The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Oct. 6 to adopt an amended 45-day moratorium on accepting and processing new data-center applications and permits in unincorporated areas of the county, according to the archived meeting transcript and video.
The final exemption discussed and accepted by the board applies to facilities of up to 15 megawatts that generate 100% renewable energy on site and use a closed-loop system. The meeting record does not clearly establish whether a separate condition concerning water sources and public-trust resources remained in the final ordinance. The county’s final agenda described the measure as an immediate-effect urgency ordinance requiring a four-fifths vote.
Supervisors Steve Madrone, Natalie Arroyo, Michelle Bushnell and Mike Wilson voted yes, while Rex Bohn voted no, the transcript says. The measure is intended to pause new data-center applications while county officials develop longer-term standards.
The county has not yet published the certified adopted ordinance or a finalized action summary in the records reviewed for this report. The ordinance number, exact legal text and effective date should therefore be confirmed with the Clerk of the Board.
The board did not vote on a proposed 45-day moratorium on removing large redwood trees. That item was removed from the agenda before consideration, according to the meeting transcript. The final agenda had described the proposed tree measure as applying to large-redwood-tree removal in specified areas of unincorporated Humboldt County.
Separately, the board approved agreements covering operation of the northern solid-waste container sites and the Redway Transfer Station through June 30, 2027. The agenda identifies Humboldt Sanitation Company as the northern-sites contractor and Recology Eel River as the Redway contractor. The board continued the southern-container-site portion of the hearing to a date uncertain while negotiations continued, according to the meeting record.
