Supervisors set dates for battery-storage, data-center, pipeline and solar ordinance hearings

After lengthy discussion about the wind ordinance, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors opened a public hearing on Ordinance 78, a proposed battery energy storage ordinance, and approved a 12-month moratorium to give planning staff time to draft appropriate standards.

County staff explained the moratorium's purpose: the county currently has no specific ordinance governing large battery-energy-storage systems and wants time to study the technical and safety requirements before permitting. There was little public opposition recorded during the brief battery-storage hearing; the board set a third-reading date for July 13, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.

The board also opened public hearings or set public-review dates for several other land-use ordinances: a data center ordinance (Ord. 80), a pipeline transmission ordinance (Ord. 81) and a solar utility systems ordinance (Ord. 82). At least one public commenter warned that large data centers can consume substantial water and can create infrastructure burdens; supervisors agreed to research those impacts and scheduled follow-up hearings (for example, Ord. 80 was discussed for a July 15 public hearing).

Routine business continued after those hearings: supervisors clarified the accounting mechanics of a proposed interdepartmental advance to fund a local bike-trail project (about $150,000 fronted by the county with an expected roughly $45,000 in private fundraising to reimburse the county over time) and received committee reports on dispatch, drainage tile and road concerns. The meeting adjourned at about 10:56 a.m.

The board set multiple continued hearings to allow additional study and public comment; staff were directed to coordinate notices and report back.