No new billboards

Supervisors narrowly approve new sign restrictions

Humboldt County signs are now subject to a slew of regulations after the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors approved a new ordinance on Tuesday.

Supporters argued the ordinance would increase public safety, reduce blight and protect environmentally sensitive habitats while the detractors said the ordinance overreaches and places overly onerous restrictions on businesses. The final vote was 3 to 2 with 1st District Supervisor Rex Bohn and 2nd District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell dissenting.

“The real goal here is to control new signage and old signage will slowly disappear over time and everything ends up in conformance in 100 years,” 5th District Supervisor Steve Madrone said.

Humboldt County Planning and Building Director John Ford noted that, while some signs will be out of compliance, the ordinance doesn't declare open season on them for county code enforcement officers.

“The policy decision that we're recommending, is that whether (the signs are) permitted or not, they're existing, and we're not going to go and do an enforcement action,” Ford said.

Unpermitted signs, for the most part, can be repaired if damaged, though they would need to get a permit from the county.

Conversation circled around the new guidelines for light present on off-location electric signage, which is now restricted to 100 candela per square meter at night. That roughly translates to the brightness of 100 candles per square meter.

However, Al lpoints Signs owner Geoff Wills told the board during public comment that the ordinance could ruin his business.

“My life's work will instantly be stripped of around $2 million in value and then one windstorm away from being out of business,” Wills said.

Madrone commented that anytime the county government disallows something of this nature, they have to buy it, which could lead to remunerations for Willis' potentially lost business, though county coffers are increasingly empty given the projected $12.4 million fiscal deficit.

Bohn acknowledged that, while “people hate billboards,” he hasn't received a call from a business owner expressing that distaste. While encompassing billboards by banning new ones — though it allows repairs to existing ones outside of sensitive habitats — the ordinance addresses virtually all types of signage in unincorporated Humboldt County, including limiting the number of feather banners ubiquitous to taco trucks.

Regarding the lumen — now called nits — limitations, 3rd District Supervisor Mike Wilson said that he believes Humboldt County residents still value seeing the night sky.

“If we didn't have billboards on our landscape today, and we put it to a vote, say like, ` Hey, we should have billboards, what do you think?' I think that that would get a resounding no from our populace,” Wilson said.

To learn more

The ordinance as it applies to inland and coastal Humboldt County can be viewed in full at https://bit.ly/3TM0CtV.