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Return the Coastal Commission’s authority to help relieve the affordable housing crisis

The Coastal Commission was created in the 1970s after the people of California became so concerned about losing their world-famous coast to unchecked development that they passed a ballot initiative to create the agency. What many people don’t know is that the Coastal Act of 1976 also protected affordable housing. That’s right. The original law afforded as much protection for moderate- and lower-income housing as it now does for wetlands, habitat and scenic views. In the first five years of the program, the commission successfully required the construction of over 5,000 affordable, deed-restricted, owner-occupancy and rental units in high-priced areas such as Laguna Nigel, San Clemente and Dana Point. It also collected about $2 million in in-lieu fees for additional housing opportunities throughout the state. These units were built right alongside the market rate units in most instances, outwardly indistinguishable from the full-price versions.

So what happened?

Local governments objected to the lost property tax revenues. Realtors resented their diminished commissions. So in 1981, a coalition of anti-housing interests got behind a bill by state Sen. Henry Mello that stripped the housing polices out of the Coastal Act. It also allowed any developer who had not yet completed a coastal housing project to demand the commission remove the affordable requirements from the permit. And it prohibited the commission from requiring local governments to include affordable housing in their Local Coastal Plans. Affordable housing ground to a halt in the coastal zone, and thousands of units slated to break ground never materialized.

Interactive Map of King Tide Photos

The California Coastal Commission's King Tide Photo Project website features photos from the Humboldt Bay area and across the state. This interactive map allows you to zoom in on areas of interest.

Anyone can upload photos online or via a smartphone app. Click HERE to upload yours.

Embattled Planning Commissioner Bongio Steps Down

Embattled longtime Humboldt County Planning Commissioner Alan Bongio, who was censured by the Board of Supervisors in September for comments widely construed as racist and biased while chairing a meeting in August, has stepped down.

First District Supervisor Rex Bohn, who appointed Bongio to the commission and said in September he would not remove him from the post despite mounting pressure to do so, has indicated he intends to appoint Ivar Skavdal to the position.

Last month, voters soundly ousted Bongio from the seat on the Humboldt Community Services District Board of Directors he'd held for 24 years, having taken it over from his father, Aldo Bongio, who held it for 34 years.

Skavdal, a seventh-generation Humboldt County resident, is a registered civil engineer who attended Humboldt State and Chico State universities and resides in Ferndale. Formerly the CEO of Winzler & Kelly Civil Engineering and president of GHD, Skavdal recently retired and "would like to give back to the community that gave him his start," according to Bohn.

Humboldt Bay gets glimpse at future sea level rise

The National Weather Service in Eureka issued a coastal flood warning on Thursday in anticipation of anomalous high tides that hit early Friday. While there were few issues caused by the flooding, the king tides offer a preview of what future sea level rise could mean for Eureka and the rest of Humboldt Bay.

“This is about one foot higher than a typical high tide,” said Jennifer Kalt, director of the nonprofit Humboldt Baykeeper. “With one foot of sea level rise, what we saw today will be the average monthly high tide.”

In fact, the astronomical tide event was even higher than expected as it reached a peak of 9.28 feet in the North Spit. But other fortunate weather factors helped mitigate any risk of damage from flooding.

Only within the past decade are geologists realizing that the area around Humboldt Bay is sinking due to tectonic subsidence. The average sinking is at nearly the same rate that sea levels are rising, compounding the effect and doubling the relative sea level rise. In contrast, Crescent City appears to be on a tectonic uplift that would minimize the effects of rising sea levels. And for better and for worse, the science at the core if this issue is still fairly new; the theory of plate tectonics only came to be understood in the past 75 years.

“A lot of this science is advancing,” said Kalt. “10 years ago, no one knew that the Humboldt Bay area was sinking so rapidly due to tectonic subsidence.”

Scientists study an unexpected climate change problem: Rising groundwater levels

Droughts and sinking groundwater levels due to climate change and water consumption have become a familiar worry in many parts of the world. But coastal California is poised to soon encounter a very different kind of problem: Levels of groundwater may rise.

“It’s a concern,” said Ben Hagedorn, Associate Professor of Geological Sciences at California State University Long Beach.

“What we see near the coast is that the rising sea level pushes up the saline groundwater,” he said.

In the process, the fresh groundwater used for drinking gets pressed toward the surface as well since it usually floats on top of the heavier salty groundwater. This could make coastal regions more prone to flooding, but there are also more insidious consequences.

As the rising fresh water seeps into surface soils, toxins such as cadmium and lead from hazardous waste sites, landfills and other contaminated areas could get flushed into drinking supplies, Hagedorn said.

Rising levels of fresh groundwater could make this problem more widespread and also wash toxins from shallow aquifers into the deeper reservoirs that currently provide drinking water. And soluble pollutants aren’t the only concern.

Hagedorn suggested water authorities should instead take a new look at hazardous waste sites that are currently considered remediated. Hagedorn suggested water authorities should instead take a new look at hazardous waste sites that are currently considered remediated.

“There are a lot of older locations, some dating back to the 1970s or even the 1950s when remediation technologies were not what they are now, that may still contain a lot of contaminants,” he said.

Additional remediation may be necessary to prevent these toxins from becoming mobilized as the water tables rise in the soil.