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Planning staff asks Humboldt County to amend wind-energy rules or finish comprehensive plan before new ordinances
Summary
Planning and zoning staff recommended supervisors either amend the county’s 2018 wind-energy ordinance now or continue the multi-year comprehensive-plan rewrite and draft new ordinances afterward; staff said a temporary moratorium remains in place and requested direction and attorney review of a draft amendment.
Kevin Cordray, planning and zoning commissioner, told the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors that the county’s comprehensive-plan rewrite begun in 2022 is still incomplete and that developers have pressed the county for clearer wind-energy rules. ‘‘We started this in September 2022’’ Cordray said, and the work has stretched into a third year with no draft in hand from the consultant Midas Council of Governments.
Cordray said the board imposed a temporary moratorium in January 2024 to pause new permits for wind, solar and similar projects while the plan and related ordinances are updated. He described two possible paths: continue the comprehensive-plan work and produce new ordinances afterward — a longer timeline — or temporarily divert staff to amend the current 2018 ordinance, a process Cordray estimated could take two to four months if three consecutive public hearings are held.
‘‘We do have a draft for amending that ordinance that we’ve been working on,’’ Cordray said, adding that the planning board wants the county attorney to review the draft and for supervisors to receive it for feedback before any vote. He said the aim of revisions would be to clarify gray areas in the existing ordinance while protecting the county’s health, safety and welfare.
Supervisors asked about timing and process. Cordray suggested the fastest route would be to amend the existing ordinance with three public hearings; that could allow the county to act sooner than waiting for completion of the comprehensive plan and a subsequent ordinance drafting process. Board members expressed concern that the consultant (Midas) has been slow and asked staff to pursue a work session and provide supervisors with a marked-up draft and attorney review before the board votes.
Next steps: Planning staff will incorporate changes discussed, have the county attorney review the draft amendment, and send the proposed language to supervisors for review and comment. The board signaled support for a joint work session to review the draft before any formal vote.
