Eureka is revisiting an effort to protect its gulches and greenways.At a special meeting Tuesday, the Eureka City Council talked about adding an ordinance to the City’s Inland Zoning Code to hamper the development of privately owned valleys and ravines that flow into Humboldt Bay.Inland greenways across the largely built-out city have no special protections from the city. Addressing this has been in the works since the early 2000s, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife described the regulations and standards as “long overdue” in a 2024 comment letter.During public comment, Jennifer Kalt from Humboldt Waterkeeper said she’s “looking forward to having this finally done so that those streams can get protected,” and two other commenters spoke in support of the plan.Read More
Outdoor advertising giant Outfront Media, Inc., has abandoned its efforts to resurrect a fallen billboard on the Hwy. 101 safety corridor between Arcata and Eureka. The company’s decision means the permanent elimination of a sign that was erected in Humboldt Bay’s tidelands (without a permit) more than 60 years ago.As previously reported, the company had been seeking permits from various local and state agencies in hopes of rebuilding the billboard, which collapsed into the bay during windstorms this past January. The sign was located directly across from the Indianola cutoff.Late last month, the Humboldt Bay Harbor District’s Board of Commissioners voted 3-0, with Commissioners Craig Benson and Patrick Higgins absent, to require an environmental study before determining whether the project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).The rebuild project would also have required a building permit from the county, which owns the property and was in a position to collect rent from the billboard, as well as a Coastal Development Permit from the California Coastal Commission — neither of which were foregone conclusions.But unbeknownst to the Harbor District commissioners, by the time they’d made their decision, Outfront Media had already asked Caltrans’ Outdoor Advertising Branch to cancel its permit for the billboard.Keep Reading
Billboards along the shoreline of Humboldt Bay are controversial and the county’s Harbor District has held off on permitting the replacement of one that blew down last winter.Owned by OutFront Media, which operates billboards nationwide, the damaged billboard is off Highway 101 south immediately adjacent to the Indianola Cutoff.The billboard repair requires permits from a number of agencies, including the county and the Harbor District.Repairs to billboards are allowed if they don’t exceed the scale of what was damaged. Once repaired, the billboards can be operated for only a period of time – enough to recover costs.Those details were outlined when the Harbor District’s Board of Commissioners considered the permitting at an Aug. 28 special meeting.District Development Director Rob Holmlund said the permit treats the billboard as a “legally non-conforming” existing use.If approved, the permit allows OutFront to do a “like to like” repair and operate the billboard for five years. After that, it must be removed.But there’s a glitch in the permitting process – the post-repair operation period is supposed to be “rebuttable” and OutFront hasn’t been given opportunity to ask for longer operation time.No one from OutFront was at the meeting to comment.During a public comment period, Jen Kalt of Humboldt Waterkeeper said the proposed repair is not “like for like” and the damaged billboard should no longer be considered as existing.Keep Reading
The Humboldt Bay Harbor District’s Board of Commissioners last night decided that they need more information before green-lighting the repair/rebuilding of a billboard that’s been lying face-down in Humboldt Bay since winter.In a 3-0 vote, with Commissioners Craig Benson and Patrick Higgins absent, the board opted to require an initial study under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) before ruling on a permit application from OutFront Media, the advertising company that owns the billboard.Harbor District staff had characterized the project as a “repair” of an existing billboard, though plans to re-erect the thing involved removing the existing uprights and using an excavator to pile-drive a dozen new posts 10 feet into the ground. Staff’s assessment found that the project was exempt from CEQA review because the new structure would be located on the same site and have the same purpose and capacity as the one being replaced.Keep Reading
At a special meeting this evening, the Humboldt Bay Harbor District’s Board of Commissioners will consider issuing a permit to re-erect a billboard that was damaged during January storms and has been lying face-down in Humboldt Bay’s tidal mudflats for months.The sign in question, located on the west side of Hwy. 101 directly across from Indianola Boulevard, never received a permit. It was first erected in 1961, a dozen years before the Harbor District was created, and it stands (or rather stood) on land currently owned by the County of Humboldt.Harbor District staff says the “repair project,” which would involve replacement of the damaged uprights and pile-driving a dozen new posts into the ground, qualifies for an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because the new structure would be located on the same site and have the same purpose and capacity as the one being replaced.Jennifer Kalt, executive director of the environmental nonprofit Humboldt Waterkeeper, agrees with that recommendation.“The Harbor District was created by the voters in 1973 to protect the bay and public trust wetlands for the benefit of all of us,” she said. “Rebuilding this billboard in the wetlands is contrary to protecting the environment, the scenic views we all enjoy, and the use of the Bay Trail that we’ve worked toward for decades.”Keep Reading
