Humboldt County Board amends moratorium so it ends when comprehensive plan is finished

Humboldt County Board of Supervisors members voted at their Nov. 12 meeting to amend Resolution 2024-0107, removing a one-year automatic sunset and making the moratorium expire when the county’s comprehensive plan and accompanying zoning ordinance are completed.

The amendment responds to delays in the planning process: staff told the board they expect a first draft of the comprehensive plan in hand by the beginning of next month, and legal staff reviewed the proposed change before the motion was made. Board members said the change was intended to keep the moratorium in place until the county finishes the plan rather than relying on a fixed calendar date.

During the discussion, a board member noted that the original language tied sunset to either a one-year period or completion of the comprehensive plan; the amendment strikes the fixed one-year period so the moratorium will “sunset when we’ve completed the comprehensive plan and [zoning] ordinance,” according to the meeting record. County staff confirmed no other language in the resolution would be changed.

The board moved and seconded the amendment and approved it by voice vote. No recorded roll-call tally was read into the record.