What is the Humboldt County General Plan?

The General Plan is the constitution for all future developments within a city or county.
-- California Supreme Court

The General Plan impacts every part of how we live. If you’ve ever bought or built a house, or rented an apartment, then you’ve been impacted by the General Plan. If you are a farmer or fisherman, or consumer of these foods, the General Plan affects you. If you commute to your job, ride in a bike lane with your kids, or walk to the grocery store, the goals and policies in the General Plan matter to you.  If you want timber jobs to return or want all our forests preserved, then the General Plan Update is important to you.

California law requires that each county and city in the state develop and adopt a General Plan. The General Plan consists of a statement of development policies and includes goals, policies, standards and implementation measures. It is a comprehensive long-term plan for the physical development of the county or city, generally for a period of twenty years. In this sense, it is a "blueprint" for development.  The Humboldt County General Plan, which guides development in unincorporated areas of the County, is currently being updated.

The General Plan Update is divided into twelve main chapters, or Elements.  The proposed Humboldt County General Plan Update consists of seven state-mandated elements: Land Use, Open Space, Conservation, Housing, Circulation, Noise, and Safety.  It also includes several optional elements: Community Infrastructure and Services, Telecommunications, Economic Development, Water Resources, Energy, and Air Quality. 

The current Humboldt County General Plan Update began in 1999, and dozens of workshops and hearings have been held to gather input on what the community would like to see the county look like in 20 years. In response to public input, in 2004 the Board of Supervisors adopted the Guiding Principles to steer the update process.

After years of community meetings a final draft is currently being discussed and reviewed by the Planning Commission. It is expected to go to the Board of Supervisors later this year and it is therefore very important that voters in the upcoming supervisors races know candidates views about the Plan they will be voting on.

The draft of the plan consists of four alternatives denoting different development scenarios. The Supervisors do not have to pick all of one Alternative or another; they can, and likely will, choose some policies from each of the alternatives.

To read the draft Plan or learn more about the County's planning process, visit the General Plan Update website at www.planupdate.org.