Del Norte supervisors approve Crescent City harbor facilities plan amid calls for public notice and Measure C safeguards

The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Crescent City Harbor District’s updated harbor facilities plan, a step supervisors said is necessary to trigger Measure C funding oversight but prompted calls from a public commenter for the harbor to present the plan to its own constituents first.

Supervisor Starkey said voters who approved Measure C expected county oversight rather than an unrestricted transfer of funds. “When the voters approved Measure C, they wanted to save the harbor,” Starkey said, adding that the voters also wanted safeguards: a facility plan, an intergovernmental agreement and county administration of the funds. "They're going to have to invoice the county, and the county is going to reimburse them… I'm putting the trust in our auditor controller," Starkey said.

A member of the public urged the board to table the item until Crescent City Harbor had made the plan available to harbor-district residents. “I wouldn't approve it until the public's been given an opportunity to review it,” the commenter said during public comment.

Board discussion focused less on the technical merits of the harbor plan and more on whether the plan met the accountability conditions tied to Measure C. Board members noted the harbor commission had already approved the plan and that it was included in the county agenda packet. The board’s vote to approve was recorded as unanimous.

What happens next: Supervisors said the county auditor-controller will oversee reimbursements tied to approved projects in the plan and that the county will require invoices and project tie‑downs before releasing Measure C funds. Public commenters who raised transparency concerns said they will bring the matter to the Harbor District’s next meeting.

The board’s action was procedural and limited to approving the plan as presented and confirming the county’s oversight role for Measure C disbursements.