Outdoor advertising giant Outfront Media, Inc., has abandoned its efforts to resurrect a fallen billboard on the Hwy. 101 safety corridor between Arcata and Eureka. The company’s decision means the permanent elimination of a sign that was erected in Humboldt Bay’s tidelands (without a permit) more than 60 years ago.As previously reported, the company had been seeking permits from various local and state agencies in hopes of rebuilding the billboard, which collapsed into the bay during windstorms this past January. The sign was located directly across from the Indianola cutoff.Late last month, the Humboldt Bay Harbor District’s Board of Commissioners voted 3-0, with Commissioners Craig Benson and Patrick Higgins absent, to require an environmental study before determining whether the project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).The rebuild project would also have required a building permit from the county, which owns the property and was in a position to collect rent from the billboard, as well as a Coastal Development Permit from the California Coastal Commission — neither of which were foregone conclusions.But unbeknownst to the Harbor District commissioners, by the time they’d made their decision, Outfront Media had already asked Caltrans’ Outdoor Advertising Branch to cancel its permit for the billboard.Keep Reading
Billboards along the shoreline of Humboldt Bay are controversial and the county’s Harbor District has held off on permitting the replacement of one that blew down last winter.Owned by OutFront Media, which operates billboards nationwide, the damaged billboard is off Highway 101 south immediately adjacent to the Indianola Cutoff.The billboard repair requires permits from a number of agencies, including the county and the Harbor District.Repairs to billboards are allowed if they don’t exceed the scale of what was damaged. Once repaired, the billboards can be operated for only a period of time – enough to recover costs.Those details were outlined when the Harbor District’s Board of Commissioners considered the permitting at an Aug. 28 special meeting.District Development Director Rob Holmlund said the permit treats the billboard as a “legally non-conforming” existing use.If approved, the permit allows OutFront to do a “like to like” repair and operate the billboard for five years. After that, it must be removed.But there’s a glitch in the permitting process – the post-repair operation period is supposed to be “rebuttable” and OutFront hasn’t been given opportunity to ask for longer operation time.No one from OutFront was at the meeting to comment.During a public comment period, Jen Kalt of Humboldt Waterkeeper said the proposed repair is not “like for like” and the damaged billboard should no longer be considered as existing.Keep Reading
The Humboldt Bay Harbor District’s Board of Commissioners last night decided that they need more information before green-lighting the repair/rebuilding of a billboard that’s been lying face-down in Humboldt Bay since winter.In a 3-0 vote, with Commissioners Craig Benson and Patrick Higgins absent, the board opted to require an initial study under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) before ruling on a permit application from OutFront Media, the advertising company that owns the billboard.Harbor District staff had characterized the project as a “repair” of an existing billboard, though plans to re-erect the thing involved removing the existing uprights and using an excavator to pile-drive a dozen new posts 10 feet into the ground. Staff’s assessment found that the project was exempt from CEQA review because the new structure would be located on the same site and have the same purpose and capacity as the one being replaced.Keep Reading
At a special meeting this evening, the Humboldt Bay Harbor District’s Board of Commissioners will consider issuing a permit to re-erect a billboard that was damaged during January storms and has been lying face-down in Humboldt Bay’s tidal mudflats for months.The sign in question, located on the west side of Hwy. 101 directly across from Indianola Boulevard, never received a permit. It was first erected in 1961, a dozen years before the Harbor District was created, and it stands (or rather stood) on land currently owned by the County of Humboldt.Harbor District staff says the “repair project,” which would involve replacement of the damaged uprights and pile-driving a dozen new posts into the ground, qualifies for an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because the new structure would be located on the same site and have the same purpose and capacity as the one being replaced.Jennifer Kalt, executive director of the environmental nonprofit Humboldt Waterkeeper, agrees with that recommendation.“The Harbor District was created by the voters in 1973 to protect the bay and public trust wetlands for the benefit of all of us,” she said. “Rebuilding this billboard in the wetlands is contrary to protecting the environment, the scenic views we all enjoy, and the use of the Bay Trail that we’ve worked toward for decades.”Keep Reading
California has given America a glimpse at what running one of the world’s largest economies on renewable energy might look like.The state recently hit a milestone: 100 days this year with 100% carbon-free, renewable electricity for at least a part of each day, as tracked by Stanford University engineering Professor Mark Z. Jacobson.The state notched the milestone while — so far — avoiding blackouts and emergency power reductions this year, even with the hottest July on record.That progress is largely due to the substantial public and private investments in renewable energy — particularly batteries storing solar power to use when the sun isn’t shining, according to energy experts.“California has made unprecedented investments in our power grid in recent years — and we’re seeing them pay off in real time,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement to CalMatters. “Not only is our grid more reliable and resilient, it’s also increasingly running on 100% clean electricity.”The state faces a huge challenge in coming years: A series of mandates will require carbon-free energy while also putting more electric cars on roads and electric appliances in homes. California, under state law, must run on 60% renewable energy by 2030, ramping up to 100% by 2045.Signs of progress are emerging. From January to mid-July of this year, zero-carbon, renewable energy exceeded demand in California for 945 hours during 146 days — equivalent to a month-and-a-half of 100% fossil-fuel-free electricity, according to the California Energy Commission, the state agency tasked with carrying out the clean energy mandates.But California still has a long way to go to stop burning fossil fuels for electricity. Natural gas, which emits greenhouse gases and air pollutants, remains its single largest source of electricity.Just over half of power generated for Californians in 2022 came from solar, wind, other renewables and nuclear power, while 36% came from natural gas plants.Keep Reading
