Arcata Planning Commission reviews updated local coastal program, sea-level map and policy edits

The Arcata City Planning Commission on April 22 considered a revised local coastal element and a new coastal zoning ordinance and requested staff return with revised wording and three outstanding maps before moving to formal public hearings.

Community Development Director David Loya told commissioners the packet includes the draft local coastal element and the newly released coastal zoning ordinance, and that two maps — a sea level rise policy-area map and an agricultural-policy map — would be posted and provided to the commission before the next meeting. "The map is basically, 6 feet of sea level rise, from the February, base year," Loya said, describing the sea-level planning scenario that underlies the policy-area mapping.

The commission discussed several substantive policy areas: how to treat industrial uses in the coastal zone, visitor parking and access language, whether to explicitly encourage camping as an overnight coastal…