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Fortuna council backs HCOG designation of 11th & N RTS stop as major transit stop, with conditions discussed
Summary
The council voted to accept HCOG’s option to designate the Redwood Transit System stop at 11th & N Streets as a major transit stop in the regional transportation plan; council discussed parking impacts, planning workload, ridership thresholds and options to request additional data before final HCOG action.
The Fortuna City Council on May 4 voted to support designating the Redwood Transit System bus stop at 11th & N Streets as a major transit stop in Humboldt County Association of Governments’ (HCOG) regional transportation plan.
City staff explained the designation’s implications: it triggers a half-mile radius in which certain state planning rules apply — including limits on local minimum parking requirements, reduced vehicle traffic impact fees for qualifying housing projects and CEQA presumptions for vehicle miles traveled. Staff cited state law and recent legislative updates (including Assembly Bill 2553 and related guidance) that refine thresholds for qualifying bus stops and noted HCOG’s secondary ridership threshold of 50 average daily boardings. Staff said inclusion could improve Fortuna’s competitiveness for state and federal grants while raising practical concerns about curb parking, traffic mitigation and neighborhood character.
Council members asked about data and implementation workload. Staff and the senior planner said developing objective design standards, a local parking-management plan and monitoring would require planning time but is feasible and would retain tools — such as design standards, permit parking and time limits — to manage local outcomes. During public comment and discussion, some residents questioned whether the stop’s ridership counts reflect actual transit use and raised concerns about trash, loitering and pedestrian safety near the stop.
After discussing three options — support the designation; give conditional support and request additional stop-specific boarding data and clarifications; or oppose the designation for further study — a motion to accept option 1 (support the designation) passed on a roll-call vote with three members voting yes and Mayor Johnson casting a no vote. Councilmembers said they favored moving forward while reserving the ability to shape local implementation through parking and design measures.
Staff noted HCOG asked for the city’s response by May 8; the council’s direction will be communicated to HCOG and can be followed by a local implementation work plan and parking-management planning if needed.
