Humboldt Bay Area Plan Update (LRP-2023-18700)
Humboldt County
Description
The commission is working page-by-page through the public draft of the updated Humboldt Bay Area Plan — the coastal land use blueprint covering everything from a heavy-lift marine terminal to sea level rise and public access — before a future public hearing.
Impact summary
This plan will set the rules for bay-shoreline development — including offshore wind support facilities, housing in tsunami zones, and sea level rise standards — for decades to come.
Applicant
- Name
- Humboldt County Planning & Building Department
- Address
- All unincorporated areas within the Humboldt Bay Area Plan (APN 000-000-000)
At a glance
- Hearings
- 1
- Public comments
- 0
- Total mentions
- 1
Recorded in the meeting · Planning Commission
A recommendation, not a final decision. The council decides next.
Last discussed Aug 6, 2026.
Meeting timeline (1)
Related issues (4)
General Plan Safety Element / Hazard Mitigation Plan update
The commission recommended folding the updated Hazard Mitigation Plan into the county's General Plan Safety Element — the paperwork that keeps Humboldt eligible for federal hazard-mitigation and disaster funding.
Humboldt Bay Area Plan comprehensive update
The county's blueprint for bay-area development is being rewritten, and commissioners wrestled with whether to tie a future heavy-lift marine terminal to offshore wind or keep it open to any coastal-dependent industry. The compromise keeps wind in the plan's background but leaves the terminal flexible — a decision that shapes what can be built on the peninsula for decades.
High-density residential designation in the coastal plan
Commissioners debated restoring a residential high-density land use designation the draft removed (staff said the Coastal Commission supported removal because no such zoning exists). A straw poll failed, so the designation stays out — but the debate over where denser housing could someday fit around the bay isn't over.
Shoreline armoring policy
Commissioner Qiriazi pressed on whether existing shoreline armoring rights should last indefinitely as seas rise, and whether the plan's language permits armoring for new development. Staff explained the language tracks the Coastal Act, including takings constraints, and agreed to clarify the wording.
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