In the News
Read our EcoNews Articles in the NEC Archives!
Planning for Resilience: An Argument for Better Community Design In a reflection of our increasing dependency on the automobile, communities the world over are sprawling farther and farther from neighborhood centers. Such development encroaches on working forests and farms, and harms watersheds. As a result, village centers are declining, and costs for roads, water, sewer infrastructure and other public services are on the rise. If there is one good reason to promote well-designed compact development it is this: we can't afford sprawl – economically or ecologically...
Click here to read more!
County Supervisor Elections: Healthy Humboldt Quizzes The Candidates On April 19 and 26, Healthy Humboldt and the League of Women Voters co-sponsored candidates’ forums for the 4th and 5th District supervisors’ seats. The forums featured questions on the General Plan and other issues that will affect the health of our communities, forests and farmlands, salmon streams and Humboldt Bay. Below are excerpts in the candidates’ own words. Both forums are available online at Access Humboldt: 4th District Forum, 5th District Forum
Options For Preserving Humboldt County's Forests Between 1997 and 2008, 35,000 acres of Humboldt County’s industrial timberlands were divided up. How to maintain large tracts of timberland, and the jobs and environmental qualities they support, is one of the complex problems confronting Humboldt County as it completes its 20-year General Plan Update.
Greywater: Now A Legal Resource The state of California has adopted new Greywater Code, and proponents of innovative water conservation methods are celebrating.
For a complete archive of Healthy Humboldt's EcoNews article, visit the Northcoast Environmental Center's website.
Click the article title to read online or download PDF.
Planning commission talks about rails, trails, roads, sidewalks, and changes to the commission
By Virginia Graziani/Redwood Times
12/27/2010
The Humboldt County Planning Commission discussed, and mostly agreed upon, nearly 50 polices regarding transportation methods from walking to flying as it continued deliberations on the Circulation Element of the General Plan Update at the last two hearings of the year, Dec. 9 and Dec. 16. Click here to read more!
Planning commission discusses circulation element of general plan
By Donna Tam/The Times-Standard
10/15/2010
Several groups outlined their concerns on the county's plans to address future transportation issues Thursday night, as the Humboldt County Planning Commission began its discussion of the general plan update's circulation element...Thursday night's discussion included suggested revisions from the Complete Streets Working Group, which consists of representatives from several Humboldt County organizations, including the Humboldt Partnership for Active Living, Healthy Humboldt Coalition, California Center for Rural Policy, and SafePATHS (Planning Areawide Trails, Highways and Streets).
Click here to read more!
Supes approve conducting community forest feasibility study
by Donna Tam for The Times-Standard
Posted: 09/08/2010 01:21:59 AM PDT
With members of the public vocalizing a need for community forests, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors decided to move forward with a feasibility study for a regional community forest system on Tuesday, despite some caution surrounding the support of Forster-Gill for the study.
Click here to read more!
State approves county housing element; rezoning efforts to implement affordable housing slated for January
By Matt Drange for The Times-Standard
Posted: 09/03/2010
Affordable housing could be on the way to Humboldt County, with efforts to build multi-family housing in the works after the state approved the county's housing element this week.
The California Department of Housing and Community Development found the latest draft of the housing element -- a working draft that details the housing needs for the county over the next five years, with a focus on housing deemed affordable for low income families -- to be in compliance with state zoning laws.
Click here to read more!
How To Get Where We Need To Go: Balanced Transportation Choices
By Elizabeth Conner
Can you walk to the store for your groceries? Can your children bike or walk safely to school? Are you able to take a bus to get to school or work? Are the streets you drive on well-maintained and efficient? All these questions and more are addressed in the Circulation Element of the County General Plan which is now being updated.
Click here to read more!
New faces, little progress at Planning Commission
by Mary Anderson for the Redwood Times
Posted: 08/05/2010 10:34:04 AM PDT
Public comment leads at GPU hearing, new plan element draws praise
by Virginia Graziani for the Redwood Times
Posted: 07/28/2010 12:44:49 PM PDT
"Humboldt Co. 4th District
Supervisor candidates discuss general plan update".
Article by Donna Tam for the Times-Standard
Tuesday, April 20, 2010.
"Supes approve Housing Element"
Article by Jessie Faulkner in the Times-Standard
Saturday, August 29, 2009.
"County housing plan set for possible adoption"
Article by Jessie Faulkner in the Times-Standard
Friday, August 28, 2009.
"How will timberlands fare in GPU?"
Article by Jennifer Kalt in the NEC EcoNews
June 2009.
"The McKay Tract"
Article by Heidi Walters in the North Coast Journal
Thursday, May 21, 2009.
"New Front In The Development War"
Article by Hank Sims in the North Coast Journal
Wednesday, December 18, 2008.
"No Sprawl Behind The Redwood Curtain"
My Word by Jon Beslow in the Times-Standard
Tuesday, May 6, 2008.