Humboldt County has begun an effort to regulate trespassing – not of people, but of light.A draft ordinance that seeks to “minimize the effects of light trespass and light pollution” got initial feedback during a March 20 Planning Commission workshop.The proposed new law will “establish reasonable design standards for outdoor lighting to minimize light pollution while maintaining nighttime safety, utility, security and the enjoyment of the night sky,” according to its statement of purpose.Directed at residential and commercial properties, the ordinance’s basic goal is to contain lighting within properties and “address community complaints” about “nuisance” lighting.County Planner Reanna Meighan said light pollution is defined as “any artificial light emitted into the atmosphere, either directly or indirectly, which may have a destructive effect on natural cycles and inhibit the observation of our stars and planets.”Light pollution also impacts “the circadian rhythms of a majority of organisms, including humans,” she continued.Requiring “fully shielded’ lighting and use of “warm” bulbs that emit yellow light are among the ordinance’s draft measures.Mark Wilson, vice president of Astronomers of Humboldt, referred to a recommended limit on “color temperature” set by the International Dark Sky Association (DSA) and a scientific paper.The DSA’s recommended limit is 2,700 kelvin while the ordinance’s standard for warm lighting is 3,000 kelvin or less.Sylvia van Royen of Humboldt Waterkeeper recommended using the DSA’s “municipal code template” for regulating light, with lumens, candelas or watts as units of measurement.Meighan said the template was reviewed but “it was very technical” and “we decided to suggest something that would be more standard and straightforward for the general public to understand.”Keep Reading
At last week’s Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District Board of Commissioners meeting, Hank Seemann, deputy director at Humboldt County Public Works, presented a provisional plan to extend the southwestern leg of the Humboldt Bay Trail to College of the Redwoods.“I’d like to just give you a brief overview of a planning study that we’re wrapping up to extend the Humboldt Bay Trail from Eureka south to College of the Redwoods,” Seemann told the commissioners and public. “Once the trail along the safety corridor was in the construction phase, we wanted to think about what’s the next frontier, and this is where we started to look at the biggest priority to expand regional trails, both for alternative or active transportation … and also to provide additional racing opportunities.”Seemann noted that the county has led the effort to extend the northeast portion of the trail, a project that will be completed in June or July of this year. When completed, that project will connect Eureka and Arcata along an expanding network of paved trails.The new extension of trail will continue from Humboldt Bay Trail's current southwest terminus, just north of King Salmon, to College of the Redwoods.Keep Reading
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday signed off on a letter of support for a state Assembly Bill penned by District 2 Assemblymember Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa). The letter for the bill, which would make emergency water regulations permanent on two Klamath tributaries in the name of protecting fish, was approved in a 4-1 vote. First District Supervisor Rex Bohn was the dissenting vote.Assembly Bill 263 would keep emergency drought water diversion rules in place for the Scott and Shasta rivers until permanent regulations are adopted. Drought water rules for these tributaries to the Klamath River are presently set by the California State Water Resources Control Board on a yearly basis. The board is working on permanent rules for the sticky water diversion situation, but this is expected to take a long time and hinges on state emergency declarations of drought. Rogers previously told the Times-Standard this system creates uncertainty for fish cycles and water users alike.“Humboldt County has long relied on the fishing industry to support its local economy, and we also acknowledge the historic inequitable management of our state’s water system has discounted and ignored important tribal, cultural and economic uses of water and dependence on healthy aquatic ecosystems,” the letter states, initiated by Supervisor Steve Madrone.The letter points to the importance of salmon for local tribes and the significant decline of salmon populations locally. The rivers host spawning and rearing habitats for fish populations. Conservationists, state agencies and the fishing industries have pointed out low flows have cut off habitat for fish, where native populations are shrinking.
Friday, a federal judge said he would dismiss a lawsuit levied against the California Coastal Commission by SpaceX, which listed commissioner and Humboldt County Supervisor Mike Wilson as a defendant. The tentative order said the lawsuit failed to prove that SpaceX was materially harmed by the commission’s attempts at hampering an increase of launches at a U.S. Air Force base — despite the company’s claims of “political bias” against CEO Elon Musk at a meeting.“It is not clear how the commission’s position or demands injure SpaceX,” the order states. The judge pointed out the Air Force approved the increase over the commission’s objections.The lawsuit alleged “naked political discrimination” against SpaceX, citing comments made by four commissioners.But Friday, U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. said the lawsuit, filed in Oct. 2024, did not prove the company was actually harmed in any material way in response to a motion to dismiss the suit.“Even assuming that the commission’s vote not to concur in the Air Force’s consistency determination was procedurally improper, the Air Force overrode the commission’s objection and permitted SpaceX to increase its launch cadence,” the judge wrote.This tentative order was reported by Reuters and can be found in full there via https://tinyurl.com/4xasf8vjRead More
Something fishy is moving from the Woodley Island Marina's docks across the bay to Eureka's Madaket Plaza, where Humboldt County will have its first fisher's market, starting in May or June.Ashley Vellis, owner of Ashley's Seafood, has been brewing up the idea of a local fish market since late 2019 and is now partnering with the North Coast Grower's Association to organize it, currently working on fundraising to make the new addition to Eureka's waterfront a reality.Eureka City Manager Miles Slattery says he hopes the market will be similar to other events held in Eureka, like Art's Alive and Friday Night Markets, which have been successful in bringing more people into the city."I think it's something our community has been missing for a long time," says Slattery. "We're very supportive of our commercial fishing industry and I think it'll be a good thing."Taking inspiration from dockside markets in Santa Barbara, San Diego and San Francisco, Vellis says that she wants to make it more accessible for people to purchase seafood directly from the source. The vision is that local fishers will have stalls to sell their latest and freshest catch. Residents will then be able to take their fish to be filleted, or gutted and gilled at a processing station on site, before heading home with fish ready to cook. Currently, the plan is for the market to be open every other Saturday through October, when boats begin preparing for the crabbing season.Keep Reading
