Bayside Subdivision Application Denied by Humboldt County Planning Commission

A proposal to subdivide a property in the Bayside area was rejected by the Humboldt County Planning Commission during their August 7th meeting. The application, PL-N-2025-19178, submitted by Larry and Eileen Henderson, sought to create two lots of approximately 2.6 acres each from their existing property. The commission's decision, however, found the project non-compliant with several key county regulations.

The meeting, attended by Commission Chair Iver Skavdal and other commissioners, along with Planning & Building Director John Ford, included public comments from Larry Henderson and his son, Matthew. Larry Henderson explained that the subdivision was intended to allow for the sale of a portion of the property, noting that the request was a matter of policy, not law, and therefore subject to the commission's discretion. Matthew Henderson detailed a previous land adjustment made to accommodate a neighbor's construction project, resulting in the current lot sizes. He emphasized his mother's intention to only proceed with the land adjustment if the resulting smaller lot could still be sold.

Despite the applicants' explanations, the commission ultimately denied the application. In their decision, the commission stated that the project did not comply with the Humboldt County General Plan, the Jacoby Creek Community Plan, or the county's Zoning Ordinance. Furthermore, the commission deemed the project exempt from environmental review under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15270, which applies to disapproved projects.

The Planning Commission also addressed six consent agenda items, approving four and pulling two for later discussion. One item was approved with a 6-1 vote. The meeting lasted approximately 50 minutes, according to the available video recording. The full meeting minutes can be found on the Humboldt County website at https://humboldtgov.org/194/Planning-Commission.

Following the denial of the Henderson application, the commission proceeded to a break before continuing the meeting to address the items pulled from the consent calendar. Information regarding future Planning Commission meetings and opportunities for public participation can be found on the Humboldt County website.