HCOG reviews public comments on RTP; debate centers on 'climate crisis' language, 80% housing target and funding consistency

Humboldt County Association of Governments staff on Thursday presented the public comment review for the draft 2026 Regional Transportation Plan and heard extended public comment and board discussion on three principal issues: use of the term "climate crisis" in the document, the timing of an 80% non-car-dependent housing target, and the RTP’s funding-consistency approach for discretionary grants.

Associate Regional Planner Stevie Luther reported that outreach for the RTP produced 216 survey responses and 41 emailed comments (31 of which were coordinated submissions). Survey respondents prioritized walking and bicycling comfort and maintaining existing roads; supporting a transition to electric vehicles received the fewest top rankings. Luther said 69% of survey respondents disagreed with the statement that roads are maintained well countywide. He also noted a baseline analysis by Noah Sari found that, countywide, approximately 34% of units permitted in 2021 were considered walkable and 43% bikable; staff said a transit-time analysis remains incomplete and would be necessary to refine the housing-target measurement.

On the housing-policy debate, staff presented a proposed edit striking the 2022 measurement date and replacing it with 2030. Staff framed the change as a clarification of the measurement year (not a lowering of ambition) because existing baseline data and a fuller transit analysis are still pending. Public commenters representing CRTP and EPIC urged retaining the original 2022 date and restoring stronger climate language across the RTP, arguing the document should prioritize climate and objective criteria for funding decisions. "We ask that you restore all of the uses of the phrase climate crisis," said Colin Fisk of CRTP. EPIC's Matthew Simmons said more than 70% of Humboldt County’s greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation and urged keeping policy timelines and targets intact.

Others in public comment disagreed with the 'crisis' phrasing and urged framing choices that are consistent with community concerns. Several board members said they favored keeping the 80% goal while differing on whether the measurement year should remain 2022 or be presented as a target achievable by a later date; staff emphasized that the 80% goal itself remains unchanged and that the year is a measurement of when the region expects to meet the target.

A third strand of public comment argued for a clearer funding-consistency policy so that discretionary HCOG funds are explicitly assessed and prioritized against RTP goals rather than relying only on agency-submitted project lists. Staff said the RTP’s current compilation approach could be changed if the board directed a different prioritization method.

Other matters in the presentation included tribal project listings (for example, a Trinidad Rancheria access-improvement project on US-101), Caltrans and Humboldt Transit Authority comments received in January, and requests from local partners to include the Samoa-Manila corridor and the Great Redwood Trail Alliance as long-term projects in the RTP.

Next steps: staff will incorporate Caltrans and local-agency suggested edits into the final draft, prepare the RTP for possible adoption in February, and continue work on transit-time analysis and other quantitative measures to refine housing-target calculations. The board gave direction to staff to continue refining the materials and return with final items for adoption.