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Board opposes state bill that would limit coastal reviews for accessory dwellings unless amended
Summary
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 on June 24 to send a letter opposing Assembly Bill 462 unless the bill is amended to limit its geographic reach and preserve local coastal protections for accessory dwelling units (ADUs).
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 on June 24 to send a letter expressing opposition to Assembly Bill 462 unless the bill is amended to address how it would apply in large coastal counties.
Supervisor Wilson, who brought the item, said AB 462 intends to speed housing recovery after a disaster but, as drafted, would waive coastal-development-permit (CDP) requirements for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) across a county's entire coastal zone when the governor declares a disaster anywhere in that county. Wilson argued that in geographically large counties such as Humboldt, that trigger could remove local coastal protections far from the site of an emergency.
'I agree with and support the intent of the bill, which is to build more ADUs in the coastal zone and address emergency situations,' Wilson said in his presentation, but he added the bill's geographic trigger is too broad for counties with widely separated coastal communities.
Wilson and other supervisors cited concerns about agricultural land protections (Humboldt's ADU rules limit ADUs to a two-acre curtilage around a primary residence in resource/agricultural zones), water and wastewater capacity, archaeological/tribal resource protections, and hazards such as sea-level rise and tsunami zones. Under the bill as drafted, a disaster declaration affecting an inland area would remove CDP requirements for the coast, the supervisors said.
The board's opposition letter asks the author to narrow the geographic scope of the CDP suspension (for example, a limited radius around the declared disaster) and to clarify that local coastal protections and resource safeguards remain in effect. The letter also encouraged the state to consider other measures to speed ADU construction, such as streamlining permit timelines and providing preapproved ADU designs.
After debate the board approved the letter 3-2. The board then recessed for closed session and later reported no reportable action on closed-session litigation items.
