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Humboldt County Board adopts series of energy and land-use ordinances, amends wind-energy rules
Summary
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on July 13 unanimously adopted five ordinances covering wind, battery storage, data centers, pipelines and solar systems; the board amended its wind-energy ordinance to reference the 2026 Comprehensive Plan and removed a prescriptive FAA 7460 citation. It also approved claims totaling $584,966.70.
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved five land-use and energy-related ordinances at its July 13 meeting, including amended rules for commercial wind energy and separate ordinances covering battery storage, data centers, pipeline transmission and solar utility systems.
Kevin Cordray, chair of the county Planning and Zoning board, presented minor wording changes to the Commercial Wind Energy Conversion Systems (CWECS) Ordinance No. 77 during a public hearing that opened at 8:45 a.m. Several residents and stakeholders spoke for and against elements of the draft ordinance; among them were Marc Olson, Tim Renaud (identified with RWE), Chad Small (identified with Union 235), and Christie Rodgers (identified as RWE attorney). The Board approved specific amendments, then suspended the rule requiring three separate readings so the ordinance could be published and take effect following publication as required by law.
The approved amendments to Ordinance No. 77 remove a prescriptive reference that said "approval of airspace from the FAA must be through the 7460 process and follow part 77 on any proposed structure," and instead add FAA-related language under section 4.6.4 (Wind Energy Requirements, Letter O). The Board also revised multiple entries in 4.6.4 referencing "other parks and public areas" and cemeteries to tie those protections to sites "as identified in the 2026 Comprehensive Plan," and aligned language for public lands and waterways to the same standard.
At 9:34 a.m., the Board opened and closed a public hearing on Battery Energy Storage Ordinance No. 78; there were no public or written comments, and the Board approved Ordinance No. 78 by unanimous roll call.
The Board opened the third reading public hearing for Data Center Projects Ordinance No. 80. During that hearing, Matt Dornbier asked the Board to adopt a permanent moratorium on data centers in the county. The hearing was closed and the Board approved Ordinance No. 80 by unanimous roll call.
The Board also opened, received no public comment on, and approved Ordinance No. 81 (Pipeline Transmission Systems) and Ordinance No. 82 (Solar Utility Systems); both measures passed by unanimous roll call.
In other business, the Board approved claims totaling $584,966.70 and drainage claims totaling $7,906.76 and instructed the County Auditor to issue warrants per the schedule included in the meeting record. Supervisors provided brief committee reports and the meeting adjourned at 10:11 a.m.
The Board recorded motions and unanimous roll-call votes for each ordinance and for the claims approval; Ordinance No. 77 was approved with the amendments described above and will become effective following publication as required by law.
