Supes back railbanking plan in 3-2 vote
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors approved a letter of support Tuesday for the North Coast Railroad Authority’s proposal to railbank the railroad right-of-way from Willits to Samoa for the proposed Great Redwood Trail. Supervisors approved the letter in a 3-2 vote with 1st District Supervisor Rex Bohn and 2nd District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell dissenting.
Humboldt County Public Works deputy director Hank Seaman said there has been a notable increase in railbanking and converting rail lines to trails In the last 20 years because it keeps the rail line intact for potential future use while promoting transportation alternatives.
The railbanking statute allows a railroad to remove all of its equipment — with the exception of bridges, tunnels and culverts — from a corridor and to turn the corridor over to any qualified private organization or public agency to maintain it for future rail use.
“NCRA’s railroad right-of-way is an immensely valuable public resource and should remain dedicated for current and future transportation needs,” the letter stated. “The proposed action to file a railbanking application with the Surface Transportation Board is consistent with the land use plans and zoning regulations that apply to Humboldt County’s jurisdiction.”
“Just because a rail corridor is railbanked doesn’t mean that the trail would necessarily go right on the rail prism. There are certain situations where it could still be
used for rail use,” Seaman said. ” … Really what we’re trying to do with trails is create recreation opportunities but also a safe and balanced transportation network. Having a separate trail for biking and mobility devices separate from roads is really the best way to improve transportation safety.”
Both Bushnell and Bohn said they had heard concerns from
many of their constituents and called for more public outreach before approving a letter of support.
“There are a lot of people throughout the (Eel River) Valley that are a little wound up. Some people have multiple mile stretches going through their property and want to know how much imposition they’re going to get, especially at the bottom of the valley where
fire is so prone and wind’s flying up the river corridor,” Bohn said. “These are some of my concerns … because I’m not sold on this yet.”
“I’ve had a lot of landowners reach out to me that haven’t been engaged (by the NCRA) and they are concerned for the health and welfare of their properties, their cattle and so forth and so on,” Bushnell said. ” … I’m just a little concerned with sending this letter forward when we haven’t really engaged and don’t have the intent of what they’re going to do with that part of the railway through the private lands.”
Seaman noted that county staff “tried to highlight those concerns” in the draft letter.
“Developing trails within the more remote interior region will likely be a longer-term enterprise that will require significant planning and consultation with adjacent landowners to address geological instability and compatibility with adjacent land use,” the letter stated. “Trails should be planned and designed with consideration for community values and priorities and the context of the surrounding landscape and land use.”
Bushnell reiterated that she would like the letter of support to better address engagement with landowners.
“It is unequivocally better to move forward than to not move forward,” said Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson. “…No planning process has really started yet and you need this to start to even start a planning process.”
“I just think the big picture is this is a positive move forward,” Wilson added.
Seaman underscored the need to approve the letter as the NCRA plans to submit its railbanking application to the Surface Transportation Board on Friday.
Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone, who sits on the NCRA’s board of directors, noted that the proposed trail could bring economic prosperity to some of the small towns along the rail line.
“There would suddenly be new economic opportunities for the communities to invest in like mountain bike riding and kayaking and horseback riding and all these other things that,” Madrone said. “I think this could be an incredible boon to those communities, to provide something other than cannabis and heroin and meth and other things. Right now, there’s limited economic opportunities in the community so I’m trying to envision something in the future that really provides that benefit.”
Addressing Madrone’s comments, Bushnell said, “Heroin and meth is not an industry that we are doing.”
Public comment was somewhat divided with many community members calling for more public outreach and analysis, while others looked forward to the prospect of connecting communities and environmental cleanup.