Arcata planning commission reviews updated Local Coastal Program; staff outlines timeline, zoning and sea-level strategies

Arcata City Planning Commission members received an orientation and update March 25 on the city’s proposed Local Coastal Program, a policy and zoning package staff plans to submit for certification to the California Coastal Commission later this year.

Community Development Director David Loyal told commissioners the draft is “a very good close to final draft” and described a multi-decade effort to rework the city’s 1989 coastal element and the 1994 coastal zoning. Loyal said staff expects revised materials, including coastal zoning figures, to be available in April and aims for Planning Commission and City Council hearings in mid‑2025, with Coastal Commission certification expected in 2026 if the local and state processes proceed on schedule.

The update matters because the LCP controls land use only inside Arcata’s coastal zone and affects how certain projects are permitted, particularly where the Coastal Commission retains jurisdiction. Loyal emphasized that major adaptation and construction work on low-lying sites — including some public‑works projects near Butcher’s Slough and the wastewater treatment plant — would ultimately be permitted by the Coastal Commission when those sites fall in retained jurisdiction.

Staff briefed the commission on several implementation issues and policy choices that will shape permitting and adaptation:…