain proposed zoning changes in Glendale. The small, unincorporated community between Blue Lake and Fieldbrook along the Mad River, near where the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District’s […]
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Planning Commissioner Arrested on Suspicion of Public Intoxication
Humboldt State University Police Chief Donn Peterson confirmed that one of his officers arrested Humboldt County Planning Commissioner Noah Levy in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 1. Peterson said Levy was observed by an officer on the 1000 block of G Street (close to the Arcata Plaza) and arrested on suspicion of being drunk in public, […]
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HSU Working to ‘Finalize’ Agreement on Massive Arcata Housing Project
Humboldt State University is touting its effort to “finalize a partnership” with a private developer on a massive student housing project near campus that is the subject of a special Arcata City Council meeting tonight. According to President Lisa Rossbacher’s June 6 letter to council members, the university had been receiving information about The Village […]
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The Village Project Heads to Arcata City Council Sans Recommendation
A controversial large-scale student housing project will go before the Arcata City Council in June without a planning commission stamp of approval after commissioners split 2-2 last week on whether to recommend general plan and zoning amendments needed for the proposed development. By the May 8 commission meeting, The Village plan — comprising a three- […]
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UPDATE: Blue Lake Area Rezoning Could Threaten Water Supply, Says District Manager
UPDATE: The Humboldt County Planning Commission ultimately approved the project that will see Mercer Fraser establish a cannabis extraction process near where much of Humboldt County sources its water along the Mad River. Several members of the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District Board, as well as community members, attended the public comment session to voice […]
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Planning Commission Vote: Ulansey Out, Mitchell In
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 today, with Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson dissenting, to appoint McKinleyville resident and accountant Brian Mitchell to the at-large planning commission seat currently held by Lee Ulansey. Mitchell, a former McKinleyville school board member and current member of the county’s Assessment Appeals Board, addressed the supervisors, saying […]
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Applicants Line up For Ulansey’s Planning Commission Seat
So far, at least 16 candidates have turned in paperwork to be considered Tuesday for an at-large position on the Humboldt County Planning Commission after the supervisors decided to explore their options rather than simply reappoint current seat holder Lee Ulansey. Some of the applications date back to 2010, while 11 others were turned in […]
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Supes to Planning Commission: “MYOB”
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors took a remarkable step last week: It’s going to tell planning commissioners they have to ask permission to discuss matters that the commission isn’t mandated to take up. That may sound unremarkable, but it plays into a strange power dynamic in place for years and stands as a rebuke […]