BOARD DENIES APPEAL OVER FORTUNA SIGN
“The policy says new off-premise signs shall be allowed, basically, in areas designated in the General Plan as being for commercial services and/or industrial general and it limits the size of the sign to 300 square feet. The land use for the parcel where the proposed sign would be located is commercial recreation. The land use is not consistent with the General Plan. This is really the crux of the inconsistency. It’s not in the right land use designation and it’s too big.”
— John Ford, Humboldt County Planning and Building director
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday considered an appeal of an Aug. 5 Planning Commission decision to deny a permit request for a new 480-square-foot, doublesided billboard along U.S. Highway 101 south of Fortuna.
During a brief presentation to the board, Humboldt County Planning and Building director John Ford noted that the Planning Commission voted 4-3 against the permit and asserted that “no new information has been presented which would warrant overturning the Planning Commission decision.”
“The justification for denial was that it is inconsistent with the General Plan,” Ford explained. “The General Plan includes specific standards and policies that address billboards. The project is not in the public interest and that primarily has to do with the fact that the General Plan desires to see Highway 101 designated as a scenic highway.”
Ford added that the 480-square-foot billboard would not adhere to the General Plan’s 300-square-foot limit.
“The policy says new offpremise signs shall be allowed, basically, in areas designated in the General Plan as being for commercial services and/or industrial general and it limits the size of the sign to 300 square feet,” he said. “The land use for the parcel where the proposed sign would be located is commercial recreation. The land use is not consistent with the General Plan. This is really the crux of the inconsistency. It’s not in the right land use designation and it’s too big.”
Speaking on behalf of the appellant, Lamar Advertising, Gregory Redeker argued the stretch of highway did not meet the criteria for a state scenic highway designation.
“There’s already a lot of development in this area,” he said. “All this discussion regarding scenic highways really has to do with being pristine and undeveloped. Those are the things that the state is looking for. There are two existing signs here, a lot of development, a lot of structures. … Regardless of whether or not this sign is approved, this is not a good candidate for being designated as a scenic highway.”
Ford thanked Redeker for his presentation and said he largely agreed with him on some of the points raised but maintained that the county’s General Plan is “very clear that outside billboards are limited to 300-square-feet.”
Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson quickly made a motion to uphold the Planning Commission’s decision to deny the permit application, adding that “it should not have gotten as far as it did.”
“It’s hard for me to accept the definition of a scenic highway from billboard purveyors (because) that’s really a community decision that we make in this community and not some corporation from far away,” he said. “… I guess I’m a little bit grumpy that it’s taken up this much time of our staff in this regard.”
Redeker asserted the section of law cited in the General Plan, which includes the entirety of Highway 101 and state Routes 299 and 36, that “it is effectively a moratorium for any new signs within 200 feet of any major highway in Humboldt County.”
“It’s effectively a stealth moratorium without due process,” he said. “The ordinances and regulations have not yet been updated. I can understand staff’s desire to keep Humboldt beautiful — I’ve vacationed there are many times — but good intentions are no substitute for constitutional regulation.”
There were no members of the public who commented on the agenda item. Wilson noted that it was likely because “the staff report was solid and strong.”
First District Supervisor Rex Bohn said it was because “nobody cared about this one.”
“I didn’t see any letters or complaints or anything,” he said. “I think the best way against billboards is if you don’t like them, don’t go to the businesses that advertise on them. … I’m sure I know somebody that would advertise on it.”
Bohn expressed his interest in abstaining from the vote but ultimately cast the single “no” vote in the board’s 4-1 vote denying the permit request.